Social influence - conformity to social roles (Zimbardo) Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is conformity to social roles?
When an individual adopts a particular behaviour and belief while in a particular social situation
What was the aim?
To investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guards and prisoners in a prison simulation - Z wanted to know if reported brutality among guards in American prisons was due to sadistic personalities (dispositional factors) or the prison environment (situational factors)
Procedure (P): It was a controlled observation in the …
basement of Stanford University psychology building (converted to a mock prison)
(P): 75 applicants answered the …
newspaper advert
(P): Diagnostic interviews and personality tests …
eliminated those with psychological, medical, crime or drug issues
(P): 21 ppts. eventually took part …
and they were paid $15 a day
(P): They were randomly assigned …
the prisoner or guard role
(P): Prisoners were …
arrested at their own homes, taken to a local police station, fingerprinted and photographed
(P): At the mock prison, prisoners were …
deloused, stripped and put in a prison shift, each with a different identification number
(P): Guards wore …
identical military style uniforms with aviators and a baton to promote deindividuation
(P): Guards worked in 3s in shifts of 8 hours and …
were instructed to do anything they felt was necessary to maintain order
(P): Zimbardo observed the prisoners’ and guards’ …
behaviour but also acted as the prison warden, making it a ppt. observation
Findings (F): Within 2 days …
prisoners’ and guards’ behaviour got out of hand - prisoners rebelled by not obeying rules and guards reacted with a fire extinguisher
(F): Guards acted brutally: …
they punished prisoners by withdrawing privileges, making them wake up to conduct head counts or put them in the ‘Hole’ (solitary confinement)
(F): After brutal treatment from the guards, prisoners became …
subdued, depressed and anxious
(F): After both prisoner #8612 and #819 were released due to psychological disturbances …
spare prisoner #416 went on hunger strike and was put in the ‘Hole’
(F): If ppts. tried to leave …
Zimbardo reminded them they had agreed to stay for 2 weeks - 3 prisoners did leave due to psychological disturbance
(F): The study truncated at 6 days when …
Christina Maslach (PhD student) told Zimbardo it had gone too far and had to stop
What was the conclusion of the study?
People will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped as prison guards. Z argued it was the power of the situation (brutal guard ppts. had never shown sadistic tendencies before) so it’s supported by the situational explanation
