ZIMBARDO PRISON EXPERIMENTS

Question 1

zimbardo aims

Answer 1

wanted to see wheter people conform to social roles

Question 2

ZIMBARDO PROCEDURE

Answer 2

• 21 male psychology students (volunteer sample) randomly. allocated prisoneer or prision guard
• 11 prison guards 10
• prisoners prisoners aressted at home, stripped and deloused
• spent 23 hours a week in their cells for two weeks guards dressed in khaki and refered to as ‘mr correctional sir’
• also had whissle, club and wore reflective sunglasses avoid eye contact with prisoners worked eight hour shift.

Question 3

ZIMBARDO FINDINGS

Answer 3

• after a slow start guards took up their roles with enthusiasm and became a threat to prisoners psychologically and physically
• ended after 6 days instead of 14 (ethical concerns)
• 2 days = prisoners rebel, guards then harassed them constantly, reminding them of their place (headcounts) and enforcing many rules and punishing small things
• prisoners became depressed, subdued and anxious
• guards become more aggressive and appeared like they were enjoying it.

Question 4

one strength high control over key variables

Answer 4

• emotionally stable pp were recruited and randomly allocated the roles of guard or prisoner
• the guards and prisoners has those roles only by chance so their behaviour was due to the role itself and not their personalities
• this control increased the studies internal validity so we can be confidence in drawing conclusions about the effcts of social roles on conformity

Question 5

lacks realism of a true prison (banuazizi and mohavedi)

Answer 5

• banuazizi and mohavedi suggests particapants were play acting based.
• their performances refelcted sterotypes of how prisoners and guards are supposed to behave one guard based his role on a character called
• “cool hand luke” prisoners rioted because they thought that is what real prisoners did.

Question 6

one limitation is that FROMM accused zimbardo of extaggering the power of conformity

Answer 6

• fromm accused zimbardo of exaggerating the power of the situation to influence behaviour and minimising personality figures
• only about 1/3 behaved in a brutal manner, 1/3 were keen on applying rules fairly and 1/3 tried to help and support prisoners by sharing cigarettes and sympathising with them
• zimbardo’s conclusion that participants conformed to social roles.
• despite situational pressures to conform to a role they were able to exercise right and wrong
• suggests zimbardo overextaggered the view that the guards were brutal and minimised dispositional influence.

Question 7

one limitation is that theres an alternative exp

Answer 7

• zimb claimed pp naturally took on social roles - just having a role meant that pp confromed to exp associated with it
• however this doesnt explain those guards who were brutal - social identity theory reicher and haslam argue that those who identify with the role of the guard conform to it
• this shows that it is possible to resist situational pressures to confrom to social roles. as long as the individual doesnt identify with that role

Question 8

one limitations of zimbardos work is that theres ethical issues

Answer 8

• acting as both researcher & prision superintendent he made it diffuclt for particapents to leave when pp asked to leave zimb responded as prision super intentdent concered abour prsion rather than prisoners