Zimbardo's Research

• Zimbardo's Research - Social Roles

  Stanford Prison Experiment

  • Two roles- guards & prisoners
  • Young male students were randomly assigned to each role
  • Prisoners were bundled into cars in the middle of the night, stripped and searched. Guards were given batons
  • Zimbardo found that both groups quickly adapted to their roles. Prisoners were aggressive and swore at guards. Guards harassed prisoners.

  The 'prison' was set up in the basement of Stanford University.
• One strength of Zimbardo's study is the strict control over variables.

  For example, participants chosen were emotionally stable and roles were randomly assigned.

  This is a strength because having control over such variables increases the internal validity of the study. This means we can be confident in drawing conclusions about the influence of social roles on behaviour.
• One methodological problem with Zimbardo's study is the lack of realism.

  For example, some researchers argued that participants were merely playing pretend rather than conforming to a role, but Zimbardo claimed that 90% of prisoners conversations were about prison life.

  On balance, it seems that the situation was real to the participants which gives the study a high degree of internal validity.