aschs study evaluation conformity

Question 1

aschs study strengths (research support )

Answer 1

-lucas et al asked ps to solve easy and hard maths problems
-ps given answers from 3 other students
-ps conformed more often when questions were harder
-so task difficulty does affect conformity

Question 2

aschs study limitations - counterpoint research support

Answer 2

-lucas et al found conformity is more complex than asch suggested
-ps w more confidence on maths ablities conformed less on hard tasks than those w low confidence
-didn’t rlly consider individual factors

Question 3

aschs study limitations (artificial situ)

Answer 3

-demand characteristics= ps knew they were in a study
-task of identifying lines had no importance so rlly no reason to not conform
-groups don’t resemble the kind of grps in real life
-doesn’t generalise to the real world

Question 4

aschs study limitations on application

Answer 4

-american men
- woman may conform more then men
-US individualist care more ab themselves
-china collectivist = grp more important
-collectivist conformity is higher
-little on women and other cultures

Question 5

aschs study ethical issues

Answer 5

-naive ps decieved
-they thought confederate were genuine
-but sometimes ethical cost should be weighed up against benefits gained from the study