variables affecting conformity Flashcards
aim of Asch’s study
investigate conformity and majority influence
how individuals conform to group opinions
participants involved in Aschs study
123 male american undergraduates
organised into 6 groups
1 ppt
5 confederates
Asch’s procedure
ppts presented with 4 lines
3 comparison lines
1 standard line
asked to identify matching line
real ppt answered last
percentage of ppts conforming
36.8%
percentage of ppt who never conformed
25%
results of the control trail in Aschs study
only 1% of responses given by participants were incorrect
eyesight/percepion not an EV
factors increasing conformity
size of majority/group size
optimal group size for influencing conformity
four
conformity doesn’t significantly increase in groups larger than this
what happens when majority is unanimous
conformity increases
When joined by another participant giving the correct answer, conformity fell from 32% to 5.5%.
task difficulty’s effect on conformity
increased conformity
ppts are more uncertain and look to others
Fill in the blank: An individual is more likely to conform when the __________ is unanimous.
majority
A unanimous group provides normative social influence.
What is the relationship between task difficulty and informational social influence?
The more difficult the task, the greater the conformity
lacks ecological validity
Asch 1951
task was artificial and lacked real world consequences
cannot generalise to real life situations where there are more consequences
lack temporal validity
- may be different today
Perrin and Spencer 1980
when repeated in the UK, only 1 out of 396 trails showed conformity
conformity is dependent on era and culture
ethical issues
- deception
Asch 1951
ppts told they were doing a vision test
raised ethical concerns about the lack of informed consent and protection from harm
lacks population validity
only uses american male students
limits generalisability
