Male students were recruited to act as either guards or prisoners in a mock prison.
Randomly given roles
their behaviours were observed
prisoners- arrested as they went about their day, taken to prison and given uniforms and numbers.
Guards- wore uniforms and mirrored glasses.
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Results
Guards tried to assert their authority and the prisoners resisted by sticking together
but prisoners became more passive and obedient, while guards invented nastier punishments.
the experiment was abandoned early- prisoners became distressed
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conclusion
Guards and prisoners adapted to social roles quickly
Zimbardo claims this shows that our social role can influence our behaviour- seemingly well-balanced ment became umpleasant and aggressive n the role of guard.
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Evaluation
This was a controlled observation, so there was good control of variables. However, because it was an artificial experiment the results can't really be generalised to real- life situations.
Ethical issues- some participants found the experience very distressing
Observer bias problem- he ran prison himself, & later admitted that he bacame too personally involved.
The conclusion he reached doesn't explain why only some of the participants acted according to their assighned roles ( 1/3 behave brutally)
1/3- keen on applying the rules fairly
rest actively tried to help and support the prisoners , sympathising with them, offering them cigarettes and reinstating privileges (Zimbardo 2007)
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