Zimbardo - Stanford prison experiment

• social roles

  The 'parts' people play as members of various social groups.
• conformity to social groups

  this is where we conform to the expectations others and ourselves have about our behaviour in a certain role.
• Sampling in Stanford prison experiment.

  24 male students from Stanford university played the roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison. They were selected after being screened for physical and mental health. they were divided into two groups by the flip of a coin.
• what was involved in Zimbardo's contract

  they were guaranteed basic living needs but some civil rights would be suspended such as privacy. They all signed a contract specific to their roles and received $15 a day expenses.
• prisoners role

  could apply for parole to leave early. given loose smocks and a cap to wear. were identified by numbers.
• guards role

  told to maintain order and has complete power over prisoners, but could not use physical aggression.Had a uniform with wooden club and handcuffs
• behaviours of guards

  enthusiasm - treating prisoners harshly and retaliated with fire extinguishers. used 'divided and rule tactics'harassed and reminded prisoners they were powerless.conducted frequent head countsmade then exercise.
• behaviours of prisoners

  rebelled by ripping their uniforms, shouting and swearing. became depressed and anxious mental breakdowns hunger-strike psychological disturbance
• why did the study end early?

  the guards behaviour became increasingly brutal and aggressive with some appearing to enjoy the power they had over the prisoners.
• what was Zimbardo's conclusions?

  prisoners and guards behaved the way they did due to the social roles they were in. He felt it was evidence for the power of the situation to influence behaviour.
• what evidence is there for the prison feeling real to the participants?

  wrote letters home interviews - "felt like a prison run by phycologists rather than the state" Felt their whole identity was gone. Surprised by what they could perform. Felt like they were waiting to be stopped.
• Lack of realism

  Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) - play acting rather than genuinely conforming. Participants performance was based on stereotypes. One claimed to act like they did on the film "cool hand Luke"
• ignoring social roles of dispositional factors

  Fromm (1973) - they did not look at personality. Only 1/3 of guards actually behaved in a brutal way. Another 1/3 tried to apply to the rules fairly by sympathising, offering cigarettes and reinstalled privilege's. Most resisted to conform to social roles, suggesting Zimbardo overexaggerated.