social influence Asch's research (procedures) Flashcards
how did Solomon Asch (1951,1955) test conformity
procedures
participants were showed two large white cards at a time
One card had a “standard line “
On the other card there were three “comparison lines”
One of the three lines was the same length as the standard and the other two were always substantially different (i.e. wrong). The participants were asked which of the three lines matched the standard
who were the participants
the participants were 123 American male undergraduates.
how were the participants tested
each of the naive participants were tested with a group of between 6 to 8 confederates (actors)
the naive participants were not aware that the others were confederates
how did the first few trails went
in the first few trails all the confederates gave the right answers but then they all started making errors.
All the confedrates were instructed to give the same wrong answer
how many trails did each participant take part in
18 trails and on the 12th “critical trails” the confederates gave the wrong answer.
A trail was one occasion identifying the length of he standard line
where were the naive/ genuine participants seated
the genuine participants were always seated wither last or next to last in the group.
how did the participants give there answers
one at the time beginning with the first person
what were the findings of Asxh’s research
naive participants gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time
25% did not conform on any of the trails
75% did conform at least once on the trails
The term Asch effect has been used to describe this result - the extent that participants conform even when the situation is unambiguous
why did the participants say they conformed when they were interviewed
to avoid being rejected ( normative social influence))
