Research Into Conformity (Social Influence) Flashcards
Who was the researcher involved with conformity?
Asch
What was Aschs baseline study?
123 American Males were involved in
Groups of around 6-8, only one was a genuine (naïve) pps
Given the task to match comparison lines based on length
Confederates would all give the same incorrect answers
What were the findings of Aschs study?
Pps agreed with the confederates incorrect answers 36.8% of the time
25% of pps had never conformed to the confederates answer
What were the 3 variables Asch investigated in his study?
Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty
How was group size investigated in Aschs study + findings?
Total group size varied from 2 to 16 (confederate numbers went from 1 to 15)
Found a curvilinear relationship, conformity rates increased with group size up to a point
3 confederates - conformity to the wrong answer rose to 31.8%, conformity rate soon levelled off
Suggesting people are sensitive to others views (3 confederates were enough to alter opinion)
How was unanimity investigated in Aschs study + findings?
Introduced a confederate who disagreed with the other confederates, gave a different answer
Conformity rates dropped to less than a quarter of the level it was when unanimous
Presence of the dissenter allowed the pp to behave more independently
Non-conformity more likely to happen when cracks are perceived in the majority’s unanimous view
How was Task difficulty investigated in Aschs study + findings?
Lines were made to be more similar in length - harder for the genuine pp to see differences between the lines
Conformity increased - answer is unclear - informational social influence
What is a strength of Aschs study?
There is research to support from other studies
Lucas et al - gave pps both easy and hard math questions, they had also been given answers from 3 other students that weren’t actually real
Pps were more likely to conform when the question was harder
Highlighting the impact of informational social influence and self efficacy (how confident you are in yourself)
What are limitations of Aschs study?
Lacks ecological validity- artificial stimuli was used, identifying lines was relatively trivial, so no reason not to conform, also only American males were tested
Demand characteristics- the artificial environment + the impact of the confederates providing the incorrect answers could cause the pp to understand the aim of the study
Lacks temporal validity- Perrin and Spencer conducted same study 25 years later with engineering students, only 1/396 conformed, due to a more individualistic society (more concerned about themselves rather than a social group)
