Variables Affecting Conformity - as researched by Asch Flashcards
What were the 3 factors affecting conformity?
Group size
Unanimity of the majority
Task difficulty
How did Asch investigate group size?
Changed the group size and saw how the participants would respond
What did Asch find about group size?
Low conformity rates with 1 or 2 confederates + 1 participant
If majority was 3 confederates + 1 participant, conformity rate was about 30% and this didn’t increase much higher with more confederates
What is unanimity of the majority?
When everyone in the group agrees with the same answer (right or wrong)
How did Asch investigate unanimity of the majority?
He told the confederates to give different answers in different trials
What did Asch find about unanimity of the majority?
1 confederate said correct answer - conform rates dropped to 5.5%
1 confederate said a different wrong answer to the majority - conformity rates dropped to 9%
How did Asch change the task difficulty?
He changed the lengths of the lines to make them more similar - make it more difficult
What did Asch find about task difficulty?
Higher difficulty increased conformity up to a certain point - some people didn’t conform at all
What did Lucas (2006) find about task difficulty?
It is moderated by self-efficacy
What are the strengths of Asch’s study on the variables affecting conformity?
It being a lab study involving confederates allowed Asch to change the situation, which he wouldn’t be able to do in a public environment
What are the weaknesses of Asch’s study on the variables affecting conformity?
Lacks temporal validity
Lacks ecological validity
Lacks population validity
Ethical issues
How does Asch’s study lack temporal validity?
Perrin and Spencer (1980) repeated the experiment and found only 1 student conformed out of nearly 400 trials
Suggests 1950s could have been a conformist time - Asch effect not consistent over situations and time
How does Asch’s study lack ecological validity?
Demand characteristics - participant knew they were in a study
Judging length of lines isn’t something you do everyday
Groups don’t resemble groups from everyday life - confederates used
CAN’T GENERALISE FINDINGS TO EVERYDAY LIFE
How does Asch’s study on variables affecting conformity lack population validity?
ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE MEN
Neto (1995) round women more conformist than men
BOND & SMITH POINT OUT THAT MEN FROM THE US HAVE AN INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURE
Asch’s experiment done on collectivist culture found more conformity
What are the ethical issues on Asch’s study on the factors affecting conformity?
Deception involved - confederates
12 critical trials may have caused psychological harm to the participant - confused why everyone gave wrong answer = stress
Question fully conformed consent - debrief but not on everything
