Variables affecting conformity

Question 1

Key Study: Asch (1956)

Answer 1

Student volunteers took part in a visual discrimination task, unknown to the volunteers, all but one of the pps were really colleagues of the investigator. Real purpose was to see how the “real” pps would react to the behaviour of the confederates.

Question 2

Asch Procedure

Answer 2

• 123 US undergraduates were tested
• asked to look at three lines
• They took turns to identify which line was the same length of standard line.
• real pps always answered second last
• 12 of 18 trials the confederates gave the same incorrect answer

Question 3

Asch Findings

Answer 3

• of the 12 trials, 33% conformed
• 1/4 pps never conformed in any of the trials
• 1/2 conformed or 6 or more of the critical trials
• when pps were interviewed they continued to show compliance

Question 4

Group Size

Answer 4

• 30% when three confederates present

Question 5

Unanimity of the majority

Answer 5

• 33% to 5% when real pps was given someone who said right answers

Question 6

Difficulty of the task

Answer 6

When lines were made harder to interpret the conformity levels were higher