2. Lesson objective To explore conformity to social roles MUST: Be able to explain Zimbardo’s experiment SHOULD: Be able to identify criticisms for A02 points COULD: Compare it with other conformity studies such as Asch and Moscovici
3. We are learning about conformity... What studies have we looked at already to do with conformity? What details can you remember about them?
4. Dr. Philip Zimbardo The Stanford Prison study (1973) – conformity to social roles
5. Procedures 25 male volunteers Study into ‘prison life’ Healthy Randomly allocated to ‘prisoner’ or ‘guard’ Local police recruited Blindfolded Stanford University, California Sprayed with disinfectant
6. Procedures Given numbers to memorize Referred to by number and supervised all the time Given work shifts Lined up to be counted The guards wore khaki shirts and trousers, dark glasses and carried wooden batons
8. Results The guards took to their roles with such zeal that the study had to be discontinued after six days Some prisoners exhibited passive behaviour, depression, crying and anxiety
9. How might you criticise Zimbardo? Didn’t give informed consent Humiliated Ends do not justify the means (Savin, 1973) Zimbardo responded: Spoke to participants Longitudinal care Made people uneasy
Participants paid $15 a day to take part in a two week study of prison lifeHealthy both physically and mentallyLocal police recruited to help and nine ‘prisoners’ arrested at their homes without any warning, and taken blindfolded to the ‘prison’ (basement of Stanford University, California)Sprayed with disinfectant and given smocks to wear
Even all toilet visits were supervisedLined up to be counted three times a day
However, no physical aggression was allowed
They did sign an agreement to act as volunteers, but they didn’t know that they would be arrested at homeParticipants were humiliated and dehumanized by the initiation procedure when they arrived at the prisonThe ends do not justify the mans and this study became ‘too real’ for those who took partAfter the simulation ended, Zimbardo and his colleauges held several sessions with participants to help them deal with their emotional response to the experimentThey maintained contact with all participants for a year to prevent any negative effects happeningThe reality of the study made people uneasy because they preferred not to consider that they might have behaved in the same way
