Stanford Prison Experiment

• Aim of Stanford Prison Experiment

  To test how we conform to social roles
• What and where was the Stanford Prison experiment set up?


  A mock prison was set up in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford University California
• How many participants where in the Stanford prison experiment?

  24
• How many participants applied for the Stanford Prison experiment?

  70
• How were participants gathered for the Stanford Prison experiment?


  News paper ad
• How did they get the 70 applicants down to 24 in the Stanford Prison experiment?

  Psychological screening for normality
• How were participants of the Stanford Prison experiments put into groups?

  Random coin flip
• Who conducted the Stanford Prison experiment?


  Zimbardo
• What uniform were the prisoners given in the Stanford Prison experiment?

  Smocks, no underclothes, chains in ankle, cap made from nylon stockings
• What uniform were the guards given in the Stanford Prison experiment?

  Khaki, reflective sunglasses, batons, whistles
• How did the prisoners get to the study in the Stanford Prison experiment?


  They were mock arrested at home by police for armed robbery and burglary
• How were the prisoners referred to in the Stanford Prison experiment?


  By an assigned number
• How long was the Stanford Prison Experiment supposed to last?

  2 weeks
• What role in the Stanford Prison experiment did Zimbardo take?

  Prison superintendent
• What did the guards and prisoners seem to forget in the Stanford Prison experiment?

  That it was an experiment
• What did the guards to to the prisoners in the Stanford Prison experiment?

  • Became increasingly abusive
  • Wake them up in the middle of the night Force them to clean the toilets with their bare hands
• How long did the Stanford Prison Experiment last?

  6 days
• What is the conclusion of the Stanford Prison experiment?


  People can do horrible things by conforming to social rules and it depends on the norms and values associated with the social role they play
• Limitations of the Stanford Prison experiment?

  • Varying behaviour
  • Demand characteristics
  • Ethical concerns
• Why is "varying behaviour" a limitation of the Stanford Prison Experiment?


  • Behaviour did vary from guard to guard with some being very good and others being very sadistic.
  • This suggests that role-related behaviour is not completely due to conformity
  • Haslam & Reicher (2002) backed this up in a follow study screened on the BBC.
  • They argued that conformity isn't therefore always deterministic and that we can chose how to behave within a role
• Why is "demand characteristics" a limitation of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  Banuazizi & Movehedi (1975) suggest that Zimbardo's guards and prisoners were more likely acting on demand characteristics rather than conforming to social roles
• Why is "ethical concerns" a limitation of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  • At the time the study had been approved by the university, no deception had taken place
  • They were told that their normal rights would be suspended
  • Zimbardo acknowledged that it probably should been stopped earlier than 6 days