ASCH'S STUDY - 1951

Question 1

asch’s aim

Answer 1

to see how group pressure affects group tasks with an obvious answer

Question 2

results of original study

Answer 2

75% of participants conformed at least once

Question 3

conclusions of the study

Answer 3

even in an unambiguous situation there is a strong group pressure to conform, especially if there is a unanimous majority.

Question 4

pros of the study

Answer 4

• highly valid data was gathered due to highly control conditions inside a laboratory
• the study produced a lot of applications due to the simplicity of the task - can explain normative AND informative conformity

Question 5

cons of the study

Answer 5

• does not represent whole society because they only did the experiment on men of similar age and backgrounds -> lacks generalizability
• gender variable creates a bias - skewed toward men
• Americans are taught to care for themselves ‘individualistic society’ and how they appear, collectivist may see higher levels of conformity?
• the artificial environment may have harmed the study due to social desirability as they thought they were helping the research

Question 6

V1 - size of group findings

Answer 6

the bigger the group, the more likely we are to conform - less than 2 conformity drops to about 10% but 3 it is 31.8%

Question 7

what is deindividuation

Answer 7

when you are not by yourself you are more likely to do what the group does - when you remove your own opinion to go along with the group

Question 8

V2 - group decision findings

Answer 8

if the decision is unanimous then conformity increases

Question 9

how does a dissenter apply in V2

Answer 9

they go against the majority and the confederates

Question 10

V3 - difficulty of task findings

Answer 10

on an easier task people are less likely to conform

Question 11

how does informative social influence apply to V3

Answer 11

if a problem is harder you are more likely to be wrong so look to peers for information to assist you

Question 12

what are nAffiliators

Answer 12

people how have a strong need for affiliation and want to relate to others so would usually comply

Question 13

what does Lucas et al tell us

Answer 13

participants conformed more to incorrect answers when the maths questions were difficult - affirms V3

Question 14

what were conformity rates when the answers were written down and why

Answer 14

12.5% - people felt more comfortable to have their opinion privately - normative social influence cannot influence them