Situational Factors Affecting Conformity

Question 1

How does group size affect conformity rates?

Answer 1

• Increase in group size results in an increase in conformity levels
• Asch re ram his experiment but this time varied the amount of confederates used
• 1 Confederate= 3% conformity
• 2 Confederates= 12.8% conformity
• 3 Confederates+ 33.3% conformity

-Inc. confederate number beyond 3 did not effect conformity levels

Question 2

What effect does group unanimity have on conformity rates?

Answer 2

• When there is a totally unanimous decision amongst participants there is more pressure to conform and conformity levels increase
• However if someone agrees with you, conformity is lower

Question 3

What effect does task difficulty have on conformity levels?

Answer 3

• When an answer is not clear conformity levels increase, possibly because if a task is more difficult, its less embarrassing to conform to those around you
• Asch (1956)