AO3 - Zimbardo

Cards (5)

  • Counterpoint to a limitation - Lack of realism
    What? Participants did believe realistically
    Who? McDermott - 90% conversations about prison life
    Why? Did replicate social roles - high internal validity
  • Limitation: Lack of realism
    What? Not realistic
    Who? Banuazizi & Movahedi - stereotypes, not conforming to social roles
    Why? Tells us little about conformity in actual prisons
  • Strength: Control
    What? Control over key variables
    Who? Selection of participants; random
    Why? Internal validity
  • Limitation: Exaggerates the power of roles
    What? Exaggerated power of social roles
    Who? Fromm - 1/3 guards behaved brutally; most resisted pressures
    Why? Overstated conformity to social roles
  • Limitation: Alternative explanation
    What? Doesn't account for non-brutal guards
    Who? Reicher and Haslam - Social Identity Theory (SIT)
    Why? Guards had to actively identify with their role to behave how they did