Explain the concepts of status and power, describe the bases of social power, and analyse how status and assigned roles influence behaviour using studies such as Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment

What this dot point is asking

QCAA wants you to explain how an individual's position in a social structure, their status, and their capacity to influence others, their power, shape behaviour. You need clear definitions, a named framework for the types of power, and a demonstration using a classic study of how status and assigned social roles change what people do. This is the opening topic of Unit 4 and underpins later work on social influence.

The answer

Status and power describe how people are positioned relative to one another in a group and how that position lets them shape others. These concepts explain why the same individual can behave very differently depending on the role and rank they hold.

Status, power and social roles

• Status is the position or rank an individual holds within a group or society, reflecting how much respect, prestige or importance others assign to them. Status can be ascribed (given, such as by age or family) or achieved (earned, such as through accomplishment).
• Power is the capacity of a person to influence the thoughts, feelings or behaviour of others. Higher status often brings greater power, but the two are distinct: power is about influence, status is about position.
• Social roles are the sets of expected behaviours attached to a particular position, such as student, teacher, parent or police officer. People tend to behave in line with the role they occupy, a process called role conformity.

The bases of social power

John French and Bertram Raven identified the sources from which power flows. Knowing these by name strengthens an exam response.

• Reward power. The ability to give desirable outcomes (praise, pay, promotion).
• Coercive power. The ability to punish or impose negative outcomes.
• Legitimate power. Authority granted by a person's position or title, such as a manager or police officer.
• Referent power. Influence based on being liked, admired or identified with, such as a respected role model.
• Expert power. Influence based on superior knowledge or skill, such as a doctor.
• Informational power. Influence based on controlling access to information others need.

The Stanford prison experiment

Philip Zimbardo's 1971 Stanford prison experiment is the classic demonstration of how status and assigned roles transform behaviour. Volunteer students were randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners in a simulated prison. Within days, guards became increasingly authoritarian and abusive while prisoners became passive and distressed. The study was halted after six days instead of two weeks. Zimbardo concluded that the situation and the assigned roles, not the personalities of the individuals, drove the behaviour, an example of role conformity and deindividuation. The study is also a key reference point for the ethics of psychological research, given the harm experienced by participants.

How status and power influence behaviour

Status and power change behaviour in several ways. Those with power tend to act more freely and may attend less to others, while those with low status tend to defer, comply and monitor the powerful closely. Assigned roles carry expectations that people internalise quickly, even when the role is artificial, as the prison study showed. This explains how ordinary people can perform harmful acts when placed in a powerful role with apparent legitimacy.

Putting it together for an exam

A strong answer defines status and power separately, names a base of power relevant to the scenario, and uses a study to show how an assigned role changes behaviour. For example: a guard in Zimbardo's study held legitimate and coercive power through an assigned high-status role, and role conformity led ordinary volunteers to behave abusively within days.