conformity: aschs research ao1

Question 1

procedure asch baseline study

Answer 1

• 123 american males
• thought they were taking part in perception test
• tested group of confederates
  only one real ppt per group
• there was a standard line and then 3 varying lines of differing lengths
• ppt asked which of 3 lines resembled standard
  everyone answered same question out loud
  confederates always gave the same answer (correct or incorrect)
• real ppt always in second from last position

Question 2

asch 1951 baseline findings

Answer 2

on av ppt conformed to an incorrect answer 36.8% of the time
75% conformed at least once

Question 3

what is conformity

Answer 3

a change in a persons behaviour as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people

Question 4

3 variables investigated by asch following baseline

Answer 4

• group size
• unanimity
• task difficulty

Question 5

procedure of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 5

asch varied n.o of ppts from 1-15

Question 6

findings of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 6

• conformity increased with increasing group size but only up till a certain point - then it levelled off again
• 3 confederates - 31% rise in conformity
  7 confederates - 36%
  then it started to level off again

Question 7

conclusions of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 7

shows that people are very sensitive to the views of others bc 1 or 2 confederates was enough to sway opinions of ppt

Question 8

procedure of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 8

• introduced presence of non conforming confederate
  they either gave the correct answer or a different incorrect answer

Question 9

findings of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 9

• conformity dropped to 5-9% with presense of non conforming ppt

Question 10

conclusions of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 10

• influence of majority depends to a large extent on it being unanimous
• social support can reduce pressure to conform

Question 11

procedure of asch task difficulty 1955 variation

Answer 11

• asch increased task difficulty by making difference between line lengths smaller

Question 12

findings of asch task difficulty 1955 variation

Answer 12

• conformity increased
  bc as the task becomes more ambiguous people look to others for guidance (informational social influence)
  with the assumption that other people are right