Mori and Arai

Question 1

what did Mori and Arai do in 2010?

Answer 1

they replicated Asch’s line comparison study

Question 2

what was their process?

Answer 2

• they gathered 104 participants and tested in groups of four at a time.
• In each group, three participants wore identical glasses, with one participant wearing a different set, thereby causing them to observe a different comparison when matching the lines.
• as in Asch’s study, the participants stated their answers publicly, with the minority participants always going 3rd.

Question 3

what were their findings?

Answer 3

unlike Asch who only used male participants, Mori and Arai used both male and females.

• for women only, the new findings closely matched the seminal research, with the minority participants being swayed by the majority on an average of 4.41 times out of the 12 key trials (compared with 3.44 times in the original)
• However, the male participants in the new study were not swayed by the majority view.

Question 4

what are some (suspected) reasons for men not being swayed in the new study?

Answer 4

-cultural changed – the current study was conducted in Japan.
- generational changes
-minority and majority participants in their study knew each other however participants in Asch’s study didn’t know each other.
Mori and Arai argued it is more important to understand how we conform to our friends and acquaintances because conformity to strangers is a rare occurrence in everyday life.

Question 5

what can we conclude from Mori and Arai’s study?

Answer 5

-updated Asch’s study making it more historically and ecologically valid.
(gender, culture and appropriation)