Conformity to social roles

    Cards (16)

    • What is conformity to social roles ?
      • a change in behaviour to fit the expectations of both you + others who have that role
      • when someone is expected to behave in a certain way in a certain position
    • What study was used for this ?
      Zimbardo- Stanford prison experiment
    • What is the hypothesis tested from this study ?


      ” are prisons bad places because of the people in them or the situation ?”
    • What did the prisons do/ happen to them ?
      • arrested from house
      • strip searched + delouse
      • number+ uniform
      • 16 rules to follow
      • heavily regulated routines
    • What did the guards do/ have ?
      • uniform- sunglasses, bato, handcuffs, keys
      • told had complete power
      • 3 on shift at a time
      • go home after shifts
    • What were the prisoners like at the beggining ?
      • didn’t take seriously
      • 1 releases on day 1 due to psychological disturbance
    • What were the guards like in the beggining ?
      • slow start
      • then took up roles with enthusiasm
    • What were prisoners like in the middle ?

      Within 2 days rebelled and ripped up uniform + swore at guards
      • 2 released on day 4
    • What weee the guards like in the middle ?
      • harassed the prisons constantly
      • took away food, beds
      • put in the ‘hole’
    • What happened in the end of the study ?
      • behaviour was a threat to prisons physical and psychological health
      • stopped after 6 days - girlfriend
      • prisoners were subdued + anxious
    • What were the findings?

      Prisoners showed pathological syndrome -> breakdown
      • shown through observation of physical, emotional and behavioural behaviour and body language.
      • guards experience pathology of power - enjoy having power
    • What is the conclusion of this experiment ?
      • people conform due to the social roles and environment
      • people not evil it’s the situation
    • What is evaluation ?
      1. Sample bias
      2. ecological validity
      3. ethical issues
    • Sample bias ?
      Volunteer
      all males + students
      + volunteer ethical
      + quick and easy
      - can’t generalise
      - demand characteristics
    • What is ethical issues ?
      • consent
      • debrief
      • deception
      • confidentiality
      • right to withdraw
      • privacy
      • protection from harm
    • Ecological validity
      • can’t generalise to real life
    See similar decks