ZIMBARDO

• Aim: If ordinary people were placed in a simulated prison environment and some of them were designed as guards and some prisoners, how would they behave in their social roles?
• Procedure: 24 emotionally and psychologically stable male students

  randomly assigned to prisoner or guard - all pts desired to be a prisoner initially

  dehumanised by police

  guards wear uniforms, sunglasses etc

  physical punishment wasn't permitted

  prisoners had to follow 16 rules enforced by guards
• Findings:

  guards and prisoners settled quickly into social roles

  after a prisoner 'rebellion' guards became more sadistic

  some prisoners sided with guards against prisoners

  after 36 hours 1 prisoner was released due top fits of crying and rage

  3 more prisoners developed similar symptoms

  stopped after 6 days due to increased violence

  both groups were surprised in post interviews at the uncharacteristic behaviour they'd shown
• Conclusion:

  individuals conform readily to our social roles demanded of a situation - even when the demands override our own moral beliefs

  social roles demonstrated were obtained from media sources and learned sources of power
• Evaluation: high internal validity and control

  lab experiment and selection of participants

  screened emotionally stable individuals and randomly assigned them - ruled out individual differences

  in these roles by chance if behaved differently - pressure of the situation

  IV increased - credibility rises
• Evaluation: real world application

  time of the Iraq war (2003-2004)

  US personnel committed crimes against prisoners at a prison

  12 soldiers were removed from duty, 11 charged and others sent to prison

  Zimbardo was an expert witness at the trials due to his experiment

  said there were similarities.
• What is a strength of Zimbardo's research?

  High levels of mundane realism -

  • 90% of the prisoners' private conversations  revolved around prison life
  • The guards talked about ‘problem prisoners,’ or other prison topics on their breaks; they never discussed home life or other topics.