In the Stanford prison study,male college students agreed to participate in a two-week experiment to discover what would happen when they took on the roles of prisoners and guards.The researchers found that:

Question

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The study found that within a short time, the prisoners became distressed and panicky, developing emotional symptoms and physical ailments. This is supported by the accounts of the participants and observations made by the researchers during the study.

Answer: B 
 The study found that about five percent of the guards became tyrannical, giving the prisoners electric shocks when they were slow in obeying. This behavior was observed and documented by the researchers during the study, and it highlights the potential negative effects of roles on behavior.

Answer: C 
 The study found that 90 percent of the guards tried to be "tough but fair" and demanded that the tyrannical guards lighten up on the prisoners because it was only an experiment. This is another example of how roles can influence behavior, as the guards who were not inherently tyrannical still exhibited similar behaviors due to their assigned roles.

Answer: D 
 While the study was conducted in an unused wing of a real prison and the setting may have enhanced the realism of the study, this is not a finding of the study and is not directly related to the effects of roles on behavior in the experiment.

In the Stanford Prison Study,male College Students Agreed to Participate