Variables affecting conformity as researched by Asch

Question 1

What were the three variables Asch looked at

Answer 1

• Group size
• unanimity
• task difficulty

Question 2

Why was he interested in these conditions

Answer 2

Because he thought these conditions might lead to an increase or decrease in conformity, he carried out some variations of his original procedure

Question 3

What was the explanation for the group size for Asch

Answer 3

• he looked at the number of people in a group and whether this had an affect on the conformity rate
• he found that there was little conformity when there were one or two confederates as a majority
• but if there were more confederates, the conformity rate increased and raised to 30 percent
• but after this the group size didn’t affect the rates, showing it’s important but upto a point.

Question 4

Who were the two that said group size will have an effect depending on the type of judgment being made a d the motivation of an individual

Answer 4

Campbell and Fairey (1989)
If the task is ambiguous, then conformity is likely to happen bc they will be following the majority, if the task is unclear, then conformity is likely to happen to ‘fit in’

Question 5

What is the explanation of unanimity of the majority

Answer 5

• this means that when everyone in the group has agreed with the same answer, even if it’s right or wrong
• however, if one confederate gave the right answer, the conformity rates drop significantly
• if one confederate gave the wrong answer, and it’s not the same as majority, the conformity rates drop suggesting you only need one break in the unanimous decision

Question 6

What is the explanation for task difficulty

Answer 6

• this variable measures whether the difficulty of the task given to the pps affects conformity rates
• in one variable, Asch made the differences between the line lengths smaller, this made the task more difficult. the conformity level increased
• Lucas et al (2006) found that the influence of task difficulty is based on the persons self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the idea of how confident one is
• when exposed to an Asch type task, the pps with high self-efficacy, even in high difficulty remained more independent than the ones with low self-efficacy
• this shows that self-efficacy and task diffculty are both important in determining conformity

Question 7

What are some limitations of his studies

Answer 7

• Asch’s studies may be a child of its time
• it was an artificial situation and task
• has a limited application of findings
• it has ethical issues