Asch (Example of Research into Conformity)

Question 1

What was Asch’s study?

Answer 1

METHOD: Male US undergraduates took part in a study they were told was about visual perception. 7 people (6 were confederates) sat looking at a display and had to say aloud which one of three lines was the same length as a stimulus line. The correct answer was always obvious and the confederates gave the wrong answer every time. The genuine participant was always the second to last to answer

FINDINGS: There was an overall 37% conformity rate and 75% of PPs conformed at least once

CONCLUSION: Shows that people will conform to group behaviour even when they know the answer is wrong thus demonstrating NSI

Question 2

How is artificiality a weakness?

Answer 2

• A weakness of Asch’s research is that it is artificial
• The task of matching lines has little relevance to and is inconsequential compared to real life situations involving group pressure (e.g. deciding a verdict on a jury)
• Fiske argues the group that the genuine PPs were part of is very different to the groups typical to everyday life which tend to be people we are familiar with (e.g. friends, colleagues)
• Thus Asch’s study may only explain conformity in special circumstances where there are no consequences to conformity and bears little similarity to real life
• Thus Asch’s research decreases in ecological validity

Question 3

How is ethical issues a weakness?

Answer 3

• A weakness of Asch’s research is that it breaks ethical guidelines
• The real participants could not provide fully informed consent as they were deceived about the aim of the study - in order to obtain valid results they were told it was investigating visual perception rather than conformity
• The real PPs also thought that the other people involved in the study were genuine participants like themselves when they were in reality confederates told to purposefully give the wrong answer on clinical trials
• As Asch’s research breaks ethical guidelines it reduces in credibility