Conformity to social roles

What was the main aim of Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE)?

To investigate whether the brutality of prison guards was due to their sadistic personalities (dispositional) or the social role of being a guard (situational).

How were participants assigned to roles in the SPE?

Emotionally stable male volunteers were randomly assigned to be either 'prisoners' or 'guards'.

How did uniforms encourage conformity to social roles in the SPE?

They promoted de-individuation. Prisoners wore smocks and were called by numbers; guards wore authoritative uniforms with accessories, making it easier to adopt their roles.

What were the key findings about the guards' behaviour in the SPE?

Guards became increasingly brutal and aggressive, using tactics like harassment, headcounts, and punishments to enforce their power.

What were the key findings about the prisoners' behaviour in the SPE?

After a failed rebellion, prisoners became subdued, anxious, and depressed. Some had to be released early due to psychological distress.

What was Zimbardo's main conclusion from the SPE?

Social roles have a very strong influence on behaviour. People can easily conform to the expectations of a role, even if it involves brutality or submission.

What is a key strength of the SPE's methodology?

High control. Participants were psychologically screened and randomly assigned to roles, increasing internal validity by ruling out personality differences as the main cause of the results

What evidence suggests the prison felt 'real' to participants, countering the lack of realism criticism?

90% of prisoners' conversations were about prison life, and some genuinely believed they could not leave, suggesting they weren't just play-acting

Why might the SPE lack realism?

Critics argue participants were merely play-acting based on stereotypes of how prisoners and guards should behave (e.g., from movies), not genuinely conforming to a role.

How does the behaviour of the guards suggest Zimbardo exaggerated the power of roles?

Only one-third of guards were brutal; another third were 'fair', and the rest were helpful. This shows many resisted situational pressures, indicating personality (dispositional factors) also played a key role.