Aschs Research + E

Question 1

Procedure

Answer 1

• Showed participants line comparisons. Then asked which line resembles the original line
• 123 male American participants tested in groups of 6-8 confederates.
• The naive participant was not aware of the confederates.
• On the first few trials the confederate gave the right answer
• The naive participant was always placed 6/7.
• Took part in 18 trials, 12 ‘critical trials’

Question 2

Findings

Answer 2

the naive participant gave the wrong answer 36.8%
25% of participants conformed
when interviewed most said that they conformed to avoid rejection

Question 3

What were Asch’s variations & effects

Answer 3

1. Group size - With 3 participants, conformity rose to 31/8% = no need for a majority of over 3
2. Unanimity - if non-conforming participants would sway the others. The presence of the dissenting participants meant that conformity dropped 1/4 and enabled the participant to act more independently.
3. Task difficulties - Conformity increased under these conditions. This could be a result of ISI

Question 4

What are the limitaitions of the study

Answer 4

1. A child of its time - Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated the study and only 1 conformed out of 396 trials. Could be due to society.
   * Not reliable as results are not consistent.*
2. Artificial stimuli - Participants showing demand characteristics. The task of recognising lines are trivial and participants had no reason not to conform.
   Fiske (2014) Asch group were randomised and not very ‘groupy’
   His Findings are not generalisable.
3. Limited applications of findings - only men were tested = women may be more conformist bec they could be more concerned about social relationships. + united states in an individualistic culture and studies were done in a collectivistic culture, conformity rates were higher.
4. Ethical issues - Participants were decieved.