Conformity to Social Roles (Zimbardo)

Question 1

When did Zimbardo’s experiment take place?

Answer 1

1973.

Question 2

What was the procedure for Zimbardo’s experiment?

Answer 2

• mock prison environment
• participants either prisoner or guard
• prisoners wore uniforms and were assigned an ID number
• guards wore uniforms, had clubs, whistles and wore reflective sunglasses to prevent eye contact
• NO physical contact/punishment was allowed (e/g/ beating)

Question 3

What was Zimbardo’s findings?

Answer 3

• guards became increasingly tyrannical and abusive
• prisoners became increasingly submissive
• participants seemed to forget it was only an experiment
• 5 prisoners had to leave early due to extreme reactions
• study was terminated after only six days

Question 4

What are the strengths of Zimbardo’s research?

Answer 4

• helped to change perceptions of social roles (guards only resorted to tyranny as this is what they expected of guards)
• helped change the running of prisons across America

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of Zimbardo’s experiment?

Answer 5

• extremely unethical as it cause psychological harm, however it’s accepted as ethical as it followed the Stanford University ethics guidelines
• Banuazizi and Movahedi (1975) say results of behaviour was down to demand characteristics
• Reicher and Haslam (2006) completed similar study but found opposing results