aschs study Flashcards
asch
Explain the Jenness study
- Conducted one of the earliest studies into conformity
- used ambiguous situation involving counting a glass bottle with 811 white beans
- 101psychology students , individually estimated how much was in the glass
- Then divided into groups of 3, were asked to discuss their estimates in a group, and then do another individual estimate a second time
Findings of Jenness
Jenness 1932
- Found that nearly all P had changed their answers, shows that conformity levels rise specifically when placed in an ambiguous situation
Aschs prodecure?
- Lab experiment
- 123 male students particapated in a “vision test”
- 1 naive particapents in a room with 7 confederates
- Real P was deceived, P didnt know that the C had already pre planned their answers
- Each person had to say their answer out loud , real P sat at the end and said their answer last
- 18 trials , C gave wrong answer 12 times , called critical trials
Aschs results ?
On average, 1/3 (32%) conformed
- Over the 12 trials , 75% conformed at least once
- When asked to write answers on paper, conformity rates fell by 12.5%
What were the 3 variations Asch undertook to see which would affect conformity more?
Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty
Group size?
Number of C varied between 1-15
Findings - 1 C - 3 %
2 C - 13%
3 C - 32%
Found that adding more C didnt make a difference
Unanimity ?
Added truthful C and a C who was dissenting but inaccurate
Findings - dissenting C reduced conformity
Correct answers. - Dropped 5%
Different but incorrect - Dropped 9%
Shows that if you break the unanimity position, conformity levels are going to drop even if the answer is incorrect
Task difficulty
Made line judging task harder , by making stimulus line and comparison line more similar
Findings - Conformity increased when task was more difficult, bc of ISI, situation is more ambiguous, so we are more likely to look to others for guidance
Disadvtange of aschs study
P- may not be true anymore, sa the research took place at a time when conformity was high
E - US affected by McCarthy at the time, so people were scared to go against the majority
E - Perrin and Spencer (1980) replicated Aschs study, only had 1 conforming response in 386 trials
L- suggests that conformity levels change over time and that his research could be considered as “child of its time” rather than universal phenomenon
Disadvtange of Aschs study
P - study could be criticised for lacking population validity , as no woman were included and participants were only from US
E - matters because Neto found woman conform more than men as they value social relationships more
E - Pps were only from USA , an individualist culture, smith and bond (1998) suggests that conformity rates are higher in collectivist cultures which are more concerned with group needs
L - suggests that conformity levels may sometimes be even higher than what Asch suggested, as his findings are limited to only American men
Advtange of aschs study
P - support from other studies on the effect of task difficulty
E - e.g Lucas et al (2006) asked their pps to solve easy and hard maths problems
E - PPs were given answers from 3 other students (not real students), found that pps conformed more often when the problem was harder
L- shows that Asch was correct in. claiming that task difficulty is one variable which effects conformity levels
What is conformity?
A change in a person’s behaviour, opinions, or beliefs as a result of peer pressure from others
What are the 3 types of conformity?
Compliance, identification and internalisation
What is compliance?
Going along with the group, publicly agreeing but privately disagreeing
What is identification
When we want to be accepted and liked by the groups so we publicly agree even if we privately disagree
