STRENGTHS

• STRENGTHS OF ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT?

  • real world application
  • internal validity (individual differences)
• HOW CAN ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT BE APPLIED TO REAL LIFE?

  practical application to penal system
• WHAT PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THE PENAL SYSTEM DOES ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT HAVE?

  helps understand behaviour of those in prisons (e.g. Abu Ghraib)
• WHAT DOES ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR AS A RESULT OF EFFECT ON PENAL SYSTEM?

  reducing likelihood of incidences happening
• WHAT USEFUL IMPLICATIONS DID ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT HAVE ON PENAL SYSTEM?

  useful implications on prison reform
• WHAT TYPE OF SITUATION WAS ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT?

  psychological assessment
• WHAT DID ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT BEING A PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT MEAN?

  high level of control
• WHAT DOES THE HIGH LEVEL OF CONTROL MEAN FOR ZIMBARDO'S EXPERIMENT?

  lack of individual differences as an extraneous variable
• WHAT DOES THE LACK OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES MEAN?

  high internal validity (measuring conformity due to social roles and not psychological illness)
• COUNTERARGUMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES?

  Reicher and Haslah
• WHAT DID REICHER AND HASLAH ARGUE?

  experimenters directly intervened to persuade guards to adopt social roles
• WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE OF EXPERIMENTERS DIRECTLY INTERVENING?

  from recordings ('be firm', 'get more involved' and act like a 'stereotyped guard')
• WHAT DOES REICHER AND HASLAH'S OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST?

  demand characteristics are being measured rather than conformity to role of guard