Stanford prison experiment Flashcards
(17 cards)
What does zimbardo’s research investigate ?
Conformity to social roles.
What question did zimbardo and his colleugue want answered?
Do prison guards behave brutally because they have sadistic personalities or is it the situation that creates such behaviour?
Where was the experiment set up and when ?
A mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford university ( Hansley et al . 1973)
How did they get ppts?
They advertised for students willing to volunteer and selected those who were deemed ‘emotionally stable’ after extensive psychological testing
How were the students assigned ?
The students were randomly assigned the roles of guards and prisoners
How did they heighten realism ?
Arrested prisoners in their homes by local police and then delivered to ‘ prison’.
Blinfolded,strip-searched and s=issued a uniform and number
How were social roles divided?
Strictly
Prisoners daily routines were heavy regulated.
16 rules they had to follow enforced by guards who worked in shifts, 3 at a time.
Role of guards ?
Had their own uniform
had wooden club
Handcuffs
Keys and mirror shades.
They were told they had complete power over the prisoners
Findings ;
The guards took up their roles.
Their behaviour became a threat to prisoners’ psychological and physical health
When was the study stopped
After 6 days instead of the intended 14
What happened after two days ?
Prisoners rebelled harsh treatment,
Shouted at guards , shouted and swore at guards
Guards retaliated with fire extinguishers
guards used ‘divide and rule’ tactic and played prisoners against each other
How did the guards treat the prisonerss
Harrassed the prisoners constantly
Eg. Had blackouts , frequent headcounts - even in the middle of the night
How was social rules highlighted?
The guards created opportunities to enforce rules and punish prisoners over small midemeanours.
What happened after rebellion
Prisoners had depression , anxious.
When was the first prisoner released
On the first day because he showed symptoms of psychological disturbance
What happened on the 4th day
Two more were released.
One prisoner went on hunger strike ; guards attempted to force feed him and then punished him by putting him in ‘the hole’ tiny closet
What was concluded?
Guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles.
The roles were taken on easily by ppt - and volunteers who had to perform certain functions , were behaving as though they were in prison
