aschs research

Question 1

who were the participants in aschs study

Answer 1

123 US male undergraduate students

Question 2

what were participants asked to do in aschs baseline study

Answer 2

look at three different lines and take turn in shouting out which line matched the length of a standard line

Question 3

when did the real participant always give their answer

Answer 3

second to last

Question 4

what were confederates instructed to do

Answer 4

give the same incorrect answer

Question 5

what was the average conformity rate over the 12 critical trials

Answer 5

33%

Question 6

how many participants never conformed on any of the critical trials

Answer 6

1/4 (one quater)

Question 7

when interviewed after the study, why did participants admit to changing their behaviour

Answer 7

to avoid disapproval from the group (NSI)

Question 8

how many confederates are needed to increase conformity

Answer 8

3

Question 9

what was the conformity rate when there was only one confederate

Answer 9

3%

Question 10

what was the conformity rate when there were two confederates

Answer 10

12.8 %

Question 11

what was the conformity rate when there were three confederates

Answer 11

30% close to aschs original baseline study

Question 12

what happens when the number of confederates increases beyond 3

Answer 12

no further effect on conformity levels, when there is too many confederates conformity levels actually decrease

Question 13

what is the trend with group size and conformity levels

Answer 13

as group size increases, conformity levels increase but up to a certain point

Question 14

why does group size increase group size

Answer 14

shows peoples sensitivity towards the views of others

Question 15

what did asch change in the unanimity variation

Answer 15

added a non-conforming confederate

Question 16

when the confederate gave a different incorrect response what happened to conformity levels

Answer 16

dropped to 9%

Question 17

when the confederate gave the correct answer what did conformity levels drop to

Answer 17

5%

Question 18

why does breaking unanimity decrease conformity

Answer 18

social support (ally) reduces the pressure to conform and allows us to be independent

Question 19

how did asch increase task difficulty

Answer 19

made the differences between the lines smaller

Question 20

as task difficulty increased what happened to conformity

Answer 20

increased

Question 21

why does increasing task difficulty increase conformity

Answer 21

as tasks become more ambiguous, people look to others for guidance to assume they are right

Question 22

what explanation for conformity does the task difficulty variation support

Answer 22

informational social influence

Question 23

what is the supporting evidence for the task difficulty variation of asch

Answer 23

Lucas et al research

Question 24

what was the procedure in lucas et als study

Answer 24

asked students to give answers to maths problems that were easy or difficult

Question 25

what did lucas find

Answer 25

there was greater conformity to incorrect answers given by confederates when the problems were more difficult

Question 26

what does lucas et als study show about task difficulty

Answer 26

when people are faced with perception that they may be wrong, they are more likely to look for others to reduce their uncertainty and fulfill their need to be right

Question 27

what does lucas et als study mean for aschs research

Answer 27

this is the outcome that was also found in aschs study so therefore this research increases the validity of the explanation

Question 28

however, what did asch fail to take into account that lucas et al also recorded

Answer 28

conformity is more complex than what Asch suggests, as those with high self efficacy were found to conform less

Question 29

what does lucas et als counterpoint mean for aschs study

Answer 29

dispositional factors interact with situational factors to influence conformity

Question 30

what is the opposing evidence to aschs research

Answer 30

perrin and spencer

Question 31

what did perrin and spencer suggest about aschs research

Answer 31

lacks temporal validity

Question 32

how did perrin and spencer investigate conformity

Answer 32

replicated Asch’s study using science and engineering students in the UK

Question 33

what did perrin and spencer find

Answer 33

only one student conformed in a total of 396 trials which was far different to the 75% of participants that conformed at least once in aschs research 30 years earlier

Question 34

what does perrin and spencers research suggest about aschs conformity study

Answer 34

the study may have been “a child of its time” because in the 1950s in USA it was an era of McCarthyism.

Most people at this time
were so scared they became social conformists and this may have increased the conformity
levels in Asch’s study

Question 35

what does perrin and spencer mean for aschs research

Answer 35

may not be consistent across time and situations and may not be a fundamental feature of human behaviour

Question 36

what is a counterpoint for why there was less conformity in perrin and spencers research

Answer 36

participants in perrin and spencers research were
engineering students, therefore, it may have been their level of expertise rather than the time
period that led to a difference in results compared to asch

Question 37

what does this counterpoint for perrin and spencer suggest

Answer 37

another variable that
may be of interest to researchers is the levels of expertise of the individual when investigating levels of conformity

Question 38

what is a problem with the sample asch used in his study

Answer 38

gender and culturally biased

Question 39

what does neto suggest about aschs research

Answer 39

argues there are differences in average levels of conformity between men and women

this is because females are more concerned with social relationships and as a result are more conformist

Question 40

what does bond suggest about aschs research

Answer 40

found a significant relationship demonstrating conformity is greater in more collectivistic countries

Question 41

why is conformity higher in collectivist cultures

Answer 41

more concerned for the groups needs rather than the individual’s needs

Question 42

why is asch therefore criticised for being culturally and gender biased

Answer 42

presents an androcentric and culture bias, suggesting that in other populations conformity levels may be even higher

doesnt reflect the wider population and therefore cant be generalised

Question 43

what is a methodological problem with aschs research

Answer 43

used an artifcial task in its methodology and therefore it
lacked mundane realism

Question 44

why is aschs study not reflective of everyday life

Answer 44

the participants were in an artifcial environment and the task of guessing a matching line was quite trivial, with no reason for them not to conform

Question 45

what does the methological issues in aschs research mean it lacks

Answer 45

ecological validity

Question 46

what is a problem with the lack of ecological validity in aschs research

Answer 46

must be generalised with caution to real life situations e.g. why young people get involved in gangs and drink alcohol due to peer pressure.

these are much more complex situations compared to the experimental method employed by asch

Question 47

what is the overall issue with the methodological issues in aschs study

Answer 47

results of the study may therefore be limited in their application to everyday life examples of conformity