Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo's Research

Procedures

• Mock prison with students randomly assigned as guards or prisoners.

Findings

• Guards became increasingly brutal.
• Prisoners increasingly withdrawn and depressed.

Conclusions

• Participants conformed to their roles and guards or prisoners.

Control

• Random assignment to roles increased internal validity.

Lack of Realism

• Participants were play-acting their roles according to media-derived stereotypes.

Dispositional influences

• Only one-third of guards were brutal so conclusions exaggerated.

Evaluation extra

• Lack of research support
• Ethical issues