Asch's study

Question 1

STRENGTH 1

Answer 1

P: Supported by real-life evidence.
E: Jenness (1932) showed people conform in ambiguous situations.
E: Asch extended this to unambiguous ones.
L: Increases confidence in normative social influence theory.

Question 2

STRENGTH 2

Answer 2

P: Highly controlled.
E: Standardised procedure and controlled environment.
E: Can be replicated.
L: Increases reliability.

Question 3

WEAKNESS 1

Answer 3

P: Lacks ecological validity.
E: Task was artificial (matching lines).
E: Doesn’t reflect real-life conformity.
L: Limits generalisability to everyday situations.

Question 4

WEAKNESS 2

Answer 4

P: Sample bias.
E: All male, American college students.
E: May not apply to females or non-Western cultures.
L: Lacks population validity.

Question 5

WEAKNESS 3

Answer 5

P: Ethical issues.
E: Participants were deceived.
E: They believed others were real participants.
L: Raises concerns about informed consent.