Evaluation on Zimbardo

• Strength 1:

  Zimbardo controlled several elements of the study.
• The selection of ppts:

  Emotional stable ppts were selected and randomly assigned to either prisoner or guard. They did this to try and make sure that individual personality differences couldn't explain the results. So any differences in behaviour, are due to the situation/ role they are given, not their personality.
• There was also evidence that the prison setup was very realistic:

  Some prisoners believed that the study to be a real prison, suggesting the setup was very realistic.
• This is a strength because it means the study has high validity and we can be confident in drawing conclusions about the influence of roles on behaviour.
• Strength 2:

  There are real life applications of Zimbardo's findings.
• This is because initially, there were some beneficial reforms in the way that some prisoners were treated, for example juvenile detainees.
• Counterpoint:

  However, Zimbardo considers his research to have been a failure in meeting this overall objective, since prison conditions in America are arguably worse now then when he conducted his study several decades ago.
• This suggests that prisons were therefore getting better, having a positive impact in the real world.
• Weakness 1:

  Individual differences may impact the extent to which someone conforms to social roles.
• In Zimbardo's original experiment the behaviour of the guards varied dramatically, from extreme sadistic behaviour displayed by around 1/3 of the ppts in the role, to a few guards who actually helped the prisoners by offering support, sympathy, offering them a cigarette and reinstating any privileges lost.
• This suggests that situational factors are not the only cause of conformity to social roles, and dispositional factors such as personality also play a role, implying that Zimbardo's conclusions could have been overstated.
• Weakness 2:

  Zimbardo's study was failure to uphold ethical guidelines.
• Five prisoners left the experiment early due to their adverse reactions to the physical and mental torment. Furthermore, some of the guards reported feelings of anxiety and guilt, as a result of their actions during the Stanford Prison experiment.
• Although, Zimbardo followed the ethical guidelines of Stanford University and debriefed his ppts after, he acknowledged that the study should have been stopped earlier but it has been suggested that he was responding more in the role of superintendent of the prison rather than as the researcher with the responsibility of his ppts. The ppts got harmed when they didn't need to be.