Stanford Prison Experiment

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1
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What were the purposes of Zimbardo’s experiment?

  • Does a social role influence behaviour?

  • Obedience + power dynamics between guards and prisoners, abuse of power

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What did Zimbardo do before the experiment?

Male student volunteers were tested as ‘emotionally stable’

3
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How was the experiment set up?

  • Participants randomly assigned to play the role of guard or prisoner

  • Prisoners and guards were encouraged to conform to their social roles through their uniforms and behaviour.

  • Prisoners were arrested, checked and fingerprinted, they had to follow lots of rules, and fulfil various tasks such as push ups.

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What were the results of Zimbardo’s experiment?

  • The guards quickly abused their power - after one day, a guard hit a prisoner.

  • Within two days, the prisoners rebelled - ripped their uniforms and shouted at guards.

  • Guards put the prisoners against each other and inflicted constant physical and emotional abuse - their beds taken away, buckets on their heads.

  • Guards constantly reminded prisoners of the powerlessness of their roles - never referenced by name, only number.

  • After the rebellion was put down, prisoners became depressed and anxious - one was released early as he showed symptoms of psychological disturbance, two released on day 4.

  • One prisoner went on a hunger strike and the guards tried to force-feed him - this didn’t work so he was put in the ‘hole’, a dark closet.

  • Guards identified closely with their role, displaying brutal aggressive behaviour, with some enjoying the power they had over prisoners.

  • Zimbardo ended the experiment after 6 days, instead of the intended 14.

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How did Zimbardo control the participants?

The students selected were tested to be emotionally stable and were randomly assigned to their roles

6
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Why does the experiment have high internal validity?

  • The degree of control over variables

  • McDermott (2019): participants behaved as if the prison was real to them.

  • 90% of prisoner conversations were about prison life.

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Why could individual personality differences be ruled out for an explanation of the results?

If guards/prisoners behaved differently, their behaviour must have been due to the role itself as they were by chance

8
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Why was the prison lacking realism a limitation?

  • Banuazizi & Movahedi (1975): argued participants were merely play-acting rather than conforming to a role, performances based off stereotypes.

  • One guard claimed he based his role on a brutal character from the film ‘Cool Hand Luke’

  • Prisoners may have rioted because they believed that’s what prisoners do.

  • Experiment tells us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.

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How did Zimbardo exaggerate the power of social roles to influence behaviour?

  • Only 1/3 of the guards behaved in a brutal manner.

  • The others tried to enforce rules fairly or helped and supported the prisoners.

  • Most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role - Zimbardo minimised the influence of dispositional factors

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How did Zimbardo manipulate the experiment?

  • The guards received training, their behaviour may not have been natural, but rather just following instructions.

  • Prisoners didn’t

11
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How can you use SIT to explain the guards’ behaviour?

Reicher & Haslam (2006) argue that the guards had to actively identify with their social roles in order to behave the way they did - it was actively promoted by Zimbardo

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How is Abu Ghraib torture similar to Zimbardo’s experiment?

  • Between 2003-4, US military committed torture, physical and sexual abuse and even murder on Iraqi prisoners.

  • They were routinely humiliated - prisoner connected to mains supply and would get electrocuted if they did not stand still for hours.

  • Shows the power of situation and social roles can make seemingly ordinary people do evil things