[Topic 2] Variables affecting conformity

Question 1

What was Asch’s study?

Answer 1

• He studied conformity using a visual discrimination task in which a group of participants had to say out loud which of the 3 compassion lines matched the standard line
• 123 American male undergraduates
• 18 trials, 12 critical trials (all confederates gave wrong answer)
• All but one of the participants were actually confederates who were initially instructed to give a unanimously incorrect answer on two- thirds of the eighteen trials

Question 2

What did Asch Find?

Answer 2

• Participants gave the wrong answer 36.8% of the time
• 75% Conformed overall
• 25% did not conform at all
• When interviewed they said they conformed to avoid rejection

Question 3

What were the 3 Variables affecting conformity

Answer 3

1. Group size:
   - Asch found that conformity was lower when group size was smaller and increases as group size increased
   - There was very little conformity with one or two confederates but three increased conformity to 31.8%
   - However Further increase in group size did not lead to more conformity
2. Unanimity of the group:
   - Asch also found that conformity deceased when the group’s unanimity was disturbed and one them gave the correct answer rather than incorrect answer
   - When the confederates were unanimous, conformity occurred 31.8% of the time. When confederates dissented it dropped to 6%
3. Difficulty of the task:
   - When Asch made the task more difficult by making the compassion and standard lines very similar, so the correct answer was much less obvious. Conformity increased the more difficult the task was
   - When the task is easy, NSI operates and participants show compliance. When the task is more difficult, conformity most likely occurs due to ISI

Question 4

What is the term Asch effect used to describe?

Answer 4

The extent to which participants conform even when when the situation is unambiguous (obvious)

Question 5

Evaluation 1 : Not all participants in Asch’s experiments conformed

Answer 5

• Not all participants in Asch’s experiments conformed when the majority unanimously gave the wrong answers
• In 2/3 of trials, participants kept their original answer, despite a large majority expressing a completely different view
• Asch argued this indicated a tendency for participants to show independent behaviour rather than simply conform
• This suggests that majority influence is not as strong as it might seem as a higher proportion of trials produce an independent response rather than conforming to the majority position

Question 6

Evaluation 2: Asch’s findings may not be true today

Answer 6

• Asch’s findings may not be true today as the research took place at a time when conformity was high
• The US was affected by McCarthyism at the time, so people were scared to go against the majority
• Perrin and Spencer replicated Asch’s study in the 1980’s and only had one conforming response in 386 trials
• This suggests that conformity levels change over time and that Asch’s research could be regarded as a ‘child of its time’ rather than a universal phenomenon