AO1

• Aim:


  To see whether people will conform to new social roles.
• Sample:

  21 male psychology students at the Stanford University in California.

  • They volunteered to take part in the study and were tested for their psychological “stability”.
• Method:

  Randomly allocated to two groups: prisoners and prison guards.

  • Two weeks locked in a wing of the university.
  • Prison guards were there to look after the prisoners and to keep them under control.
  • Arrested at home (unexpectedly) and taken to the simulated prison.
  • Stripped and given a prison uniform and prisoner number.
  • Locked in their cells for two weeks.
  • Wore a smock and stocking over their head and had no underwear.
  • Zimbardo and his colleagues were taking the role of the prison’s ‘superintendent’ - giving orders to

  the guards while observing the behaviour of the participants.
• Results: Asserting Authority


  At 2:30 A.M. prisoners were awakened from sleep by blasting whistles for the first of many counts.

  -Used to familiarize prisoners with their numbers.

  -Regular occasion for the guards to exercise control over the prisoners.

  The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behavior too.

  They started taking the prison rules very seriously, as though they were there for the prisoners’ benefit and

  infringement would spell disaster for all of them. Some even began siding with the guards against prisoners

  who did not obey the rules.
• Results: Physical Punishment


  Push-ups were a common form of physical punishment imposed by the guards.

  -One of the guards stepped on

  the prisoners' backs while they did push-ups, or made other prisoners sit on the backs of fellow prisoners

  doing their push-ups.
• What action did the prisoners take on the 2nd day of the rebellion?


  They removed their stocking caps, ripped off their numbers, and barricaded themselves inside their cells.
• What was the response of the guards to the prisoners' rebellion?

  The guards called in reinforcements and the night shift guards voluntarily remained on duty.
• What happened to the ringleaders of the prisoner rebellion?


  They were placed into solitary confinement.
• How did the guards' behavior change after the rebellion?


  The guards began to harass and intimidate the prisoners.
• How did the relationships between the guards and prisoners evolve during the rebellion?


  • Initially, guards were in control and prisoners were dependent.
  • As prisoners became submissive, guards became more aggressive.
  • Guards demanded greater obedience from prisoners.
  • Prisoners tried to please guards by informing on fellow prisoners.
• What was the dependency relationship between the guards and prisoners?


  The prisoners were totally dependent on the guards for everything.
• What strategy did prisoners use to try to please the guards?


  They told tales on fellow prisoners.
• Findings: Mental Breakdowns


  Prisoner #8612

  Less than 36 hours into the experiment, Prisoner #8612 began suffering from acute emotional disturbance,

  disorganized thinking, uncontrollable crying, and rage.

  -Began to act ‘crazy,’ to scream, to curse,

  to go into a rage that seemed out of control so he had to be let out.

  Prisoner #819

  #819 broke down and cried hysterically talking to a priest invited to evaluate the prison

  situation.

  He could have left but he couldn’t because he

  was labelled as a bad prisoner. He would also refer to his identify as #819 rather than his own name.
• End of the experiment

  The experiment only lasted for 6 days instead of the intended 2 weeks. Christina Maslach, a Stanford PhD.

  brought in to conduct interviews with the guards and prisoners, strongly objected when she saw the prisoners

  being abused by the guards.
• Conclusion


  Social roles appear to have a strong influence on individual’s behaviour.

  Deindividuation may also help to explain the behaviour of the participants; especially the

  guards. This is a state when you become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility.

  The guards may have been so

  sadistic because they did not feel what happened was down to them personally – it was a group norm.