Zimbardo Stanford Prison Experiment (Haney et al. 1973)
Outline of Experiment [AO1]
● Procedure
○ See if the brutality of prison guards was because of personalities or the situation
○ Set up a mock prison with 24 volunteers, who were randomly assigned roles
○ Guards had a uniform and complete control over the ‘prisoners’
● Findings/Conclusions
○ Prison Guards showed a ‘higher status’ because of their social role
○ Prisoners became anxious and depressed as a result of the brutality
Evaluation [AO3]
Strengths Limitations
● All participants were psychologically ● The study was gender and culture
tested before entering the experiment bias, since the experiment was based
○ Removes possible extraneous solely on American males
variables as participants don't ○ Less ecological validity
have existing psychological
issues
○ Increased internal validity
● The experiment had practical
application in that it led to the reform
of real prisons
○ Shows that the experiment
had high external validity
Images
Prison Setting Many Ethical Issues Investigated ‘Social Roles’
Outline of Experiment [AO1]
● Procedure
○ See if the brutality of prison guards was because of personalities or the situation
○ Set up a mock prison with 24 volunteers, who were randomly assigned roles
○ Guards had a uniform and complete control over the ‘prisoners’
● Findings/Conclusions
○ Prison Guards showed a ‘higher status’ because of their social role
○ Prisoners became anxious and depressed as a result of the brutality
Evaluation [AO3]
Strengths Limitations
● All participants were psychologically ● The study was gender and culture
tested before entering the experiment bias, since the experiment was based
○ Removes possible extraneous solely on American males
variables as participants don't ○ Less ecological validity
have existing psychological
issues
○ Increased internal validity
● The experiment had practical
application in that it led to the reform
of real prisons
○ Shows that the experiment
had high external validity
Images
Prison Setting Many Ethical Issues Investigated ‘Social Roles’
