These notes include content from AQA A-level Psychology and focus on 'Zimbardo's study on conformity to social roles'. It covers all AO1 content, as well as evaluations (AO3) and application (AO2). The main points include the Stanford Prison Experiment and its criticisms. I have made notes on the o...
Paper 1 - SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Conformity to Social Roles
What do I need to know?
What did Zimbardo do, find and conclude?
How can Zimbardo’s study be evaluated?
Questions to answer in class:
1. Mohammed successfully applied for a job as a steward at Tottenham’s new White
Hart Lane football stadium. He was told that his job was to ensure that people were
safe during the game.
On his first day at work, Mohammed was given a bright yellow high-visibility jacket.
Because it was a sunny day, he wore his ‘Persol’ sunglasses.
Five minutes into the game, a young girl stood up and cheered her favourite player.
Mohammed stormed into the crowd and gave the girl a telling off. Even if the girl
shuffled in her seat, Mohammed told her off.
After half an hour of being continually told off, the girl burst into tears and said she
wanted to leave at half-time. Mohammed said he would not allow this, so the girl
spent the second half of the game staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact with
Mohammed.
Explain Mohammed’s behaviour and the girl’s behaviour in terms of conformity to
social roles. (8 marks)
Zimbardo found that people will readily conform to social roles (the parts people as
members of various social groups) they are expected to play. This is why when
Mohammed was told to ensure that people were safe, he asserted his authority to
make sure he fulfils his role to the fullest extent. Due to this, he kept shouting at the
young girl to assert his authority. Another thing Zimbardo found out was that the
situation influences peoples’ behaviours and the way they play their social roles. The
guards in the SPE were given uniforms to wear (wooden clubs and sunglasses)
which made them feel authoritative. As Mohammed was given a uniform to wear (a
bright yellow high visibility jacket), he felt like he had authority over everyone else
and so could do whatever he needed to do to keep people safe at the game. This is
why Mohammed acted very harsh with the young girl.
On the other hand, Zimbardo found that people that are expected to be submissive
will readily conform to this social role. The young girl has probably been taught to
listen to authority figures, and therefore she made sure to listen to Mohammed and
what he was telling her to do. Furthermore, Zimbardo found that people who are
expected to be submissive and who are constantly told off/ put down by others who
are in authority are more likely to become emotionally disturbed. In the SPE, 5
prisoners had to leave early as they couldn’t take the emotional abuse anymore. This
could explain why the young girl started crying and wanted to leave at half-time
(because of Mohammed’s telling off) . Eventually, the young girl stopped doing
anything and just stared at the ground, showing that she had become more
submissive and that Mohammed’s authority / social role had affected her.
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