Social psychologyLesson 1 of 3 in the course Social Psychology

Social Roles, Scripts, and the Limits of the Stanford Prison Experiment

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson explains how social roles and social norms shape behavior in different groups and settings. Understanding them helps explain why people may act differently with family, at school, or at work.

A social role is a pattern of behavior expected of a person in a particular setting or group. People hold several roles at once: someone may be a student, parent, employee, friend, and child in a family.

All flashcards

Social role
A pattern of behavior expected of someone in a particular setting or group.
Social norm
A group’s shared expectation of acceptable behavior and sometimes thought.
Script
Knowledge about the expected sequence of events in a particular setting.
Cultural variation in scripts
The expected actions in familiar situations can differ across cultures.
Generalizability
The extent to which research results apply to other people and circumstances.

Quiz questions

  1. Why can random assignment help when comparing conditions in an experiment?Answer: It tends to distribute pre-existing participant differences across conditions.
  2. What happened to the 1971 Stanford prison experiment?Answer: It ended after six days amid participant distress and harmful behavior.
  3. Why does reported guidance given to guards complicate interpretation of the Stanford prison experiment?Answer: Their behavior may have reflected cues about expectations, not only the situation.
  4. In research, what does generalizability refer to?Answer: How far results apply to other people and circumstances.
  5. In the Stanford prison experiment, what potential source of researcher influence arose from Zimbardo’s roles?Answer: He was both the lead researcher and the prison supervisor.

Based on Psychology 2e by Rose M. Spielman, William J. Jenkins, Marilyn D. Lovett (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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