Zimbardo

Question 1

What is the name of Zimbardo’s Experiment?

Answer 1

Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 2

What did his experiment test?

Answer 2

Conformity to Social Roles

Question 3

How did he carry this out?

Answer 3

He set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Sandford University.

Question 4

What were the volunteers recruited and how were they re-payed?

Answer 4

Advertised in newspaper articles and were payed £15 a day.

Question 5

How many candidates were used, what were they and what were they tested for?

Answer 5

21 male student volunteers who were tested as emotionally stable.

Question 6

How were they assigned their roles?

Answer 6

Randomly-either prisoner or guard.

Question 7

Through which two aspects were guards encouraged to conform to social roles?

Answer 7

Uniforms and Instructions about behaviour.

Question 8

How did uniforms encourage conformation to social roles?

Answer 8

-Prisoners were in a lose smock, cap and were identified by a number.
-Guards uniform reflected the status of their role.

Question 9

What did the uniforms create for the volunteers?

Answer 9

A loss of identity (de-individualisation) meaning they would be more likely to conform to their social role.

Question 10

How did Instructions about behaviour encourage conformation to social roles?

Answer 10

-Guards were reminded that they had complete power over the prisoners in their role.
-Prisoners could ‘apply for parole’ instead of leaving early.

Question 11

What did Zimbardo find out about the guards conformity to social roles?

Answer 11

-They were enthusiastic, accepted their social roles quickly and they easily adapted.
-Within hours, some guards began to harass prisoners and treat them badly.
-Guards used ‘divide and rule’ tactics.
-As prisoners become more obedient- guards became more aggressive.

Question 12

What did Zimbardo find out about the prisoners conformity to social roles?

3 points

Answer 12

-Within 2 days, majority of prisoners rebelled-began to shout and swear, and ripped their uniforms.
-They soon acquired expected ‘prisoner-like’ behaviour.
-As prisoners become more obedient- guards became more aggressive.

Question 13

When did the experiment end and how long was it due to last for?

Answer 13

Ended after 6 days although originally planned for 14 days.

Question 14

What did Zimbardo conclude?

Answer 14

-Social roles have a strong influence on individuals behaviour.
-Psychological damage to both parties.
-Institutions may brutalise people and result in deindividualization for guards and prisoners.
-Power may also corrupt those who use it.

Question 15

What is the one strength of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 15

Control.

Question 16

Evaluation: Control

Answer 16

Zimbardo and colleagues had control over key variables.
-Selection of pps-individual personality differences are ruled out as an explanation of findings.
-Increased internal validity.

Question 17

What are two limitations of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Answer 17

-Lack of Realism
-Exaggeration

Question 18

Evaluation: Lack of Realism

Answer 18

Didn’t have the realism of a true prison.
-Psychologists argued pps were acting rather than conforming. Performances based on stereotypes which would explain the behaviour of some of the prisoners and guards.

Question 19

Evaluation: Exaggeration

Answer 19

-Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors.

Question 20

What is an Alternative Explanation?

Answer 20

Zimbardo’s explanation for both parties behaviour was conforming to a social role which comes ‘naturally’ and easily.

Question 21

Who criticised Zimbardo’s alternative explanation and why?

Answer 21

Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam criticised his explanation as it doesn’t account for the behaviour of the non-brutal guards. Used SLT to argue that the guards had to actively identify with their social roles to act as they did.