Social roles in society Social psychology, as defined by Microsoft Bookshelf, is the branch of human psychology that deals with the behavior of groups and the influence of social factors on the individual. Social roles are one of many subcategories of social psychology. I believe that social roles are how we, as individuals, act in certain situations; such as home life, educational and economic status, peer groups, etc. The prison simulation by Haney, Banks, and Zimbardo is just one of the extensive studies in this area. In this study we will see how people take on roles in life and in simulated life situations. Social roles are not fictitious, they are in fact a very real event that many people deal with every day, both with themselves and with other individuals. The prison simulation, studied by Haney, Banks and Zimbardo is quite impressive in how large the study actually is. Due to the lack of length in this article, the synopsis for this study will be brief. The experiment consisted of 24 male volunteers divided into two groups: guards and inmates. Both groups were given uniforms to encourage their role in the prison scenario. The subjects immediately began to evaluate how they thought they should act. Prison has had a much greater impact on all people than could have been anticipated. The study was supposed to last 14 days, but due to extreme emotional depression the study ended after 6 days. In the spring of 1998, my Law a...