Which study involved participants conforming to prison roles and faced ethics concerns?

Which study involved participants conforming to prison roles and faced ethics concerns?

• A. Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo)
• B. Milgram Obedience Experiment (1961)
• C. Debriefing
• D. Deception

Answer: (A)

The study that demonstrates people conforming to prison roles is the Stanford Prison Experiment. In that setup, volunteers were randomly assigned as prisoners or guards in a mock prison, and the assigned roles rapidly dictated behavior: guards became increasingly controlling and abusive, while prisoners showed signs of stress and submission. The situation deteriorated to the point where the study was halted early due to ethical concerns about harm to participants and the researchers’ oversight. This combination of role-induced behavior and serious ethics issues is what makes this study the best fit for the question. Milgram’s obedience work looked at how people obey authority, which is a different kind of social influence. Debriefing and deception are ethical concepts or practices, not studies themselves, though deception can appear in various experiments.

The study that demonstrates people conforming to prison roles is the Stanford Prison Experiment. In that setup, volunteers were randomly assigned as prisoners or guards in a mock prison, and the assigned roles rapidly dictated behavior: guards became increasingly controlling and abusive, while prisoners showed signs of stress and submission. The situation deteriorated to the point where the study was halted early due to ethical concerns about harm to participants and the researchers’ oversight. This combination of role-induced behavior and serious ethics issues is what makes this study the best fit for the question.

Milgram’s obedience work looked at how people obey authority, which is a different kind of social influence. Debriefing and deception are ethical concepts or practices, not studies themselves, though deception can appear in various experiments.