lesson 3- zimbardo

• What are social roles?

  Parts people play in social groups
• What do social roles come with?

  Expectations of appropriate behavior
• What was the aim of the Stanford Prison Study?

  To see if social roles influence behavior
• How many male student volunteers participated in the Stanford Prison Study?

  21 male student volunteers
• What was the procedure for assigning roles in the study?

  Participants were tested for emotional stability
• How were prisoners identified in the study?

  By numbers, wearing loose smocks and caps
• What items did guards have in the study?

  Wooden clubs and handcuffs
• What was encouraged among the guards?

  To identify with their role
• What was the aim of creating deindividuation in the study?

  To enhance the divide between guards and prisoners
• How did guards treat the prisoners according to the findings?

  Guards treated prisoners harshly
• How did prisoners respond to the guards' treatment?

  By ripping uniforms and shouting
• What tactic did guards use to control prisoners?

  'Divide and rule' strategy
• How did guards remind prisoners of their powerlessness?

  Frequent headcounts at night
• What behavior did guards exhibit towards prisoners?

  Looked for opportunities to punish them
• How long did the Stanford Prison Study last?

  6 days
• What conclusion was drawn from the study?

  Social roles strongly influence individuals
• How did participants behave in the study?

  As if they were really in a prison
• What is deindividuation?

  A loss of personal identity
• How was deindividuation achieved in the study?

  Prisoners referred to by numbers
• What clothing did prisoners wear to promote deindividuation?

  Loose smocks and caps
• What are the strengths of the Stanford Prison Study?

  • Control over key variables
  • Emotionally stable participants
  • Random allocation of roles
  • Increased internal validity
• What did McDermott find about participants' behavior?

  Participants acted as though the prison was real
• What percentage of prisoners' conversations were about prison life?

  90%
• What did prisoners believe about the prison?

  It was real but run by psychologists
• What are the limitations of the Stanford Prison Study?

  • Lack of realism
  • Participants were play acting
  • One guard based role on a film character
  • Findings may not apply to actual prisons
• What did Banuazizi and Mohavedi argue about participants?

  Participants were play acting and conforming
• How did Zimbardo exaggerate the role of social roles?

  Minimized the influence of dispositional factors
• What did the remaining guards do?

  Applied rules fairly or helped prisoners
• How did most guards respond to situational pressures?

  Resisted situational pressures to conform
• What proportion of guards behaved brutally?

  1/3 of guards