Conformity: Asch’s Research

Question 1

Outline Asch’s research

Answer 1

Solomon Asch (1951, 1955):
- tested conformity by showing ppts two large white cards at a time
- one card had a ‘standard line’ and the other card had three ‘comparison lines’
- one of the three lines was the same length as the standard and the other two were always substantially different (clearly wrong)
- the ppt was asked which of the three lines matched the standard line

• on the first few trials all the confederates gave the right answers but then they started making errors
• all the confederates were instructed to give the same wrong answers
• altogether each ppt took part in 18 trials and on 12 ‘critical trials’ the confederates gave the wrong answers
• a trial was one occasion identifying the length of a standard line

Question 2

Describe the sample in Asch’s research

Answer 2

• ppts were 123 American male undergraduates
• each naïve ppt was tested individually with a group of between 6 and 8 confederates
• the naïve ppt was not aware that the other ppts were confederates

Question 4

What were the findings of Asch’s research?

Answer 4

• naïve ppts gave a wrong answers 36.8% of the time
• overall 25% of the ppts did not conform on any trials, which means that 75% conformed at least once
• the term ‘Asch effect’ has been used to describe this result - the extent to which ppts conform even when the situation is unambiguous
• when ppts were interviewed afterwards most said they conformed to avoid rejection (NSI)

Question 5

Outline and describe Asch’s variations

Answer 5

1. Group size
   - he wanted to know whether the size of the group would be more important than the agreement of the group
   - he found that with 3 confederates conformity to the wrong answer rose to 31.8%
   - but the addition of further confederates made little difference
   - this suggests that a small majority is not sufficient for influence to be exerted but, at the other extreme, there is no need for a majority of more than 3.
2. Unanimity
   - he also wanted to know if the presence of another, non-conforming, person would affect the naïve ppts conformity
   - introduced a confederate who disagreed with the others
   - conformity was reduced by a quarter from the level it was when the majority was unanimous
   - presence of a dissenter enabled naïve ppt to behave more independently
3. Task difficulty
   - Asch made task more difficult by making the stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in length
   - conformity i creased under these conditions
   - suggests ISI plays a greater role when the task is harder
   - because situation is more ambiguous, so we are more likely to look to other people for guidance and to assume they are right and we are wrong

Question 6

A03: Outline temporal/historical validity as evaluation for Asch’s research

Answer 6

• Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated Asch’s study with engineering students in the UK (only one student conformed in a total of 396 trials)
• possible that the 1950s (when Asch carried out his research) were an especially conformist time in America, and therefore it made sense to conform and people are possible less conformist today
• limitation of Asch’s research because it means that the Asch effect is not consistent across situations and may not be consistent across time, and so is not a fundamental feature of human behaviour

Question 7

A03: Outline artificial situation and task as evaluation for Asch’s study

Answer 7

• ppts knew they were in a research study and may simply have gone along with the demands of the situation (demand characteristics)
• the task of identifying lines was relatively trivial and therefore there was really no reason not to conform
• the groups didn’t resemble groups that we are part of in everyday life
• limitation as it means the findings do not generalise to everyday situations
• the is especially true where the consequences of conformity might he more important, and we interact with other people in groups in a much more direct way

Question 8

A03: Outline how the limited application of findings is an evaluation of Asch’s study

Answer 8

• only men were tested by Asch
• other research suggests women might be more conformist, possibly as they are more concerned about social relationships than men are (Neto 1995)
• the men from Asch’s study were from the United States, an individualist culture, where people are more concerned about themselves rather than their social group
• similar conformity studies carried out in collectivist cultures (such as China where the social group is more important than the individual) have found that conformity rates are higher
• makes sense as such cultures are more oriented to group needs (Bond and Smith 1996)
• this shows that conformity levels are sometimes even higher than Asch found
• Asch’s findings may only apply to American men as he didn’t take gender and cultural differences into account

Question 9

A03: Outline how findings only apply to certain situations

Answer 9

• ppts had to answer out loud and were with a group of strangers who they wanted to impress
• could mean that conformity was higher than usual
• on the other hand, Williams and Sogon (1984) found conformity was actually higher when the majority of the group were friends than when they were strangers

Question 10

A03: Outline ethical issues with Ash’s study

Answer 10

• naïve ppts were deceived as they thought the other people involved in the procedure were also genuine ppts
• however it is worth being in mind that this ethical cost should be weighed up against the benefits gained from the study