Asch's Study

Question 1

What was the purpose of the study involving American men?

Answer 1

To test conformity by having participants identify which comparison line matched the standard line X.

Question 2

How many American men participated in the study?

Answer 2

123 American men.

Question 3

What was the physical arrangement of the participants during the study?

Answer 3

Participants were tested in groups of 6 to 8, with only one genuine participant among confederates.

Question 4

What role did confederates play in the study?

Answer 4

Confederates provided scripted incorrect answers to influence the genuine participant.

Question 5

What percentage of the time did genuine participants conform to confederates’ incorrect answers?

Answer 5

On average, genuine participants conformed 36.8% of the time.

Question 6

Were there individual differences in conformity among participants?

Answer 6

Yes, 25% of participants never gave a wrong answer and did not conform.

Question 7

What is a limitation of Asch’s research?

Answer 7

The task and situation were artificial.

Participants knew they were in a research study and may have gone along with what was expected (demand characteristics).

Question 8

Why was the task of identifying lines considered trivial?

Answer 8

There was really no reason not to conform.

The simplicity of the task may have influenced participants’ decisions to conform.

Question 9

What did Susan Fiske (2014) say about Asch’s groups?

Answer 9

They were not very ‘groupy’ and did not resemble everyday groups.

This affects the generalizability of the findings to real-world situations.

Question 10

What is the implication of Asch’s findings on real-world situations?

Answer 10

The findings do not generalize to situations where the consequences of conformity might be important.

Question 11

What is a limitation of Asch’s study?

Answer 11

Asch’s participants were American men.

This limits the generalizability of the findings.

Question 12

How might women differ in terms of conformity?

Answer 12

Research suggests that women may be more conformist due to concerns about social relationships and acceptance.

(Neto 1995)

Question 13

What type of culture is the US considered?

Answer 13

The US is considered an individualist culture.

Question 14

How do conformity rates in collectivist cultures compare to those in individualist cultures?

Answer 14

Conformity rates are higher in collectivist cultures.

Question 15

What does Asch’s study tell us about conformity in women and other cultures?

Answer 15

Asch’s findings tell us little about conformity in women and people from some cultures.

Question 16

What is one strength of Asch’s research?

Answer 16

Support from other studies for the effects of task difficulty.

Question 17

What did Todd Lucas et al. (2006) study?

Answer 17

They asked participants to solve ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ maths problems, where participants conformed more often with harder problems.

Question 18

What does Lucas et al.’s study suggest about task difficulty and conformity?

Answer 18

It shows that task difficulty is a variable that affects conformity.

Question 19

What counterpoint did Lucas et al.’s study reveal about conformity?

Answer 19

Conformity is more complex than Asch suggested; participants with high confidence conformed less on hard tasks than those with low confidence.

Question 20

What individual-level factor can influence conformity?

Answer 20

An individual’s confidence in their abilities can interact with situational variables like task difficulty.

Question 21

What aspect did Asch not research according to the findings of Lucas et al.?

Answer 21

Asch did not research the roles of individual factors in conformity.

Question 22

What is conformity?

Answer 22

A change in a person’s behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people.