Asch's Research and variables affecting conformity Flashcards
Group size, unanimity, task difficulty
How did Asch investigate conformity?
123 american male participants were asked to compare a standard line to 3 comparison lines and say which one matched. Confederates gave unanimous wrong answers on 2/3 of trials. The real participant always sat second to last.
What was average conformity rate? How many conformed at least once?
What did Asch find in his original study?
Average conformity rate is 33%. 75% conformed at least once.
What are the three variables found to have an effect on conformity?
Group size, task difficulty, unanimity
How did group size affect conformity in Asch’s study?
Conformity increases with group size up to 3, then levels off
1 confederate: conformity rates = 3%
2 confederates: conformity rates = 13%
3 confederates: conformity rates = 32%
What effect did unanimity have on conformity in Asch’s research?
unanimity= extent to which confederates agree on the same answer
When 1 confederate gave a different wrong answer, conformity dropped to 9%. When 1 confederate gave the correct answer, conformity rates dropped to 5%.
Unanimity broken
How does task difficulty affect conformity?
Increased task difficulty leads to higher conformity rates
This is because making the task harder made the answer less obvious
Methodological Issues with Asch’s study
- Artificial setting might lead to** demand characteristics **where the participants figure out the aim of the study and change their behaviour. Therefore reducing the internal validity of the study.
- Lacks mundane realism- comparing lines not realistic of real life conformity situations therefore findings cannot be applied to real life situations.
- Sample of 123 American males** not representative**- gender and culture bias; cannot generalise to females and those from different countries.
Why does Asch’s research lack temporal validity?
Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated Asch’s study in the UK and found conformity in 1/396 trials.
This suggests that Asch’s research is not consistent over time, and there has been a cultural change in the importance of conformity since the research was conducted.
Why is individual differences a problem with Asch’s study/ research?
Asch found that people who were more confident and independent were less likely to conform. In contrast, people who were more anxious and insecure were more likely to conform. This suggests that individual differences in personality and self-esteem can impact how likely someone is to conform.
