Conformity to social roles

• What was the main purpose of Zimbardo's investigation?

  To investigate why prison guards behaved brutally
• What was the setup of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  • Mock prison in Stanford University basement
  • 24 male student volunteers
  • Randomly assigned to guard or prisoner roles
  • Paid $15 a day
  • Zimbardo acted as prison superintendent
  • Prisoners arrested unexpectedly at home
  • Guards worked in teams of 3 for 8-hour shifts
• How many male student volunteers participated in the experiment?

  24
• What role did Zimbardo play in the experiment?

  Prison superintendent
• What were the uniforms of the prisoners and guards?

  Prisoner uniform:

  • Loose smock
  • Cap to cover hair
  • Numbers

  
  

  Guard uniform:

  • Wooden club
  • Handcuffs
  • Mirror shades
• What psychological effect did the uniforms create?

  Loss of personal identity (de-individuation)
• What were the main findings of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  • Guards treated prisoners harshly
  • Prisoners rebelled within 2 days
  • Guards harassed prisoners to show power
  • Rebellion led to depression and anxiety
  • One prisoner showed psychological disturbance
  • 2 prisoners released on the 4th day
  • One prisoner punished in "the hole"
  • Study ended early after 6 days
• How quickly did the prisoners rebel against the guards?

  Within 2 days
• What was the consequence of the rebellion by the prisoners?

  Resulted in depression and anxiety
• What punishment was given to the prisoner who went on a hunger strike?

  Put in "the hole" (tiny dark closet)
• How long was the Stanford Prison Experiment originally planned to last?

  14 days
• Why did Zimbardo end the study early?

  Due to ethical concerns and distress
• What were the ethical issues identified in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  • Prisoners felt they had no choice to withdraw
  • Lacked informed consent due to unexpected arrests
  • Severe psychological harm faced by prisoners
  • Guards experienced guilt for their actions
• What did Zimbardo do when prisoners requested to withdraw?

  He tried to convince them to stay
• What did Banuazizi and Movahedi argue about the participants' behavior?

  Participants were acting rather than conforming
• What character did the "John Wayne guard" base his role on?

  Cool Hand Luke
• What was the strength of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

  High control over key variables

  • Selection of emotionally stable participants
  • Random assignment eliminated personality differences
  • Higher internal validity of the study
• How did random assignment benefit the study's validity?

  Eliminated individual personality differences
• What type of participants were selected for the study?

  Emotionally stable male students