Conformity # Flashcards
what did asch devise
procedure to assess extent
people conform to the opinions of others
even when answer was unambiguous
What is the procedure Asch devised called
Baseline Study
why is the baseline study called the baseline study
one against which later studies are compared
asch extended his baseline study to investigate
variables
that can lead
increase/decrease in conformity
What were the varoables used in asch research
Group Size
Unanimity
Task Difficulty
Summarise what the group size is about
wanted to know whether size of the group
would be
more important than the agreement of group
How did he test group size on conformtity
varied number of confederates from 1-15
(total group size was from 2-16)
What was relationship between group size and confromtiy rate
CURVILINEAR
What happened to conformity as group size increased
conformity increased but only up to a certain point
With three conefderates in the group size what happende to conformity (1 pt and 2 conf )
confomrity to wrong answer increased to 31.8%
what difference did the presence of more make
little difference - confomrity rate soon levelled off
What can we conclude from the group size findings
most people sensitive to view of others as just one/two conf enough to sway opinion
What was the aim of unanimity/ what did he want to find out
if presence of non-conforming person would affect naive participant’s conformity
What did he introducein the unanimity experiment
confederate who disagreed with other confederates
what did asch introduce in the unanimity exp
confederate who disagreed with other confederates
WHat were the two variations in unaimity
- person gave correct answer
-person gave wrong answer
When did the genuine particpant conform less often
in the prescence of the dissenter
the rate decreased to less than a quarter of the level it was when….
majority was unanimous
what did the prescence of the dissenter appear to do
free participant to behave more independently
the prescence of the dissenter appeared to free particpants to behavre more inependentlye
this was true even when
dissenter disagreed with teh genuine particpant
What can we learn overall from unanimity
the majority’s influence on conformity depends to a large extent on it being unanimous
in relation to unaminity conformity is more likely when
cracks are percieved in the majority’s unanimous view
What did Asch want to know with task difficulty
whether making task harder would affect the degree of conformity
Explain what Asch did in the task difficulty and what did this mean for teh genuine participants
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
In task difficulty when the lines were made more similar ot each other what did it mean for the genuine particpant
harder for genuine particpant to see the difference between the lines
What did ash find in task difficulty about conformity
increased
why did conformity increase in task difficulty#
… in these circumnstances
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 )
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
