Variables Affecting Conformity

Question 1

Explain the factor of ‘group size’

Answer 1

• Asch manipulated the number of confederates in his study. When there was 1 confederate, conformity dropped to 3/4%. However, with 3 confederates, conformity increased to 32%
• These results demonstrate that social pressure influences conformity; larger groups create more pressure to conform
• However, beyond a certain group size, increasing the number of confederates did not significantly affect conformity rates

Question 2

What is unanimity?

Answer 2

• The extent to which all members of a group agree

Question 3

Explain the factor of ‘unanimity’

Answer 3

• Asch introduced a dissenting confederate who either provided the correct answer or a different incorrect answer. When 1 confederate consistently gave the correct answer, conformity dropped to 5.5%
• These results indicate that the presence of a dissenting confederate reduces the pressure to conform, as participants feel less isolated

Question 4

Explain the factor of ‘task difficulty’

Answer 4

• The task difficulty was increased by reducing the differences in length between the lines. The results indicated that conformity increased as the task became more challenging
• In more ambiguous situations, participants were more likely to doubt their own judgement and consequently more likely to conform

Question 5

What are evaluations for Variables Affecting Conformity?

Answer 5

• High Control
• Artificial Situation And Task
• Limited Sample

Question 6

Explain the evaluation point ‘High Control’

Answer 6

• A strength of Asch’s study is that it is a lab experiment and therefore establishes cause and effect
• This means Asch can be confident that it is the IV, group size/unanimity/task difficulty, that is causing the DV, participants’ conformity levels
• This is a strength because we can be confident that results about conformity are not being affected by confounding variables
• Therefore this study has internal validity and this strengthens the validity of the claim that group size/unanimity/task difficulty does affect conformity

Question 7

Explain the evaluation point ‘Artificial Situation And Task’

Answer 7

• A limitation of Asch’s study is that it has low ecological validity
• The groups in Asch’s study did not resemble the groups that we experience in everyday life and the participants were made to do a trivial task that lacks mundane realism
• This is a limitation because the results about conformity may be difficult to generalise to real life situations of conformity
• Therefore this study has low external validity

Question 8

Explain the evaluation point ‘Limited Sample’

Answer 8

• A limitation of Asch’s research is that it has low population validity
• Asch’s study consisted of 123 American male students, making the study gender biased and unrepresentative of female behaviour in situations of conformity. Research by Neto (1995) suggests that women may be more conformist due to their greater concern for social relationships and acceptance
• This is a limitation because the results about conformity may be difficult to generalise to the behaviour of others such as females or people that are not students
• Therefore this study has low external validity