Zimbardo

What term refers to the ‘parts’ people play as members of various groups (e.g. parent, child, teacher, student) ?

Social roles

What did Zimbardo investigate?

How readily people would conform to the roles of prisoner & guard in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life

Where did Zimbardo’ s study take place?

Basement at Stanford University

Describe the participants used in Zimbardo’s study

24 male college students (chosen from 75 volunteers)

How did Zimbardo recruit the participants?

Advert

How long was Zimbardo’s study designed to last?

2 weeks

How much were the participants paid in Zimbardo’s study?

$15 a day

How were the participants assigned to the roles of prison guard or prisoner?

Randomly

How did Zimbardo attempt to make the experiment appear real?

Participants were arrested from their own homes by real police officers

How were the prisoners referred to?

By number

What did the 2 groups of participants wear?

• Guards: khaki uniform, mirrored glasses, whistle & baton

• Prisoners: smock with number, tight nylon cap, chain around 1 ankle & no underwear

What was Zimbardo’s role in the prison?

Prison warden & researcher

After how long did the first participant have to be released?

36 hours

After how many days did the study have to end?

5 days

Discuss what Zimbardo’s research has told us about conformity to social roles (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• Social roles are the parts people play in society (e.g. parent, teacher & student) which come with expectations about behaviour. Zimbardo aimed to investigate how readily people conform to the roles of prisoner & guard in a simulated prison environment.

• He created a mock prison in Stanford University’s basement & selected 24 psychologically healthy male college students from 75 volunteers through advertisement. Participants were paid $15 a day & randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard. The simulation was made as realistic as possible, with prisoners arrested outside of their homes.

• Prisoners were stripped, deloused, given uniforms & identified only by number, while guards wore khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses & carried batons, whistles & handcuffs. Zimbardo acted as both researcher & prison warden.

• Both groups quickly adapted to their roles - guards became increasingly abusive & aggressive, whilst prisoners became submissive & distressed. One prisoner was released after just 36 hours & the study ended after just 5 days instead of the planned 2 weeks.

Discuss what Zimbardo’s research has told us about conformity to social roles (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (influence on juveniles)

• Point: One strength of Zimbardo’s research is that it highlights the influence of situational factors in conformity to social roles.

• Evidence: For example, juveniles accused of federal crimes are no longer housed before trial with adult prisoners, due to the risk of violence against them.

• Explain: This suggests Zimbardo’s study has theoretical value as participants were randomly assigned to roles, meaning differences in behaviour were likely caused by the situation rather than dispositional factors. Additionally, it also has practical value as the study has improved our understanding of how prison environments can shape behaviour.

• Link: Therefore, the prison environment was an important factor in creating the guards’ brutal behaviour, as none of the participants showed sadistic tendencies before the study.

Discuss what Zimbardo’s research has told us about conformity to social roles (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (demand characteristics)

• Point: One limitation of Zimbardo’s research is that it may suffer from demand characteristics, reducing the internal validity.

• Evidence: For example, interviews revealed some participants behaved according to what they believed was expected of them, with one guard basing his role on a brutal character from the film, Cool Hand Luke.

• Explain: This suggests some participants may have been acting out stereotypical roles rather than genuinely conforming to their assigned social role. As such, the guards’ aggressive behaviour may have reflected performance & expectations, rather than authentic responses to the prison environment.

• Link: Therefore, this reduces the validity of Zimbardo’s findings, as it becomes unclear whether participants truly conformed to social roles in the way he claimed.

Discuss what Zimbardo’s research has told us about conformity to social roles (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (ethical issues)

• Point: One limitation of Zimbardo’s research is that it suffers from major ethical issues.

• Evidence: For example, guards harassed the prisoners constantly to remind them they were being monitored all the time. They conducted frequent headcounts, sometimes in the middle of the night - one prisoner was released after just 36 hours as he showed symptoms of psychological disturbance.

• Explain: This suggests protection of participants from psychological harm was breached, as well as raises concerns about whether informed consent was possible, as participants may not have anticipated the severity of the intense distress they would experience.

• Link: Overall, the severe psychological harm experienced by participants reduces the ethical validity of Zimbardo’s study & highlights the risks of role-play research.