Asch (1951)

Question 1

What was the method of the ‘Line Judgement Task’?

Answer 1

• A group of participants were shown a series of printed line segments of different lengths.
• They were asked to identify which line segment from the first group most closely resembled the length of the previous line segment.

Question 2

What was the role of the confederates in the ‘Line Judgement Task’?

Answer 2

• Accompanied the one true and naive subject.
• Identified a line segment that was obviously shorter than the target line.

Question 3

What were the findings of the ‘Line Judgement Task’?

Answer 3

75% of participants conformed to group pressure at least once by choosing the incorrect line because of the group’s views.

Question 4

What were the four factors that influenced conformity found by Asch?

Answer 4

• The greater the number of people in the majority, the more likely an individual is to conform.
• If there is at least one dissenter, conformity rates drop to near zero.
• When responses are made publicly conformity is more likely; however, when responses are made privately conformity is less likely.
• The harder the lines were to distinguish in length, the more conformity increased.

Question 5

What are the strength of Asch (1951)?

Answer 5

• The laboratory setting meant variables were strictly controlled.
• The highly controlled setting meant the experiment could be repeated easily and the influence of extraneous variables could be minimised.

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of Asch (1951)?

Answer 6

• The artificial situation meant there was low ecological validity meaning it cannot be generalised well to real-life situations.
• The deception of the real participants not knowing the other participants were confederates is an ethical issue.

Question 7

How did confidence affect conformity in Asch’s study?

Answer 7

• Participants who had not conformed all displayed confidence.
• Participants who felt confident in their decisions did not succumb to group pressure as easily.

Question 8

How did confidence affect conformity in other studies?

Answer 8

• Perrin and Spencer (1980) carried out Asch’s experiment on engineering students.
• Found conformity rates were not as high as in Asch’s experiment.
• Might be due to the engineers being confident in their decision-making.

Question 9

What did Eagly (1987) find about how gender affects conformity?

Answer 9

• Women are more likely to conform because they don’t like group conflict.
• Men are less likely to conform because they are expected to show independence and assertiveness.