factors/variables affecting conformity

Question 1

what are the three main variables affecting conformity?

Answer 1

Group size
unanimity
task difficulty

Question 2

how does group size effect conformity?

Answer 2

as the group size (majority) increase, so does conformity

Question 3

what research supports the idea that group size effects conformity?

Answer 3

ASCH
he found majority of 
one=3% conformity 
two=13%
three=32%
no increase beyond 3

Question 4

what conclusion or comments can you make on how group size effects conformity?

Answer 4

• as group size increases, so does conformity to a certain extent.
• only need a small group to have an influence but Asch only investigated small groups (up to 15)

Question 5

how does unanimity effect conformity?

Answer 5

if unanimity is broken, conformity goes down.

Question 6

what research supports the idea that unanimity effects conformity?

Answer 6

ASCH
he found that having a confederate give the right answer reduced conformity to 5%.
even a confederate giving the incorrect but different answer reduced conformity to 9%.
this breaking the unanimity.

Question 7

what comments can you make on unanimity effecting conformity?

Answer 7

• its an invisible effect

- social support decreased conformity

Question 8

how does task difficulty effect conformity?

Answer 8

as task difficulty increases, so does conformity

Question 9

what research supports the idea that task difficult effects conformity?

Answer 9

ASCH

he made the line more similar in length leading to increased conformity

Question 10

what comments can you make about task difficulty effecting conformity?

Answer 10

this increase in conformity due to an increased task difficulty suggests a shift from normative social influence to informational social influence

Question 11

what are the other two researchers who investigated factors effecting conformity (can be used as AO3)?

Answer 11

Perrin and Spencer

Smith and Lloyd

Question 12

what did peril and Spencer do?

Answer 12

• carried out an Asch styled experiment in 1980 using science and engineering students
• conformity rates dropped dramatically to 1 in 396 studies.
• this suggests that Asch’s research is a ‘child of its time’ (McCarthyism made people highly conforming)
• it may also be that participants were more confident with the practical task

Question 13

what did smith and Lloyd do?

Answer 13

• s and l compared rates of conformity in collectivist and individualist cultures.
• they replicated Asch’s study in a range of countries and found an average conformity similar to that of Asch’s
• The collectivist cultures such as African, Asian and South Americans had the average conformity rate of 37%
• whereas individual cultures such as Europe and the US had an average of only 25%
• this suggests that Ash’s study may lack population validity