Social Influence- Conformity: Asch’s Research Flashcards
Aim of Asch’s research
Examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority, could affect a person to conform in a task that is unambiguous.
Asch’s procedure
50 male undergraduate participants were told they were taking part in a ‘vision test’.
Placed in a room with 7 confederates (only 1 real naive participant)
Asked to match one out of the three comparison lines (A, B or C) to the standard line.
State the answer out loud
The answer was always unambiguous
The real participant was always sat at the end of the row and asked to answer last
18 trials in total
In the 12 critical trials the confederates unanimously gave the wrong answers
Asch’s findings
On average 37% of ps conformed to the confederates wrong answer
Over the 12 critical trials:
75% ps conformed at least once
25% ps clever conformed
Asch’s conclusion
High level of conformity than expected
When Asch interviewed the ps after the experiment, most of them stated that they did not actually believe their conforming answer, but went along with it due to the fear of being ridiculed or seen and ‘peculiar’ / avoid rejection this displays compliance.
This demonstrates normative social influence
Variables affecting conformity
Group size
Task difficulty
Unanimity
Group size
Asch (1955) variation-
Wanted to know if the size of the group would be more important than the agreement of the group
Very little conformity with just one or two confederates
With 3 confederates, conformity rose to 32%
Further increase of size didn’t increase conformity
Task difficulty
Asch (1955) variation-
Asch made the line-judging task harder by making the standard line and the comparison lines more similar in length.
The rate of conformity increased as ISI added to the existing NSI. Not only do the ps want to be accepted by the group but the ambiguity of the task causes them to seek information from others as they believe the others know better and assume that they are right.
Unanimity
Asch (1955) variation-
Asch introduced a truthful confederate or a dissenting confederate
The presence of the dissenting confederate reduced conformity by a quarter of what it was when majority were unanimous
Having a fellow dissenter enables the ps to behave more independently
Limitations of Asch’s study (AO3)
Ethical issues- naive ps were deceived as the thought the confederates were also genuine ps. However this ethical cost should be weighed up against the benefits gained from the study
Lacks ecological validity- the study lacked ecological validity as it was conducted in a lab environment using an artificial task and unlikely scenario
The confederates were strangers to the ps and in real life situations we conform with friends
Williams and Sogen (1984) found that conformity rates were higher with people that you know
Androcentric- the sample only consisted of men, women were not represented. Results of research only apply to men
Neto (1995) suggested that women are more conformist as they are more concerned with social relationships
Cultural bias- It was conducted in America using only American men. America is an individualist country thus meaning that the needs of the individual are prioritised. In America being dependent was thought to be embarrassing
Therefore study done in China (collectivist countries) found conformity levels to be higher because the needs of the group are prioritised over the individual. (Bond and Smith 1996)
A child of its time- Perrin and Spencer (1980) found only one conforming response in 396 trials (ps were engineering students)- more confident in answering questions independently than Asch’s original sample so less conformist
1950s American were more likely to conform to established social norms but society has changed since then. So the Asch effect is not consistent over time, so is not enduring of human behaviour
Artificial situation and task- ps knew they were in a study so could have displayed demand characteristics. Findings do not generalise to everyday life situations where consequences of conformity are important. The task was trivial so there was no reason to conform.
Strengths of Asch’s research (AO3)
Reliability- standard procedure so can be replicated to increase reliability
It was a lab study so the variables can be controlled
Internal validity- there was no ambiguity in the task and therefore he was measuring conformity not peoples ability to perceive small differences in length giving it internal validity.
Answers were obvious showing the impact of majority
What is the Asch effect
The influence of the groups majority on an individual’s judgment
