Conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo. Flashcards
(19 cards)
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?
To investigate whether people conform to social roles of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison environment.
What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study in terms of situational and dispositional factors?
to investigate whether or not situational factors influence behaviour more than dispositional factors.
What are a Situational factors?
Situational factors refer to external influences on behaviour, like the environment, social context, or the presence of others.
What are dispositional factors?
Dispositional factors relate to internal characteristics, such as personality, beliefs, or temperament, that might influence behaviour.
Where was Zimbardo’s experiment conducted?
A mock prison at Stanford University.
What was the sample in Zimbardo’s prison experiment?
Consisted of 21 mentally stable (they went through screening) male university students who volunteered in response to a new newspaper advert. They were paid $.
What were participants assigned to?
Participants were either signed guard or prisoner.
What happened to the prisoners at the start of the experiment?
Prisoners were arrested from their homes, stripped, deloused, and given uniforms and ID numbers.
What happened to the guards at the start of the experiment?
Guards wore uniforms, reflective sunglasses, and were given handcuffs and truncheon. Guards had complete control including deciding meal times and toilet use.
How long was the observation meant to run for?
The study was meant to last 2 weeks, but was stopped after six days.
What were the findings of the guards in Zimbardo’s study?
the guards became increasingly bausive, using psychological punishment (e.g. sleep deprivation and humiliation).
What were the findings of the prisoners in Zimbardo’s study?
Prisoners became submissive and distressed, with some showing signs of emotional breakdown.
Who was released early from Zimbardo’s study and why?
Five prisoners were released from the experiment early because of their physical and mental torment.
Why was Zimbardo’s study terminated early?
The situation became so dangerous it was terminated early. Christina Maslach convinced Zimbardo that his experiment was inhumane, causing the experiment to only last 6 days instead of the intended 14.
What did Zimbardo conclude about his study?
- People conform quickly to social roles, even when it goes against their moral values
- Behaviour was strongly reliant on situational and environmental factors rather than individual (dispositional) personality.
STRENGTH : Followed University ethical guidelines.
Zimbardo got approval from the Stanford University Ethics Committee. the study was reviewed and considered ethically acceptable at the time, including the right to withdraw.
STRENGTH : How did the participants have the right to withdraw?
Participants signed informed consent forms and were told some rights would be restricted (e.g. privacy and freedom)
STRENGTH : Participants were aware of the conditions
Volunteers consented to take part knowing it was a prison simulation and that certain freedoms would be removed. They were fully briefed on their roles and what the experiments would entail. This shows that participants were not deceived about the general nature of the study.
STRENGTH : Prior psychological screening
All participants were given extensive psychological testing to ensure they were emotionally stable and mentally healthy before being selected. This helped control individual differences that could have affected behaviour, increasing internal validity.
