AO1

• Zimbardo’s study:

  • Participants - 24 American male undergraduate students
  • Aim - To investigate how readily people would conform to the social roles in a simulated environment, and specifically, to investigate why ‘good people do bad things’.
• Zimbardo’s study:

  • Procedure The basement of the Stanford University psychology building was converted into a simulated prison. American student volunteers were paid to take part in the study. They were randomly issued one of two roles; guard or prisoner. Both prisoners and guards had to wear uniforms. Prisoners were only referred to by their assigned number. Guards were given props like handcuffs and sunglasses (to make eye contact with prisoners impossible and to reinforce the boundaries between the two social roles within the established social hierarchy).
• Zimbardo’s study findings:

  • Identification occurred very fast, as both the prisoners and guards adopted their new roles and played their part in a short amount of time.
  • Guards began to harass and torment prisoners in harsh and aggressive ways – they later reported to have enjoyed doing so and relished in their new-found power and control.
  • Prisoners would only talk about prison issues (forgetting about their previous real life). This is significant evidence to suggest that the prisoners believed that the prison was real, and were not acting simply due to demand characteristics.