ASCH [majority influence] Flashcards
What was the aim of Asch’s experiment?
To investigate how group size, unanimity and task difficulty affect conformity
What sample did Asch use?
123 white American male undergraduates
What was Asch’s method?
- ppt placed in room with 7 confederates
- shown 3 different lines and 1 comparison line
- asked to state aloud which 2 lines were the same
- answer was always obvious
- confederates gave wrong answer on 12/18 trials
What were the results of Asch’s experiment?
Overall 36.8% incorrect judgement from ppts
75% conformed at least once
50% conformed on over half
25% never conformed
0.7% incorrect judgement in control group
What did Asch discover in his group size variation?
3+ people were needed for conformity
After 7/8 people, conformity stops increasing
What did Asch discover in his unanimity variation?
With the presence of a dissenting voice, conformity fell from 36.8% to 5%
What did Asch discover in his task difficulty variation?
Conformity increases with more difficult tasks as informational social influence plays a greater role in ambiguous situations
What did the ppts say when asked about their answers? ASCH
SOME said they never believed their conforming answers but didn’t want to seem “peculiar” (IDENTIFICATION)
SOME honestly believed the group answer was correct (INTERNALISATION)
What did Asch discover in his anonymous answer variation?
Conformity dropped by 2/3
What is an ethical issue of Asch’s experiment?
DECEPTION - ppts believed they were no confederates, could have caused psychological distress
What is an issue with Asch’s sample?
Can’t be generalised to women, non-white or non-American people
What factors did Asch find influence conformity?
GROUP SIZE
UNANIMITY
TASK DIFFICULTY
PRIVATE ANSWERS
