1973 Stanford prison experiment

who was involved in the Stanford prison experiment?

• professor Philip Zimbardo

• 24 stable male volunteers

What was Stanford prison experiment testing?

• conformity to social rules

• How would pps behave in their new social roles under inhumane conditions in the prison

What did participants go through before the experiments started?

• psychological and physical screening to assess stability

• randomly assigned to prisoner or guard

where was experiment conducted?

in a converted basement at Stanford uni into subterranean jail

how long was the experiment meant to last?

2 weeks

what was the IV in the Stanford prison experiment?

the role in which PP’s were assigned to

what was the DV in the Stanford prison experiment?

people’s responses to an oppressive regime where PP’s accepted or acted against it

what happened to the prisoners when they arrived at the prison?

• they were blind folded

• stripped

• deloused

what were the prisoners given to wear?

• a smock with a printed number on

• hair net

• no underwear

what was the impact of these procedures when PP’s first came to the prison on their state of mind and self?

• they were humiliated

• dehumanised

• lost their sense of identity

what instruction were the guards given?

• to do whatever they thought was necessary to maintain law and order in the prison but not cause prisoners any physical harm

• given psychological advice to degrade prisoners

what were the guards given to wear?

• uniforms

• clubs

• whistles

• reflective sunglasses

what were the reflective sunglasses for?

• to prevent eye contact

• to dehumanise the guards

what evidence is there that the guards believed the experiment was real?

• repeatedly woke prisoners in the middle of the night to do physical tasks

• yelled insults

• made prisoners do physically taxing exercises

• volunteered to do extra hours without pay

• grew increasingly tyrannical and abusive

what evidence is there that the prisoners believed the experiment was real?

• rebelled used beds to barricade cells

• rebelled against status and being anonymous

• followed orders

• asked for a parole instead of withdrawal

• loss sense of identity

what were some of the behaviours exhibited by the guards over the course of the experiment?

• became more tyrannical

• gave out punishments

• some felt guilty

• some guards didn’t intervene

• humiliation of prisoners

what were some of the behaviours exhibited by the prisoners over the course of the experiment?

• started becoming distressed crying, rage and anxiety

• became more individual didn’t support others due to punishment

• protests e.g hunger strike

• rebellion

what other people were involved in the study?

• prisoner stopped eating as a rebellion

• zimbardo = prison superintendent

• prison chaplain

• parole board

how long did the experiment actually last?

6 days rather than 14

why did Zimbardo end the experiment earlier?

• prisoners were so distressed

• Zimbardo’s fiancé said to stop as she came to the realisation of what experiment was doing to PP’s

what conclusions could we draw about conformity to social roles from the experiment?

• if you are victims to abuse it’s difficult to stand up and defend yourselves and others

• ‘bad barrels’ situations affect personal behaviour

what were the strengths of the experiment?

• real life applications = changed the way US prisons are run

• control variables = got stable volunteers and random allocation

• high ecological validity = tyranny

• debrief = prisoners + guards debriefed aims and results of the study got together checked on for long term effects

• qualitative + quantitative data collected = increased validity

• The amount of ethical issues with the study led to the formal recognition or ethical guidelines so that future studies were safer and less harmful to participants due to legally bound rules.

what were the limitations of the experiment?

• un ethical = lack of fully informed consent due to deception to avoid demand characteristics breech of ethical guidelines

• demand characteristics (just acting.conforming)

• Zimbardo’s dual role

• Psychological harm - Participants were not protected from stress, anxiety, emotional distress and embarrassment e.g. One prisoner was released on the first day due to showing signs of psychological disturbance.

• individual roles (not all guards were brutal)

• Lacks population validity - The sample only consisted of American male students and so the findings cannot be generalised to other genders and cultures. For example, collectivist cultures, such as China or Japan, may be more conformist to their prescribed social roles because such cultures value the needs of the group over the needs of the individual. This suggests that such findings may be culture-bound!

how does the role of group strength affect conformity to social roles?

it establishes a more just set of social relations and therefore often reduces conformity

Conclusion of Zimbardos study

The guards became more demanding for obedience and assertiveness of the prisoners while the prisoners became more submissive. this suggests that the respective social rules became increasingly internalised.