Variable affecting conformity

Question 1

Outline the procedure and findings of Asch’s key study in 1956.

Answer 1

123 US males used as naïve participants were tested. They were asked to look at three lines of different lengths. Each person present in the room had to suggest which line A,B or C was the most like the target line. The answer was always obvious. 12/18 answers were given wrong by the confederates. The aim of the experiment was to see how many people would conform. They found that the average conformity rate was 33%. 25% never conformed. 75% conformed on the first trial.

Question 2

Discuss group size as a variable affecting conformity.

Answer 2

Conformity was low with 1-2 confederates. When there were 3 it jumped to 30%. From 3-5 there was maximum level of conformity.

Question 3

Discuss unanimity as a variable affecting conformity.

Answer 3

Whether a non-conformist would affect naïve participant. When a confederate was introduced that disagreed with the other this reduced conformity from 33% to 5.5%.

Question 4

Discuss the difficulty of the task as a variable affecting conformity.

Answer 4

Asch made the task more difficult by making it harder to judge the correct answer. This lead to more uncertainty which made the naïve participants seek confirmation from others, more informational social influence, which lead to an increase in conformity.