Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment

• Who investigated conformity to social roles?

  • Philip Zimbardo
• What was the aim of Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment?

  To investigate conformity to guard and prisoner roles
• Where was the Stanford prison experiment conducted?

  Stanford University, USA
• How many male students were recruited for the Stanford prison experiment?

  24 male students
• How were participants selected for the Stanford prison experiment?

  Psychologically and physically screened
• How were participants assigned roles in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Randomly allocated to prisoner or guard
• How were prisoners treated upon arrival in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Unexpectedly arrested at home
• What measures were taken to dehumanize prisoners in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Prisoners wore smock uniforms and ID numbers
• What items were given to guards in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Uniforms, clubs, and sunglasses
• How long was the Stanford prison experiment planned to last?

  14 days
• What happened within a day of the Stanford prison experiment starting?

  Prisoners rebelled and ripped off numbers
• How did guards respond to the prisoners' rebellion?

  Locked them in their cell and confiscated blankets
• What psychological effects did the prisoners experience in the Stanford prison experiment?

  Prisoners became submissive and depressed
• What humiliating tasks were prisoners made to do?

  Clean toilets with bare hands at night
• What was the outcome for one prisoner after 36 hours?

  Released due to psychological disturbances
• How many prisoners developed psychological symptoms and were released?

  3 more prisoners were released
• What was the conclusion drawn from the Stanford prison experiment?

  Social roles affect behavior and identity
• What ethical issues were present in Zimbardo's study?

  No informed consent and psychological harm
• What could be argued about the benefits of Zimbardo's research?

  Benefits outweighed the ethical costs
• What was a strength of Zimbardo's study regarding control?

  Good control over emotional stability variables
• How did Zimbardo's control increase the validity of the study?

  Ruled out individual differences as explanations
• What limitation did Zimbardo's study have regarding population validity?

  Sample was only American males
• Why does Zimbardo's study lack population validity?

  Gender biased and unrepresentative sample
• What ethical issue arose from Zimbardo's dual role?

  Interfered with psychological protection of participants
• What did Zimbardo fail to uphold in his study?

  Ethical guidelines for participant protection
• What did Zimbardo later note about guard behavior?

  Only a third behaved brutally towards prisoners
• What does Zimbardo's observation suggest about situational influences?

  Moderated by personality factors
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Zimbardo's research?

  Strengths:

  • Controlled for emotional stability
  • Insight into social roles

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Ethical issues present
  • Lacks population validity
• What should be considered when evaluating research into conformity to social roles?

  • Knowledge of the study
  • Accuracy of findings
  • Evaluation of strengths and weaknesses
  • Clarity and organization of presentation
  • Use of specialist terminology
• What was lacking in the essay regarding clarity?

  No paragraphs and poor SPAG
• How was specialist terminology used in the essay?

  Used correctly but missing in parts