Zimbardo

• What is the aim of Zimbardo's research into conformity to social roles?

  To develop an understanding of conformity to social roles
• What are the three main areas of focus in Zimbardo's research?


  Ethics, research methods, and real-world application
• What key aspects should be noted when watching Zimbardo's Prison Experiment video?


  • Participants
  • Research design
  • Findings
  • Explanations of behavior
  • Ethical issues
  • Relevance to real life
• What was the purpose of setting up a mock prison in Zimbardo's study?


  To test if the brutality of prison guards was due to their personalities or the situation
• How many students participated in Zimbardo's Prison Experiment?


  24 students
• What roles were the participants randomly assigned in Zimbardo's study?


  Roles of guards or prisoners
• What are the strengths and weaknesses to consider in Zimbardo's study?


  Strengths:

  • Control over participant selection
  • Random assignment of roles

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Low population validity
  • Low ecological validity
  • Potential bias from Zimbardo
• What is a limitation regarding the population validity of Zimbardo's study?


  It was conducted on only American male students in 1971
• How did the findings of Reicher and Haslam (2006) differ from Zimbardo's study?


  In their study, the prisoners took control
• What did Reicher and Haslam suggest about the guards in their replication of Zimbardo's experiment?


  Guards failed to develop a shared social identity
• What is a counter-criticism Zimbardo used to support his view on situational factors?


  Evidence from events at the Abu Ghraib prison
• What is a limitation regarding the ecological validity of Zimbardo's study?


  The study was conducted in an artificial situation
• What did Banuazizi and Mohamed (1975) suggest about the participants in Zimbardo's study?


  Participants were play-acting their roles
• How did Zimbardo counter the criticism of lack of realism in his study?


  He noted that 90% of prisoners' conversations were about prison life
• What did Zimbardo conclude about the influence of the situation on behavior?


  It minimized the role of individual personalities
• What was a strength of Zimbardo's study regarding participant control?


  Only emotionally stable participants were recruited
• How did random assignment of roles affect the study's internal validity?


  It ensured behavior was due to situational pressures, not personalities
• What real-life application did Zimbardo use to support his research findings?


  • Events at Abu Ghraib prison
  • Articles discussing the abuse of prisoners
  • Zimbardo's commentary on the situation
• What did Zimbardo's commentary on Abu Ghraib suggest about his research?


  It supported his ideas about situational influences on behavior
• What question might arise from reading the BBC articles regarding Zimbardo's research?


  Is there anything in the articles that questions Zimbardo’s research?