conformity to social roles

• why did zimbardo conduct his study

  he wanted to know why prison guards behave brutally was it their sadistic personalities or their social role
• describe the stanford prison experiment

  -mock prison in basement of psych department at stanford uni

  -21 male students were randomly assigned to play role of prisoner or prison guard

  -they were encouraged to conform to social roles thru uniforms and thru instructions abt behaviour

  -uniforms created loss of personal identity so they were morel likely to conform to social role

  -instructions abt behaviour meant they were encouraged to identify with their role e.g guards being reminded they have complete control
• outline findings related to social roles

  -guards took their role with enthusiasm and treated prisoners harshly while the prisoners rebelled and ripped uniform/swore at guards

  -guards harassed prisoners and reminded them of their powerlessnes

  -prisoners became depressed and anxious

  -guards identified closely with their role and their behaviour became agressive and some enjoyed their power they had
• what does the stanford experiment tell us?

  that social roles have a strong influence on our behaviour