CONFORMITY: ASCH LINE STUDY Flashcards
what was the procedure of Asch’s line study?
it was a controlled investigation. American male students volunteered to take a test of their ‘vision’. other participants were confederates. (7 confederates, 1 participant sat to a table).they had to say which of the 3 lines was most similar to the one shown to them. the real participants answered 2nd to last or last. on 12/18 trials, the confederates were instructed to give the wrong answers.
what were the findings of Asch’s line study?
one the 12 trials of wrong answers, 37% of participants responded wrong, so they conformed to the majority. 75% conformed at least once, 25% not at all. without the confederates wrong answers, participants answered right 99% of the time. mot said they conformed to avoid social rejection.
what were the 3 variations of Aschs line study?
group size, unanimity, task difficulty.
what were the findings of the variation ‘group size’?
when 1 confederate gave the wrong answer, the conformity rate was 3%, with 3 confederates it rose to 31.8%, however with more confederates it made very little difference. this suggests that a majority of 3 is the most effective
what were the findings of the variation ‘unanimity’?
the presence of a non-conforming confederate reduced conformity rates, whether they gave the right/wrong answer. conformity rate was around 25% so it seemed to enable independent behaviour. this suggests the majority needs to be unanimous to have the greatest difference.
what were the findings of the variation ‘task difficulty’?
when the stimulus line and comparison line were similar length, the tasks were more difficult and conformity levels increased. this suggests informational social influence plays a greater role when tasks are more difficult as the situation becomes more ambiguous so individuals look to others for guidance.
AO3: how is ‘high levels of control’ a strength to Asch’s line study?
The study was a laboratory experiment so all variables were carefully controlled. this meant that there was no extraneous variables so any change in the results produced were due to a change in the independent variable. it also had high reliability as they used standardised procedures which meant it was easily replicable.
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength to Asch’s line study?
Asch’s line study allowed us to understand human behaviour and the effects of peer pressure within society. it allowed us to understand why so many people conform to their peers as they want to avoid social rejection/humiliation. for example, in todays society this is very common as we can see how many people on social media follow along with micro trends in order to fit in with the rest of society. it also allows us to understand how societal standards and the fear of standing out from society can negatively impact individuals mental health, especially with the increase in use from social media and wanting to fit in and conform with the unrealistic standards it portrays.
AO3: how is ‘gender and culture bias’ a limitation to aschs line study?
asch only used male, american participants. this meant that there was beta bias as the results were generalised to women when the data was from all males. this is an issue as women tend to act differently in society compared to men and they are usually more compliant. there is also culture bias as all the participants were american. this meant that the findings were based on individualist western cultures when in fact eastern cultures adopt a more collectivist approach and so would behaviour in a different way to what Asch found. therefore, this means that the research lacks generalisability in both genders and cultures.
AO3: how is ‘ethical issues’ a limitation to Aschs line study?
the participants were naive and deceived as they thought the confederates were also other participants that were genuine like themselves. however, is this one ethical issue found such a problem compared to all the benefits gained from the research conducted.
