Conformity To Social Roles - Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 1

What was the aim of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 1

To find out how much people would conform to social roles of prisoner and guard in a prison situation

Question 2

Where did the study take place?

Answer 2

In the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University, which was converted into a fake prison

Question 3

How many participants took part and who were they?

Answer 3

21 male students

Question 4

How were participants selected?

Answer 4

Students volunteered, then took psychological evaluation tests to determine if they were fit to take part.

Question 5

What were the 2 groups and how many participants were in each?

Answer 5

10 ‘guards’ and 11’prisoners’

Question 6

How were the ‘prisoners’ obtained?

Answer 6

They were publicly arrested by real police officers and then subjected to real police booking procedures

Question 7

How were guards instructed to address their prisoners?

Answer 7

By their assigned numbers not their names

Question 8

What did the prisoners wear?

Answer 8

Jackets with their numbers on and a chain around one ankle

Question 9

What did the guards wear?

Answer 9

Khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact and carried handcuffs and wooden batons

Question 10

How long was the study scheduled to run for?

Answer 10

2 weeks

Question 11

What were the results of the Stanford Prison Experiment in terms of the guards?

Answer 11

Guards became increasingly sadistic, forcing cruel punishment upon any prisoners that disobeyed (e.g. put them in solitary confinement, made them go to the toilet in buckets and refused to let them empty them)

Question 12

What were the results of the Stanford Prison Experiment in terms of the prisoners?

Answer 12

Prisoners suffered extreme, cruel punishments and became increasingly submissive.

Question 13

What happened after only 35 hours?

Answer 13

A prisoner began to “act crazy, to scream, to go into a rage” and had to be released from the experiment

Question 14

How many other participants had to be released throughout the experiment?

Answer 14

3

Question 15

What role did Zimbardo play in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 15

Prison warden

Question 16

When did the Stanford Prison Experiment end?

Answer 16

After 6 days. It only ended when another psychology researcher inspected the experiment and warned Zimbardo about how extreme it had become.

Question 17

What type of study was the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 17

Observational

Question 18

Was the Stanford Prison Experiment participant or non-participant? Why?

Answer 18

Participant - Zimbardo gave himself a role within the experiment

Question 19

What was concluded from the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 19

It suggests that people conform to social roles to a significant extent

Question 20

What did participants say afterwards?

Answer 20

They were shocked at how out-of-character their behaviour had become

Question 21

What does the reaction of the participants support?

Answer 21

A situational hypothesis of behaviour over a dispositional one. (They didn’t necessarily have a sadistic disposition, but were instead conforming to the social roles of the situ.)

Question 22

Why is it a limitation that the Stanford Prison Experiment was a participant study (I.e. Zimbardo was involved)?

Answer 22

Lacks internal validity - Zimbardo did not have an objective view of the experiment - couldn’t see how extreme the situation was - observer bias etc etc