Social rules

The parts people play as members of a social group; such as teacher, students, parent, child, etc.

Zimbardo?wanted to?investigate how readily people would conform to the social roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that simulated prison life.

• The Stanford prison experiment is one of the most memorable studies in psychology
• There had been many prison riots in America and Zimbardo wanted to know why prison guards behave brutally
• Did they have sadistic personalities or was it their social role, as a prison guard, that created their behaviour
• Zimbardo et al (1973)?converted a basement of the Stanford University psychology building into a mock prison
• He advertised for students to play the roles of prisoners and guards for fortnight-21 male student volunteers who were tested and found to be 'emotionally stable' were selected as participants
• Participants were randomly assigned to either the role of prisoner or guard
• Prisoners and guards were encouraged to conform to their social roles both through instructions and the uniforms they wore

Uniforms

• Prisoners were given a loose smock to wear and a cap to cover their hair. They were identified by their number only and their names were not used
• Guards were given their own Khaki uniform, wooden club, handcuffs and mirror shades to make eye contact with prisoners'?difficult
• Both these uniforms created a loss of the individual's personal identity (de-individuation), meaning they would be more likely to conform to their perceived social role

Findings

• Both guards and prisoners were settled into their new roles, very quickly
• The guards adopted their social role quickly, easily and with enthusiasm
• Within hours of beginning the experiment some guards began to harass prisoners and treated them harshly
• Within two days the prisoners rebelled, they ripped their uniforms and shouted and?swore at guards
• The guards used fire extinguishers to retaliate, using 'divide-and-rule' tactics, playing the prisoners off against each other and completing headcounts, sometimes at night
• The prisoners soon adopted prisoner-like behaviour too
• They talked about prison issues a great deal of the time
• They ‘told tales’ about each other to the guards
• They started taking the prison rules very seriously, and some even began siding with the guards against prisoners who did not obey the rules
• As the prisoners became more submissive, the guards became more aggressive and assertive taking on their social roles easily
• They demanded ever greater obedience from the prisoners
• The prisoners were dependent on the guards for everything so tried to find ways to please the guards, such as telling tales to fellow prisoners
• Zimbardo ended the experiment after six days instead of the 14 originally planned

Conclusions

• It appears social roles have a strong influence on individuals' behaviour
• Within this study, the guards became brutal and the prisoners submissive
• These roles were easily taken on by all involved, from the prisoners and guards to those that visited the 'prison' to perform specific roles such as the Chaplin
• All of them behaved as if it were a 'real' prison

Evaluation of the research

Strengths

• Prisoners and guards were randomly assigned to their roles, increasing the?control?Zimbardo had over the?internal validity?(whether the study actually measured what it intended to) of the study
• A major practical application is that the study meant practices were changed in US prisons to protect the vulnerable and make prisons safer, and a lot of this was due to the study

Weaknesses

• Individual differences?and personality also determine the extent to which a person conforms to social roles
• The guards' behaviour differed between them: Not all guards were so harsh or cruel
• It has been said the participants were acting in a?stereotypical way
• ?For example, one guard said that he based his behaviour on a brutal character he had seen in a film
• There is a lack of?realism?and many argued that it did not have the realism of a real prison
• There were?ethical issues?with the study: The participants were subjected to?psychological harm,?which could have been long-lasting
• The?right to withdraw?was made difficult, perhaps because Zimbardo himself was playing the role of superintendent, which made it hard for at least one prisoner to withdraw from the study