Conformity to social roles

• Social roles are he behaviours people expect from you
• Zimbardo et al (1973) Prison experiment. Method:

  • Males recruited and given role of prisoners or guards
  • Prisoners arrested on the day and taken to prison
  • Prisoners given uniform and numbers
  • Guards given uniform and mirrored sunglasses
• Zimbardo et al (1973) Prison experiment. Results:

  • Initially prisoners resisted guard authority
  • Prisoners became more passive and obedient when guard punishment became nastier
  • Experiment abandoned early because guards became too sadistic and cruel and prisoners were too distressed
• Zimbardo et al (1973) Prison experiment. Conclusion:

  • Guards adopted roles quickly
  • Social roles can influence behaviour
  • Well-balanced men became unpleasant and aggressive guards
• Zimbardo et al (1973) Prison experiment. Evaluation:

  • Controlled observation
  • Control of variables was good
  • Artificial environment means the findings cannot be generalised to real life prisons.
  • Issues with observer bias (Zimbardo ran the prison himself and became too immersed in the experiment)
  • Doesn't explain why only some participants acted accordingly to their roles
• Nobody has ever replicated Zimbardo's prison study exactly due to design problems and ethical issues
• Orlando (1973) Mock psychiatric ward

  • 29 staff members volenteered to be patients
  • Other 22 staff members carried out normal roles
  • Took not long for staff members acting as patients to be hard to differentiate from genuine patients
  • The fake patients showed signs of depression and withdrawal
  • Fake patients conformed to roles assigned
  • After study the fake patients said they felt a loss of identity and their feelings were not important
• Implications of Orlando 1973 study

  More effort put in for staff to respect the patients and improve the relationship with them
• Reicher and Haslam (2006) BBC prison study: Method:

  • Controlled observation
  • 15 male volunteers
  • 5 assigned to guards 10 assigned to prisoners
  • Daily tests to measure depression and compliance to rules and stress
  • Prisoners knew one of them would at random become a guard after 3 days
• Reicher and Haslam (2006) BBC prison study: results:

  • Guards failed to form a united group identity to their role
  • Guards didn't always exercise their power as they felt uncomfortable
  • First 3 days prisoners acted in ways to get guard status
  • After 3 days prisoner identity became stronger
  • Day 6 the prison the prison rebelled and decided to live in a democracy
  • Democracy collapsed due to group tensions
  • Study abandoned early due to ethics
• Reicher and Haslam (2006) BBC prison study: Conclusions:

  • Participants didn't fit into expected roles
  • Roles are flexible
• Reicher and Haslam (2006) BBC prison study: Evaluation:

  • Contrasted Zimbardo's findings
  • Prisoners were strong and guards were weak
  • Reicher and Haslam (2006) less empowered than Zimbardo
  • Elements criticised for being staged for TV
  • Artificial situation means findings cannot be generalised to real life
  • Ps were deceived and fully informed consent was not provided
  • Ps were debriefed and offered counselling