Asch's Study on Conformity

Question 1

Define unanimity related to Asch.

Answer 1

The extent to which all the members of a group agree.

In Asch’s studies, the majority was unanimous when all the confederates selected the same comparison line. This produced the greatest degree of conformity in the non-confederates.

Question 2

Define task difficulty related to Asch.

Answer 2

Asch’s line judging task is more difficult when it becomes harder to work out the correct answer. Conformity increases because the non-confederates assume that the majority is more likely to be right.

Question 3

Define group size related to Asch.

Answer 3

Asch increased the size of the group by adding more confederates, thus increasing the size of the majority. Conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was greater than three.

Question 4

Define compliance.

Answer 4

A superficial and temporary type of conformity where we outwardly go along with the majority because we believe it is correct. The change in our behaviour last as long as the group is monitoring us.