Conformity to social roles

• 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