stanford prison experiment - zimbardo 1970s

aim of spe

to explore how individuals would conform to roles of guard and prisoner in a stimulated prison environment, Z sought to understandhow social roles influence behaviour, especially when power dynamics are extreme

context of spe

took place in period of interest in understanding how situational variables influence behaviour due to events such as the holocaust and civil right movement

who was the sample in the spe

24 male college students from stanford selected from a larger pool of 75 volunteers due to their perceived psychological stability

procedure of spe

set up in stanfords basement which was converted into a mock prison with cells, a yard, and solitary confinement, role of guard and prisoner randomly assigned, prisoners 'arrested' at their homes and guards were given uniforms

results of spe

guards quickly adopted authoritarian behaviour and started being cruel towards the prisoners, prisoners displayed signs of emotional distress, the study ended in 6 days rather than the intended 14

conclusions of the spe

demonstrated powerful influence of situational factors and social roles on individual behaviour, showed that normal, healthy individuals could engage in dehumanising actions when placed in a context that encourages such behaviour, findings highlighted the potential for systemic abuses in real-life prisons and other institutions with rigid power hierarchies

pros of zimbardo's research

high internal validity, 90% of prisoners' convos were about prison life, kept talking about their "sentences"

cons of zimbardo's research

lacks realism as some pps. may have been play-acting e.g. based character off 'cool-hand luke', social role power may have been exaggerated as only 1/3 were brutal and the rest were kind/fair