variables affecting conformity

Question 1

asch experiment- aim

Answer 1

To investigate whether individuals would conform to a majority opinion even when the answer was clearly incorrect.

Question 2

asch experiment- procedure

Answer 2

10 male students- 1 was actual ppt, others were confederates. Shown a standard line and 3 comparison lines, asked to match correctly.
Confederates gave wrong answers on 12/18 trials.
Measured if the real participant conformed to the majority.

Question 3

asch experiment- findings

Answer 3

5% ppts conformed to all 12 wrong answers.
75% ppts conformed to at least 1 wrong answer.
control group had error rate of 0.04.

Question 4

group size

Answer 4

1 confederate= 3% conformity rate
2 confederates= 13% conformity rate
3 confederates= 33% conformity rate

Question 5

unanimity

Answer 5

introduced a confederate who disagreed with other confederates= con rate dropped to 5.5%. (social support)

Question 6

task difficulty

Answer 6

smaller diff with line length (Asch exp)= conformity increased

Question 7

strength- high internal validity

Answer 7

lab experiment= carefully controlled with standardised procedures followed= can be replicated

Question 8

weakness- lacks temporal validity

Answer 8

Perrin & Spencer= high conformity was due to cultural conditions in Cold War. in the replication with British students, conformity found in only 1 trial=increase of individualism

Question 9

weakness- lacks mundane realism

Answer 9

matching line lengths is a simple and highly controlled task- helps isolate conformity + minimise ext. variables BUT does not replicate reality and artificiality is invalid

Question 10

Weakness – Asch’s study was culturally biased.

Answer 10

used an American, male sample from an individualistic culture, so the results may not generalise to other cultures or social groups. This limits its population validity.