Asch Flashcards
1
Q
what was Asch’s aim?
A
To investigate conformity in a controlled setting
2
Q
what was Asch’s procedure?
A
- 123 male undergraduates were tested
- participants were seated around a table and told to look at lines of different lengths. They were told yo call out which of the three lines matches up.
- Although they were fairly obvious answers, on 12 of the 18 tasks, the confederates were told to give incorrect answers.
- this allowed for the naïve participant to be observed on whether they’d conform to the pressure of the majority.
there were variations in the experiment:
- group size
- allies
- writing it down rather than saying it
- difficulty
3
Q
what were Asch’s findings?
A
- 35% conformity
- 25% of people never conformed
- 75% conformed at least once
- 5% conformed every time
4
Q
what were Asch’s conclusions?
A
people are highly susceptible to conformity to avoid disapproval.
5
Q
what are the strengths of Asch’s study?
A
- participants were unaware so couldn’t try to conform
- lab studies have high control over standardised procedures and variables
- it’s replicable so therefor reliable
- big sample- so easier to generalise.
6
Q
what are the weaknesses of Asch’s study?
A
- Biased sample-generalising is difficult (white middle class)
- low population validity
- low historical validity (child of its time- McCarthyism)
- low ecological validity -not easily applicable to everyday life
- ethical concerns (deception)
7
Q
what does Asch’s study support?
A
Normative social influence
