What does the Stanford prison study tell us about the relationship between social roles and behavior?
A) People who are naturally aggressive and authoritarian seek out social roles that allow them to behave in this way.
B) "Good" people will refuse to behave according to the norms of a social role if they are required to be harsh or abusive to other people.
C) When people are placed in social roles with a lot of power, their behavior often changes to fit their new role.
D) Inmates naturally take on different social roles in a prison, with some becoming aggressive and authoritarian, while others become passive and submissive.
Answer: C
Rationale: In the Stanford Prison Study, student participants were randomly assigned to be either prisoners or guards. Despite their inherent similarities to the prisoners, the guards either became brutal and callous or simply stood by while others did the dirty work. At the same time, most prisoners acquiesced and passively accepted the brutal treatment. This indicates that randomly placing individuals in a powerful social role can have a dramatic effect on their behavior.
You might also like to view...
Rape and violent behavior are among the risks of ________ drinking
Fill in the blank with correct word.
When we want to project an image with our message, which of the three goals of communication are we focusing on?
a. Relational b. Identity management c. Getting the job done d. Communication filtering
Dualism is the idea that a psychologist can adhere to two different perspectives at the same time
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
Among all age groups, teenagers account for one third of all STI diagnoses each year.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)