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Social Psychology Questions

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Psychology
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Social Psychology Questions
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Social Psychology Questions
Question Group 1
1. Research problem
Zimbardo and his colleagues wanted to examine if the brutality reported by
guards in American prisons was was caused by the sadistic characters (dispositional) of
the guard’s or by the environment of the prison setting (situational). To conduct the
research, Zimbardo and his colleagues used the basement of the Stanford University
psychology building as a prison setting in which participants would role play in prison
situations (Zimbardo, 1973). They selected 24 participants who were randomly assigned
the roles of guards or prisoners. Results of the study show that people are ready to
conform to social roles particularly the ones that have strong steriotypes.
2. Potential Problems with the study
I see several ethical concerns in the study. I believe the experiment was not
conducted ethically. This is because the participants were forced to take certain roles that
most of them were unwilling to take. The experiment did not favor dispositional
attribution nut it favored situational attribution. Rather than inherent individual
personalities, the situation forced them to behave in a certain manner. The authority also
used excess power to punish the participants making some of them quit the experiment.
3. Authors conclusions
I agree with Zimbardo et al. (1973) people are ready to conform to the social roles
they are assigned. The mere role-playing transformed the participants to believe they are
actually within that role. There is a strong connection between a person's character,
action, attitude, and conduct. People's behaviors determine their public behavior.

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1 Social Psychology Questions Name Institution Course Instructor Date 2 Social Psychology Questions Question Group 1 1. Research problem Zimbardo and his colleagues wanted to examine if the brutality reported by guards in American prisons was was caused by the sadistic characters (dispositional) of the guard’s or by the environment of the prison setting (situational). To conduct the research, Zimbardo and his colleagues used the basement of the Stanford University psychology building as a prison setting in which participants would role play in prison situations (Zimbardo, 1973). They selected 24 participants who were randomly assigned the roles of guards or prisoners. Results of the study show that people are ready to conform to social roles particularly the ones that have strong steriotypes. 2. Potential Problems with the study I see several ethical concerns in the study. I believe the experiment was not conducted ethically. This is because the participants were forced to take certain roles that most of them were unwilling to take. The experiment did not favor dispositional attribution nut it favored situational attribution. Rather than inherent individual personalities, the situation forced them to behave in a certain manner. The authority also used excess power to punish the participants making some of them quit the experiment. 3. Authors conclusions I agree with Zimbardo et al. (1973) people are ready to conform to the social roles they are assigned. The mere role-p ...
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