ROLES & ROLE RESEARCH

OBEDIENCE STUDY BY MILGRAM

• Design & findings
• Would ppl obey an authority & violate their own ethical standards?
• Subjects thought they were in an experiment about learning & were instructed to shock another subject when an error was made
• No on received shocks, but the subjects didn't know this
• All participants gave some shocks; 2/3 obeyed the experimenter & gave all the shocks despite cries of pain (up to the XXX level!)
• Conclusions
• Obedience is a function of the situation.
• Evaluating the study
• Criticisms: unethical - can cause your subjects distress

ZIMBARDO - THE PRISON STUDY

• Design and findings
• College students randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards
• Given no further instruction on how to behave
• "prisoners" quickly became distressed, helpless, and panicky
• guards acted like guards, some even becoming tyrannical
• researchers terminated the study early
• The power of roles
• Demonstrates the power of social roles to influence behavior

ROLES: roles can be ascribed (your sex, race, for instance) or achieved (college student, partner). There can be role conflict - the working mom wants to also spend time w/ her kids. Demands of each role conflict.