Asch

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

Asch wanted to know whether people would conform to the majority opinion even when the majority opinion was obviously incorrect.

Question 2

procedure

Answer 2

Asch set up a situation in which 7 males all sat looking at a display.
They were given the task of saying out loud which of the 3 lines A, B or C was the same length of the given stimulus line, with the experimenter working his way around the group members in turn.
All but 1 of the participants was a confederate of the experimenter.
Most of the time the confederates gave the correct answer, but on some ‘critical trials’ were instructed to unanimously give the wrong answer.
The one genuine participant was the last but 1 to answer.

Question 3

findings

Answer 3

In the control conditions, when the participant was alone, there was 0 incorrect answers given.
In the experimental condition, participants gave the wrong answer on 37% of the critical trials.
75% of participants conformed to at least 1 wrong answer.
5% of participants conformed to all wrong answers.
Some participants claimed they did not believe the confederates but went along with their answers anyway. This is an example of compliance.

Question 4

evaluation - lab experiment

Answer 4

Lab experiment so the variables were controlled, therefore the experiment is repeatable and you can see if the IV had an effect on the DV. However, there is low ecological validity therefore results cannot be generalised.

Question 5

evaluation - gender

Answer 5

All male participants so results cannot be generalised.

Question 6

evaluation - ethical issues

Answer 6

Issues of deception as the participants were lied to and it was a volunteer sample therefore the personalities of participants could be extremely different.