Zimbardo’s Research

• Aim and Procedures

  • uniform (deindividulisation) -> prisoners were given a lose smock to wear and a cap covering their hair, also defined by numbers (dehumanisation). guards had a separate uniform reflecting status role, with a wooden stick, handcuff and mirror shades
  • guards encouraged to play their role -> reminded they had complete control over the prisoners
  • selected 21 men (student volunteers) -> tested as emotionally stable
  • randomly assigned to play the role of a guard or prisoner
• Findings


  • guards took up roles with enthusiasm treating prisoners harshly
  • within two days prisoners repelled
  • harassed prisoners constantly reminding them of the powerlessness of their role
  • guards highlighted difference in social roles by creating opportunities to enforce rules and administrate punishment
  • guards identified more and more closely with their role -> behaviour became increasingly brutal and aggressive
  • zimbardo ended the study after 6 days when it was supposed to be 14 days
  • even people who came into play a role found themselves conforming to the social role
• Conclusion


  • social roles have a stronger influence on individuals behaviour
  • guards became more brutal/ prisoners more submissive
  • roles easily taken on by all participants
• Control - Evaluation


  • had control over key variables -> selection of participants
  • if guards and prisoners behaved differently but were in the roles by chance -> their behaviour must have been due to the role itself
  • degree of control over the variables increased the internal validity
• Application - Evaluation


  • did not have realism to true prisoners
  • Banuazizi and Movahedi argued participants were acting rather than actually conforming
  • actions were based not their stereotypes of how prisoners and guards were supposed to behave
• Application - Counterpoint

  • 90 % of prisoners conversations were about prison life
  • prisoner 416 believed it was a prison run by psychologists
• Alternative Explanation - Evaluation


  • argued that guards and prisoners behaved the way they did it as it came naturally and easily
  • Being given the role of the guard meant that participants will inevitably play brutally as that’s the behaviour expected within the role
  • Guards had to actually identify with the social role to act as they did
• What did Zimbardo's research in 1973 focus on?


  Conformity to social roles
• What do Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) argue about the participants in Zimbardo's study?


  They were merely play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role
• How did Banuazizi and Mohavedi suggest the participants' performances were influenced?


  Their performances were based on stereotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave
• What is one criticism of Zimbardo's view on social roles?


  He may have exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behavior
• What proportion of guards behaved in a brutal manner according to Zimbardo's findings?

  One-third
• What did the other two-thirds of guards do in Zimbardo's study?


  One-third applied the rules fairly, and the rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners
• What does the behavior of most guards in Zimbardo's study suggest about conformity to roles?


  Most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role
• What did Zimbardo overstate regarding participants' behavior in his study?


  He overstated that participants were conforming to social roles
• What impact did Zimbardo minimize in his evaluation of the study?


  The impact of dispositional factors (personality)