zimbardo

• Zimbardo wanted to investigate how readily people would conform to the assigned social roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life.
• • Zimbardo et al (1973) converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison
  • They advertised for students to play the roles of prisoners and guards for a two-week study; 21 male student volunteers who were tested and found to be 'emotionally stable' were selected as participants
  • Participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard
  • Prisoners and guards were encouraged to conform to their social roles both through instructions and the uniforms they wore
• • Prisoners were given a loose smock to wear and a cap to cover their hair and were identified by an assigned number only 
• • Guards were given their own khaki uniform, wooden club, handcuffs and mirror shades to make eye contact with prisoners' difficult
• • Both these uniforms created a loss of the individual's personal identity (de-individuation), meaning they would be more likely to conform to their perceived social role
• • Within hours of beginning the experiment some guards began to harass prisoners and treat them harshly
• • Within two days the prisoners rebelled; they ripped their uniforms and shouted and swore at guards
  • The guards used fire extinguishers to retaliate, using 'divide-and-rule' tactics, playing the prisoners off against each other and completing headcounts, sometimes at night
• • The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behaviour too e.g. they became subdued; they 'snitched' to the guards about other prisoners; they took prison rules seriously; they increasingly became docile and obedient
  • As the prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and assertive taking on their social roles easily
  • The guards demanded ever greater obedience from the prisoners
• • Zimbardo ended the experiment after six days instead of the 14 originally planned
• • Prisoners and guards were randomly assigned to their roles, increasing the control Zimbardo had over the internal validity (whether the study actually measured what it intended to) of the study
• • A major practical application is that the study meant practices were changed in US prisons to protect the vulnerable and make prisons safer, and a lot of this was due to the study
• • Individual differences and personality also determine the extent to which a person conforms to social roles
  • The guards' behaviour differed between them: Not all guards were so harsh or cruel
• • It has been said the participants were acting in a stereotypical way
  •  For example, one guard said that he based his behaviour on a brutal character he had seen in a film
• • There is a lack of realism and many argued that it did not have the realism of a real prison
• • There were ethical issues with the study: The participants were subjected to psychological harm, which could have been long-lasting
  • The right to withdraw was made difficult, perhaps because Zimbardo himself was playing the role of superintendent, which made it hard for at least one prisoner to withdraw from the study