Asch, variables affecting conformity (1951)

Question 1

How many participants?

Answer 1

123 white male American undergraduates.
-Cultural Bias + Ethnocentric
-Alpha Bias

Question 2

What was the procedure?

Answer 2

-2 white cards were displayed
- 1st one had a standard line and 2nd card had 3 comparison lines with one being the same as the standard line
-Pps were tested in groups of 6-8 with only one being the genuine pp others were confeds
-Confeds all gave the wrong answer

Question 3

Results?

Answer 3

Participants agreed with confederates’ answers 36.8% of the time (1/3) and 25% didn’t conform

Question 4

Variable 1: Group size

Answer 4

Conformity increased with group size. With 3 confederates conformity increased to 31.8% but the presence of more confederates made little difference

Question 5

What does this show?

Answer 5

This shows that the majority must be at least 3 to exert influence but an overwhelming majority is not needed to bring about conformity

Question 6

Variable 2: Unanimity

Answer 6

Asch introduced confederates that disagreed with the other confederates.
Pps conformed less in the presence of the dissenter
If correct answer was given conformity went from 32% to 5.5%
If answer was different conformity went from 32% to 9%

Question 7

What does this show?

Answer 7

Shows that unanimity is vital in establishing a consistent majority view. It provides normative social influence through preventing any conflicting views arising

Question 8

Variable 3: Task difficulty

Answer 8

-Asch wanted to know if making tasks harder would increase the degree of conformity.
-He increased the difficulty to discern between the OG line and comparison lines.
-Ach found that conformity increased

Question 9

What does this show?

Answer 9

It suggests that ISI is a mechanism for conformity when the situation is ambiguous as the individual does not have enough knowledge to make informed decisions so they look to others.

Question 10

Evaluation: Limitation

Answer 10

-Task and situation were artificial
-Pps knew they were in a study and may have gone along with what was expected
-Findings

Question 11

Evaluation- Limitation

Answer 11

-All pps were American men
-America is an individualist culture, similar studies had been held in countries with collectivist cultures and conformity rates where higher
-This means that Asch’s findings tell us little about conformity from people in different cultures