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Zimbardo Prison Study (1973) - Coggle Diagram
Zimbardo Prison Study (1973)
Procedure
Recruited 24 'emotionally stable' students determined by psychological testing.
To increase realism, prisoners were arrested at that homes. Blindfolded, strip-searched, deloused and issued a number and uniform
Set up a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department at Stanford university.
Prisoners routines were heavily regulated, 16 rules to follow.
Guards has their own uniforms and told they had complete power over the prisoners. (Prisoners never had their names used)
Conclusions
All taking part conformed to their roles.
The more the guards identified with their roles, the more brutal they became.
The study showed the power of the situation to influence peoples behaviour.
Findings
Guards highlighted the differences in social roles by giving out punishments and enforcing the rules heavily.
Guards took their roles up with enthusiasm, their behavior became dangerous and threatening.
Within two days, prisoners rebelled against the guards. Guards harassed the prisoners by conducting frequent headcounts.
After the study was shut down, prisoners became depressed and anxious. One prisoner went on a hunger strike and received punishment.
Study stopped after 6 days rather than the planned 14
Evaluation
A strength is the control that researchers had over some control variables
Lack of realism (play acting taking place) One guard based his behaviour on a character
Major ethical issues
Test whether the brutality of prison guards was the result of sadistic personalities or whether it was created by the situation.