conformity - asch's study Flashcards
What was the aim of Solomon Asch’s conformity experiments?
To find out the extent to which people would conform to an obviously wrong majority consensus.
How many male participants were involved in Asch’s conformity experiments?
123 male participants.
What was the composition of the groups in the experiments?
Participants were put in groups with between 7 and 9 confederates.
How many trials did each participant complete?
Each participant completed 18 trials.
What was the critical aspect of the trials?
In the 12 critical trials, confederates all gave the same wrong answer.
What percentage of the time did participants conform to the incorrect group consensus?
Participants conformed to the incorrect group consensus 32% of the time.
What percentage of participants conformed to at least one incorrect answer?
75% of participants conformed to at least one incorrect answer.
What was the error rate in the control trials?
The error rate in the control trials was just 0.04%.
What were the three explanations given by conforming subjects for their conformity?
- Distortion of perception: perceived the majority estimates as correct.
- Distortion of judgement: Most were aware of their mistake but trusted the majority.
- Distortion of action: Some trusted their judgement but gave the wrong answer to avoid standing out.
