Zimbardo

• Social roles - parts people play as members of various groups e.g student. There are expectations of behaviour for roles
• Zimbardo's sample included 24 male psychology students in America. It was a volunteer sample and Zimbardo selected those deemed ‘emotionally stable’ after testing
• A mock prison was set up in the psychology department of Stanford university
• Participants were randomly assigned to either prisoner or guard role
• The prisoners were searched and had to wear I.D numbers and chained
• The Guards had to wear uniforms with sunglasses and had handcuffs
• The guards were told they had complete power over prisoners
• Zimbardo took on the role of prison superintendent (dual role)
• Guards took up their roles with enthusiasm
• At first, prisoners rebelled against the harsh treatment by ripping their uniforms and shouting at the guards
• Guards took headcounts in the night, enforcing rules and punished misdemeanours to show the difference in social roles
• Prisoners became more subdued, depressed and anxious
• Some prisoners had to be released early as they showed symptoms of psychological disturbance
• Guards became more brutal and aggressive
• The study was meant to last 2 weeks but was forced to terminate after 6 days
• The conclusion of Zimbardo's study: the power of situation influenced people’s behaviour as the participants conformed to their roles
• Haslam and Reicher suggested guards weren’t actually conforming but they chose how to behave as some were ‘good guards’
• Only about a third of guards behaved in a brutal manner, others actively tried to support the prisoners by offering cigarettes and reinstating privileges
• Banuazizi and Mohavedi (1975) argued the participants were merely play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to their roles
• One of the guards claimed he had based his role on a brutal character from the film Cool Hand Luke
• The prisoners may have rioted because they thought that was what real prisoners did. This suggests there were demand characteristics
• the study lacks internal validity as there could be an element of researcher bias if Zimbardo in any way affected the results of the study while in his dual role
• Zimbardo's study is criticised for ethical issues
• The participant didn’t give completely informed consent to them being arrested from their homes. This was in public and so many reported being embarrassed as they didn’t know it would happen
• prisoners felt they didn’t have the right to withdraw and believed it truly was a prison