Conformity: Asch

Question 1

whats the aim of Aschs experiment

Answer 1

to see if participants would conform to the majority even when the majority was obviously incorrect

Question 2

outline the procedure for Aschs experiment

Answer 2

• 123 American male college student volunteers were told they were taking part in a visual task
• they were put in groups of 7 - all but one of the participants were confederates of the experimenter
• they are all shown three lines and a stimulus line and they have to pick which one is the same length as stimulus
• the real P was the last but one to answer

Question 3

outline Aschs variations

Answer 3

group size > the number of people per group optimum is 3 - conformity doesnt change after 3

unanimity > all confederates gave the same answer - if the group was unanimous, conformity increased

task difficulty > the difficulty of the task given - conformity increases when the task is harder

private or public answer > whether they answer out loud or privately > conformity decreases when answers are given privately

Question 4

what did Aschs find / what were his results

Answer 4

baseline conformity = 37%
75% of participants conformed at least once
25% never conformed

Question 5

how many trials were conducted with the group giving a unianimous answer

Answer 5

12

Question 6

what explanation does Aschs research support

Answer 6

normative SI > people will conform to avoid rejection / to fit in

Question 7

how does Asch investigate group size and what did he find

Answer 7

• varied number of confederates 1-16
• one confederate = 3% conformity
• two confederates = 13% conformity
• three confedrates = 33%
• conformity rate stayed steady after

Question 8

how did Asch investigate unianimity and what did he find

Answer 8

• he asked one of the confederates to give the correct answer
• conformity dropped to 5.5% > shows that social support decreases conformity

Question 9

how did Asch investigate task difficulty and what did he find

Answer 9

• made the lines similar in size
• conformity increased when task was harder

Question 10

what a strength of Aschs experiment

Answer 10

• has high internal validity
  > standardised procedures > all P viewed same lines

Question 11

what are limitations of Aschs experiment

Answer 11

Perrin and Spencer > lacks temporal validity
- P+S exp: conformity in 1/396 > culture and society difference

Question 12

outline why Aschs results aren’t generalisable

Answer 12

• artificial task and situation
• demand characteristics
• culture bound > collectivist cultures have higher conformity rates