A03 - Social Influence - Asch And Variables Affecting Conformity Flashcards
1
Q
Evaluating Asch: using a biased sample
A
- Used a bias sample of 123 male students from colleges in America.
- Can’t generalise results to females/other populations as we don’t know if they’d conform in a similar way to males.
- Asch’s sample lacks population validity - more research required to determine if males and females conform differently.
2
Q
Evaluating Asch: low ecological validity.
A
- Low levels of ecological validity.
- The line judgement task is an artificial task; it doesn’t reflect conformity in real life meaning that the task lacks mundane realism.
- Therefore, can’t generalise Asch’s results to other situations.
- Results are limited in their application to everyday life.
3
Q
Evaluating Asch: lacks historical validity.
A
- Took place at particular time in US history - conformity higher and criticised as being ‘a child of its time.’
- Since 1950 psychologists have tried to replicate Asch’s study.
- E.g Perrin and Spencer (1980) used maths and engineering students and found lower levels of conformity.
- Suggests Asch’s experiment lacks historical validity and conformity rates found in 1950 might not be an accurate reflection of conformity in modern times.
4
Q
Evaluating Asch: ethically questionable
A
- Asch’s research is ethnically questionable.
- Broke several guidelines such as deception and protect from harm.
- He deliberately deceived the participants by saying they were taking part in a vision test.
- Although it’s unethical it was necessary for valid results.
- Participants might’ve displayed demand characteristics if they knew true aim.
- Participants not protected from harm - many reported feeling stressed when they disagreed with majority.
- However, Asch interviewed participants after after experiment to overcome issue.