Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo

Define social roles

the ‘parts’ people play as members of various social groups. Everyday examples include parent, child, student etc. These are accompanies by expectations that we and others have of what is appropriate behaviour in each role

What was the aim of Zimabrdo’s experiment?

he wanted to find out whether prison guards behave brutally because they have sadist personalities (disposition) or is it the situation which creates this behaviour?

What was the procedure of Zimbardo’s experiment?

• Stanford Uni basement turned into mock prison.

• 24 American male student volunteers (only those deemed emotionally stable after psychological tests were selected) randomly assigned guard or prisoner.

• Uniforms: prisoners = numbers only, guards = handcuffs & sunglasses.

• Guards had full control (within ethical guidelines, no physical violence).

• Prisoners confined; guards worked 8-hour shifts.

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s experiment?

• Guards took up their roles with enthusiasm – became aggressive and brutal.

• Guards’ behaviour became a threat to the prisoners’ psychological and physical health.

• Prisoners rebelled against the harsh treatment – ripped their uniforms, shouted/swore at guards.

• Guards harassed prisoners to remind them that they were being monitored 24/7.

• Prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious.

What was the conclusion of Zimbardo’s experiment?

• The power of a situation can influence people’s behaviour.

• Guards, prisoners and researchers all conformed to their roles within the prison.

• These social roles were taken on easily.

How long did the Stanford prison study last?

6 days instead of the intended 14

Why was Zimbardo’s experiment ended early?

• Guards’ behaviour became a threat to the prisoners’ psychological and physical health.

• Prisoners became subdued, depressed and anxious.

• One prisoner went on a hunger strike.

• Guards identified too much with their role and enjoyed the power.

• Zimbardo’s future wife visited the prison and confronted him.

How is the fact that Zimbardo may have ignored a dispositional influence of behaviour in the research into the conformity to social roles a disadvantage? (+counter/development)

because Zimbardo failed to acknowledge an extraneous variable that would influence the IV in his experiment, reducing the validity

C: however, it could be argued that Zimbardo did acknowledge it as he tried to minimise dispositional influences with screening, although it can’t be removed completely

Give an example of this disadvantage

for example, only 1/3 of the guards behaved in a brutal manner. The remaining guards were fair in the rules or sympathised with the prisoners

How is the fact that the research is difficult to generalise to everyone a weakness? (+counter/development)

because the findings can’t be easily generalised to other populations, such as women or people from different cultures. This makes the research lack population validity making people reconsider its credibility

D: it can also link with volunteer bias

Give an example of this weakness

for instance, the research sample was based on 24 American male student volunteers

How is the fact that the Stanford prison experiment displays some high levels of control over variables a strength?

because random assignment helps control for individual differences, increasing the internal validity of the study. It means that the researcher can be more confident that the behaviour of the participants was due to the social roles they were given

Give an example of this strength

for example, participants were selected if they were emotionally stable and were randomly assigned to their roles

How is the fact that there were doubts raised about how truthful the behaviours the prisoners and guards presented due to a lack of realism a weakness?

because it suggests the participants were responding to demand characteristics - they were acting in a way they thought was expected of them rather than behaving normally. This reduces the internal validity of the study as it becomes unclear whether findings were due to situational variables of the prison experiment or expectations

Give an example of this weakness

for instance, one guard said he based his role on a brutal character from a film he had seen