Variables affecting conformity Flashcards
Group Size
Conformity rates increase as the size of a majority group increases. However, the size of the group stops
having an effect on conformity once the group reaches a certain size.
When there was one real participant, and one confederate conformity was?
3%
When there were two confederates and one real participant conformity increased to?
13%
When there were three confederates and one real participant conformity increased to?
32%
the size of the majority does have an effect on conformity but
only to a point
Unanimity
Unanimity increases conformity rates as there is complete agreement from all members of the group of
people about an answer or viewpoint.
When Asch varied his study and had one confederate give the correct answers throughout the research, conformity dropped to?
5.5%
Asch concluded that when a dissenter breaks the group’s unanimity, then?
rates of conformity decrease.
Task Difficulty
Conformity rates increase when the difficulty of a task increases.
In one variation of Asch’s research he made the stimulus line and comparison lines more similar in
length so that the correct answer was less obvious and therefore the task was harder.
When the difficulty of the task increased conformity rates increased.
Research to support TASK DIFFICULTY as a variable affecting conformity was conducted by?
Asch
Criticism of Asch?
culture bias
Explanation of the culture bias in Asch’s study
it is difficult to generalise the findings to non-western cultures such as China, where the social group is more important than the individual and may be more likely to conform and agree with the group to be liked by them, regardless of the variable affecting conformity
What did Bond and Smith find in their study?
In China, the social group is more important than the individual and may be more likely to conform and agree with the group to be liked by them, regardless of the variable affecting conformity
