Pearson Edexcel · GCSE · Psychology
Course version: 1PS0 · Version from Sept 2017
Social influence - 5.2 Studies: 5.2.2 Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) A…
Full specification wording
Topic 5: Social influence - 5.2 Studies: 5.2.2 Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison
Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) investigated how readily people conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a simulated prison.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 1PS0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 2 of 2
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) investigated how readily people conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a simulated prison. They converted a university basement into a mock prison, randomly assigning 24 healthy male students to be prisoners or guards. Guards received uniforms and mirrored sunglasses to deindividuate them, while prisoners were arrested, stripped, and assigned ID numbers. Planned for 14 days, the study ended after six because guards became highly abusive and authoritarian, while prisoners exhibited extreme emotional distress and submissiveness. This study demonstrated that situational factors and assigned social roles powerfully influence human behaviour, often overriding individual personality traits.
What earns the marks
- Identify the aim: to investigate conformity to assigned social roles in a simulated prison environment.
- Describe the sample: 24 male college students assessed as psychologically healthy, randomly assigned to roles.
- Outline the procedure: prisoners were arrested at home and deindividuated with smocks and numbers; guards were given uniforms, clubs, and reflective sunglasses.
- State the findings: guards became abusive and prisoners became submissive, leading to the study ending after six days instead of fourteen.
- Explain the conclusion: behaviour was heavily influenced by situational factors and social roles rather than dispositional factors.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Stating that the participants were actual prisoners and guards.
Put it right: Clarify that they were volunteer college students randomly assigned to these roles.
Claiming the study lasted the full 14 days.
Put it right: It was terminated after six days due to the extreme distress of the prisoners.
Believing the guards were instructed to be cruel.
Put it right: Note that guards were told to maintain order but were not explicitly instructed to use psychological abuse.
Exam tips
- When evaluating the study, focus on ethical issues such as the lack of protection from psychological harm.
- Use the term 'deindividuation' to explain how uniforms and numbers altered the participants' sense of personal identity.
- Contrast situational explanations of behaviour (the prison environment) with dispositional ones (the participants' personalities).
Try the lesson
The start of the Topic 5: Social influence - 5.2 Studies: 5.2.2 Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) A Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
In the study by Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973), how were the volunteer participants assigned to the roles of prisoner and guard?
Listen
Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo (1973) investigated how readily people conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a simulated prison. They converted a university basement into a mock prison, randomly assigning 24 healthy male students to be prisoners or guards. Guards received uniforms and mirrored sunglasses to deindividuate them, while prisoners were arrested, stripped, and assigned ID numbers. Planned for 14 days, the study ended after six because guards became highly abusive and authoritarian, while prisoners exhibited extreme emotional distress and submissiveness. This study demonstrated that situational factors and assigned social roles powerfully influence human behaviour, often overriding individual personality traits. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Identify the aim: to investigate conformity to assigned social roles in a simulated prison environment. Describe the sample: 24 male college students assessed as psychologically healthy, randomly assigned to roles. Outline the procedure: prisoners were arrested at home and deindividuated with smocks and numbers; guards were given uniforms, clubs, and reflective sunglasses. State the findings: guards became abusive and prisoners became submissive, leading to the study ending after six days instead of fourteen. A common slip: Stating that the participants were actual prisoners and guards. Instead, Clarify that they were volunteer college students randomly assigned to these roles. Exam tip: When evaluating the study, focus on ethical issues such as the lack of protection from psychological harm.
Key words
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Conformity to social roles
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Situational vs dispositional factors
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Deindividuation
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Ethical considerations in research
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See every definition
- Conformity to social roles
- Acting in line with the roles of guard and prisoner that were assigned in a simulated prison environment.
- Situational vs dispositional factors
- Explaining behaviour through the situation, such as the prison environment, rather than through individual personality traits.
- Deindividuation
- A reduced sense of personal identity, brought about by uniforms, mirrored sunglasses and assigned ID numbers.
- Ethical considerations in research
- Concerns such as the lack of protection from psychological harm, which the study is evaluated for.
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