Psychology - Social Influence: Variables affecting Conformity Flashcards
What was the aim of Asch’s Line study?
To test levels of conformity in an unambiguous situation
What was the sample of Asch’s line test?
123 male students
What was the Procedure of Asch’s Line test?
The Naive was placed in the penultimate spot in a row of confederates where they were asked to preform an eye test and judge the length of a line; the answers were obvious and the P had to believe they were with other P’s. Each P had 18 trials, 12 of which the confederates displayed the wrong answers
What were the Findings of Asch’s Line test?
on average P’s conformed 32% of the time; 76% conformed at least once; only 26% didn’t conform at all
The control group without confederates only gave 1% of incorrect answer
What can we conclude from Asch’s line test?
Most P’s in a post interview revealed they knew the answer wrong but conformed due to group pressure - this fits in with Normative social influence
What are evaluation points for Asch’s Line test?
. Lacks Population Validity
. Low in Temporal / Historical Validity
. High control of variables
What are 3 factors which affect conformity?
. Unanimity
. Group size
. Task Difficulty
What is the optimum group size?
3-8
How does unanimity affect conformity?
If one other confederate breaks the unanimity then the Naive will have the social support to say another answer even if the other was wrong
