Asch's Research into Conformity Flashcards
What was the aim of Asch’s research?
to see if people would conform in a group setting, even when the answer is unambiguous (clear)
What were the ppts shown?
2 large white cards at a time, one with a standard line and the other with 3 comparison lines - 1 of the lines was the same and the other 2 were clearly longer/shorter
What was the ppt asked to do?
the ppt was asked to say which line matched
Who took part?
123 american male undergraduates - the naive ppts
What was the no. of naive ppts to confederates?
1 naive ppt to 6-8 confederates
How did the confederates act?
on the first few trials the confederates gave the right answers but then started making errors on purpose
How many wrong answers did the confederates give?
all confederates gave the same wrong answer on 12 of the 18 ‘trials’ each ppt took part in
What were the findings?
over all critical trials the naive ppt gave the incorrect answer 37% of the time
75% of ppts conformed on at least one of the critical trials
What were the findings of the control condition?
with no pressure from confederates, less than 1% of ppts gave the wrong answer
What were the findings of the reasoning of the ppts?
when ppts were interviewed afterwards, most said they conformed to avoid rejection
Conclusions of Asch’s research?
because the answer was unambiguous (clear) ppts were only conforming due to NSI
this is also clear bc ppts said in the interviews afterwards that they were conforming to avoid rejection
What are the 3 variables affecting conformity?
group size
unanimity
task difficulty
Evidence that Group Size affects conformity?
overall conformity rate increased up to a point (around 4 confederates)
shows that bigger groups will have more influence to encourage conformity
BUT also no need for a group larger than 3-4 as increasing conformity rate plateaus 4+
Evidence that Unanimity affects conformity?
when Asch introduced a dissenting confederate conformity reduced to a 1/4 of what it was when the confederates were unanimous
bc the presence of a dissenter enables the naive ppt to feel more confident + act independently so influence of the majority depends to an extent on the group being unanimous
(dissenter = group not unanimous = less likely to conform = unanimity increases conformity bc everyone else says it)
Evidence that Task Difficulty affects conformity?
Asch made the task more diifuclt by making the comparison lines more similar in length
under these conditions conformity increased as the ppt’s confidence in the correct answer was reduced
so this suggests that ISI plays a greater role when the task is harder bc the situation is more ambiguous so we are more likely to look to others for guidance
