SI (Asch And Other Things) Flashcards
What is social influence?
The process through which the attitudes, beliefs or behaviours of an individual are changed by the presence or actions of others.
Define conformity.
Giving in to group pressure; adopting the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of a group in response to real or imagined pressure.
What was the aim of Asch’s 1951 study?
To see if participants would yield to majority social influence and give incorrect answers on a task, even when correct answers were obvious.
What method was used in Asch’s acquisition of his participants?
123 male American students were recruited using a volunteer sampling technique for a vision test.
What task did participants perform in Asch’s study?
Participants called out which of three lines (A, B, or C) was the same length as a standard line.
How many trials were participants subjected to in Asch’s study?
18 trials, with 12 being critical trials where confederates gave unanimous wrong answers.
What percentage of naive participants gave a wrong answer on critical trials?
36.8%.
What does it mean that 25% of participants did not conform on any trials?
75% of participants conformed at least once.
(Asch)
What did most participants say about their conformity when interviewed?
They conformed to avoid rejection.
What conclusion did Asch draw from his study?
Participants exhibited a ‘distortion of action’ by conforming to avoid ridicule, even when they knew the correct answer.
What is normative social influence?
Conforming to be liked or accepted by others.
What are some variables affecting conformity?
- Group size
- Unanimity
- Task difficulty
What is a limitation of Asch’s research regarding sample diversity?
It has low population validity due to a limited sample of American male students.
The study may not represent female behavior in conformity situations, as other research suggests women may be more conformist.
Why is Asch’s study considered gender biased?
Participants were only American male students, which may not represent female behavior in conformity situations.
Research indicates women may prioritize social relationships and acceptance.
What aspect of external validity is criticized in Asch’s study?
The results may not generalize to females or non-students, leading to low external validity.
Generalizability issues arise from the homogeneous sample.
What limitation is associated with the artificiality of Asch’s study?
It has low ecological validity due to the artificial situation and trivial task.
Participants may have conformed due to demand characteristics.
What did Fiske (2014) say about the groups in Asch’s study?
They were not very groupy and did not resemble real-life groups.
This suggests low ecological validity and limits generalization to real-life conformity.
What is a strength of Asch’s study regarding control over variables?
It uses the experimental method, allowing high control over extraneous variables.
This enables establishment of cause and effect relationships.
What does high control in Asch’s study contribute to?
It enhances internal validity by ensuring the IV (confederates’ answers) causes the DV (participants’ answers).
Confidence in the results about conformity is increased due to control over confounding variables.
What are the three ways in which people conform to the opinion of the majority according to Herbert Kelman?
- Internalisation
- Compliance
- Identification
Define Internalisation in the context of conformity.
When a person genuinely accepts the group norm, resulting in a private and public change of opinions/behaviour.
What is the permanence of change in Internalisation?
The change is likely to be permanent as attitudes have been internalised.
Provide an example of Internalisation.
A student becomes a vegetarian while sharing a flat with vegetarians and continues to be a vegetarian for life.
Define Compliance in the context of conformity.
Individuals change their opinions/behaviour to fit in with the group without changing privately.
