conformity to social roles

• zimbardo's reasearch>>>

  - In the 1970s, Zimbardo and co wanted to know why prison guards behave brutally - was it because their sadistic personalities or was it their social role (as a prison guard) that created such behaviour?

  • did using the stanford prison experiment
• zimbardo: procedure>>>

  • 24 US male student volunteers
  • - randomly assigned role of prisoner or guard
  • prisoners unexpedctly arrested at their homes
  • they were deloused, given prison uniform and ID number
  • - given some rights e.g. 3 meals, supervised toilet trips and 2 visits per week
  • guards were given uniforms, clubs, whistles and reflective sunglasses aswell as power over the prisoners
  • - uniforms created a loss of personal identity - more likely to conform to given social role
  • zimbardo took the role of prison superintendent
  • - planned duration was 2 weeks but stopped after 6 days
• findings related to social roles>>> (1/2)

  • guards took up their roles, treating the prisoners harshly.
  • Within two days, the prisoners rebelled.
  • shouting, swearing at the guards, (who retaliated with fire extinguishers.)
  • The guards used "divide-and-rule' tactics by playing the prisoners off against each other.
  • They harassed the prisoners, reminding them they have no power. -e.g. they conducted frequent headcounts,
  • The guards highlighted the differences in social roles by creating opportunities to enforce the rules and give punishments.
• findings related to social roles>>> (2/2)

  • After their rebellion was put down, the prisoners became depressed and anxious.
  • - Some showed symptoms of psychological disturbance
  • - Others went on a hunger strike and were punished
  • The guards identified more closely with their role
  • behaviour became increasingly brutal and aggressive
  • Zimbardo ended the study after six days instead of the intended 2 week
• conclusions related to social roles>>>

  - Social roles have a strong influence on individuals' behaviour.

  - The guards became brutal and the prisoners became submissive.

  - volunteers found themselves behaving as if they were in a prison rather than in a psychological study
• ao3 control>>>

  • Zimbardo had control over key variables.
  • - e.g. Selection of participants - Emotionally-stable individuals were chosen and randomly assigned to the roles
  • - Was a way they ruled out individual personality differences as an explanation of the findings.
  • - This increased the internal validity – due to such control over variable
  • So we can be confident in drawing conclusions about the influence of roles on conformity.
• ao3 lack of realism of a true prison + cp>>> (1/2)

  • Ali Banuazizi and Siamak Movahedi (1975) argued the participants were play-acting rather than genuinely conforming to a role.
  • Participants' performances were based on their stereotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave.
  • e.g. one guard claimed he had based his role on a brutal character from the film Cool Hand Luke.
  • This would also explain why the prisoners rioted - they thought that was what real prisoners did.
  • - ...suggests that the findings tell us little about conformity to social roles in actual prisons.
• ao3 lack of realism of a true prison + cp>>> (2/2)

  • However, Mark McDermott (2019) argues that the participants did behave as if the prison was real to them.
  • e.g. 90% of prisoners' conversations were about prison life.
  • they discussed how it was impossible to leave the SPE before their 'sentences'
  • - 'Prisoner 416' explained how he believed the prison was a real one, but run by psychologists rather than the government.
  • - … suggests that this did replicate the social roles of prisoners and guards in a real prison, increasing the internal validity.
• ao3 Exaggerated the power of social roles to influence behaviour (Fromm 1973).>>>

  • - e.g. only 1/3 of guards behaved brutally .
  • - Some tried to apply fair ruels.
  • Others actively tried to help and support the prisoners.
  • - offered cigarettes and reinstated privileges (Zimbardo 2007).
  • Most guards were able to resist situational pressures to conform to a brutal role.
  • - … This suggests that Zimbardo overstated his view that SPE participants were conforming to social roles and minimised the influence of dispositional factors (e.g. personality).