Zimbardo Prison Study Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Focus on the Zimbardo prison study.
• Participants: All college students with similar middle-class backgrounds, screened prior to the study.

Prison Environment

• Misconception: Prisoners banding together was not the norm; they were often distrustful and viewed each other as informants.
• Guards rewarded compliant prisoners, breaking prisoner solidarity.
• Some prisoners released due to emotional trauma, but none left voluntarily, despite knowing they could.

Guards' Behavior

• Guards' harsh treatment: Attributed to thinking prisoners were faking distress, or deserved it.
• No guards left the study early; some were upset it ended prematurely.
• No specific personality trait identified to explain guards' behavior.

Key Learnings from the Study

• Influence of situations on behavior: Situational attribution over dispositional attribution.
• Deindividuation: Loss of self, facilitated by uniforms and numerical identification.
• Cognitive dissonance: Guards justified actions to reduce mental distress.
• Internalization: Participants internalized roles influencing attitudes and behaviors.

Problems with the Study

• Zimbardo's role compromised objectivity.
• Lack of clear operational definitions and controls; small sample size.
• Demand characteristics: Participants may have acted as they thought expected.
• Selection bias: Non-random sample; participants knew the study nature.

Conclusion

• Despite issues, results align with other studies on conformity and obedience.
• Importance of critical assessment of studies, especially those with extreme results.