Conformity #

Question 1

what did asch devise

Answer 1

procedure to assess extent

people conform to the opinions of others

even when answer was unambiguous

Question 2

What is the procedure Asch devised called

Answer 2

Baseline Study

Question 3

why is the baseline study called the baseline study

Answer 3

one against which later studies are compared

Question 4

asch extended his baseline study to investigate

Answer 4

variables

that can lead

increase/decrease in conformity

Question 5

What were the varoables used in asch research

Answer 5

Group Size
Unanimity
Task Difficulty

Question 6

Summarise what the group size is about

Answer 6

wanted to know whether size of the group

would be

more important than the agreement of group

Question 7

How did he test group size on conformtity

Answer 7

varied number of confederates from 1-15

(total group size was from 2-16)

Question 8

What was relationship between group size and confromtiy rate

Answer 8

CURVILINEAR

Question 9

What happened to conformity as group size increased

Answer 9

conformity increased but only up to a certain point

Question 10

With three conefderates in the group size what happende to conformity (1 pt and 2 conf )

Answer 10

confomrity to wrong answer increased to 31.8%

Question 11

what difference did the presence of more make

Answer 11

little difference - confomrity rate soon levelled off

Question 12

What can we conclude from the group size findings

Answer 12

most people sensitive to view of others as just one/two conf enough to sway opinion

Question 13

What was the aim of unanimity/ what did he want to find out

Answer 13

if presence of non-conforming person would affect naive participant’s conformity

Question 14

What did he introducein the unanimity experiment

Answer 14

confederate who disagreed with other confederates

Question 15

what did asch introduce in the unanimity exp

Answer 15

confederate who disagreed with other confederates

Question 16

WHat were the two variations in unaimity

Answer 16

• person gave correct answer
  -person gave wrong answer

Question 17

When did the genuine particpant conform less often

Answer 17

in the prescence of the dissenter

Question 18

the rate decreased to less than a quarter of the level it was when….

Answer 18

majority was unanimous

Question 19

what did the prescence of the dissenter appear to do

Answer 19

free participant to behave more independently

Question 20

the prescence of the dissenter appeared to free particpants to behavre more inependentlye

this was true even when

Answer 20

dissenter disagreed with teh genuine particpant

Question 21

What can we learn overall from unanimity

Answer 21

the majority’s influence on conformity depends to a large extent on it being unanimous

Question 22

in relation to unaminity conformity is more likely when

Answer 22

cracks are percieved in the majority’s unanimous view

Question 23

What did Asch want to know with task difficulty

Answer 23

whether making task harder would affect the degree of conformity

Question 24

Explain what Asch did in the task difficulty and what did this mean for teh genuine participants

Answer 24

increased difficulty

by making the stimulus line and comparison lines similar to eahc other

meaning harder for genuine pt to see diff between the lines

Question 25

In task difficulty when the lines were made more similar ot each other what did it mean for the genuine particpant

Answer 25

harder for genuine particpant to see the difference between the lines

Question 26

What did ash find in task difficulty about conformity

Answer 26

increased

Question 27

why did conformity increase in task difficulty#

… in these circumnstances

Answer 27

situations more ambigious when task is harder - right answer is unclear to participants

in these circumnstances natural to look to other people for guidance and to assume they’re right and you’re wrong (INFORMATIONAL SOCIAL INFLUENCE )

Question 28

LIMITATION SAMPLE GROUP USED

Asch used a x sample of 50 x students from College in x.

problem as other research suggests x may be more conformist as (could be) x more about x relationships and being x

Therefore, we cannot x the results to other populations,for example xstudents, and so we are x to x if female students would have conformed in a x way to x students.

As a result Asch’s sample lacks x validity and further x is required to determine whether x and x conform differently

Answer 28

Asch used a biased sample of 50 male students from College in America.

problem as other research suggests women may be more conformist as (could be) concerned more about social relationships and being accepted

Therefore, we cannot generalise the results to other populations,for example female students, and so unable to conclude if female students would have conformed in a similar way to male students.

As a result Asch’s sample lacks population validity and further research is required to determine whether males and females conform differently

Question 29

limiatiton limited application

Asch’s experiment = low levels of eco validity.

Asch’s test x task, dont reflect x in everyday life

+ people x they were part of the study so could have been acting due to x x

, furthermore task was x and x so there was no reason not to x

so we unable x results of Asch study to other real-life situations, such as why people may start x around friends, and therefore these results ltd in x to everyday life.

Answer 29

Asch’s experiment = low levels of eco validity.

Asch’s test artificial task, dont reflect conformity in everyday life

+ people knew they were part of the study so could have been acting due to demand characteristics

, furthermore task was trivial and unimportant so there was no reason not to conform

so we unable generalise results of Asch to other real-life situations, such as why people may start smoking around friends, and therefore these results ltd in application to everyday life.

Question 30

strenght - research support - task difficulty

support from other x for effects of task x

x et al 2006 asked pt to solve easy and x maths problems and found x rates of confomity when problems where x

which shows asch x in claiming task difficulty is one of the x affecting conformiy

Answer 30

support from other studies for effects of task difficulty

lucas et al 2006 asked pt to solve easy and hard maths problems and found higher rates of confomity when problems where harder

which shows asch correct in claiming task difficulty is one of the variables affecting conformiy

Question 31

counterpoint ot research support strength

lucas et al found conformity more x than asch suggested

pt with x confidence in math abilities conformed x on hard tasks than those with x confidence

showing that an x level factor can x conformity by interacting with x variables e.g task difficulty

but asch didnt research roles of x factors whihc furthermore limits x of his research and x made

Answer 31

lucas et al found conformity more complex than asch suggested

pt with high confidence in math abilities conformed less on hard tasks than those with low confidence

showing individual level factor can influence conformity by interacting with situational variables e.g task difficulty

but asch didnt research roles of individual factors whihc furthermore limits validity of his research and conclusions made