What is the main finding of the Stanford prison experiment? a. students cannot be relied upon to act appropriately b. social roles are powerful determinants of human behavior c. students cannot be trusted in roles of authority d. Zimbardo was an unethical researcher

The main finding of the Stanford prison experiment is that social roles are powerful determinants of human behavior.

Explanation:

The Stanford prison experiment aimed to study life in captivity. It tried to emulate real world cirumstances of prison life; students were divided into playing the role of guards or the role of prisoners. After only a few days of the experiment, students' behavior began to ressemble the role that they were playing: the guards used more physical punishments, and the prisoners began to provoke riots.

The main finding was that social roles are powerful determinants of human behavior because, inspite of knowing that the role they were playing was randomly assigned it ilustrated their obedience when provided with an institutional support.