conformity: aschs research ao1

Question 1

asch 1951 did …

Answer 1

baseline study

Question 2

procedure asch baseline study

Answer 2

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 3

asch 1951 baseline findings

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is conformity

Answer 4

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

Question 5

3 variables investigated by asch and when

Answer 5

1955
group size
unanimity
task difficulty

Question 6

procedure of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 6

asch varied n.o of ppts from 1-15

Question 7

findings of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 7

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 8

conclusions of asch group size 1955 variation

Answer 8

shows that people are very sensitive to the views of others bc 1 or 2 confederates

Question 9

procedure of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 9

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

Question 10

findings of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 10

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

Question 11

conclusions of asch unanimity 1955 variation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

procedure of asch task difficulty 1955 variation

Answer 12

asch increased task difficulty by making difference between line lengths smaller

Question 13

findings of asch task difficulty 1955 variation

Answer 13

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