Asch's (1951) research into conformity

Question 1

What were the aims of Asch’s research?

Answer 1

To see if people would choose an obviously wrong answer just to conform (he used an unambiguous task)

Question 2

How was Asch’s study carried out?

Answer 2

He used 123 male American college students one at a time. They were seated last or second to last on a table with 6 confederates (knew the experiment). They were shown a card with a line (test card) and a card with three lines (a,b,c). The test was to see which line on the second card was the same length as the test card. They gave their answers out loud (participant last). There were 18 trials of which 12 were critical (all confederates said the wrong answer)

Question 3

What were the findings of Asch’s study?

Answer 3

-32% conformed on the critical trials
-74% conformed at least once
-26% never conformed
one of the main reasons for conforming was fear of ridicule

Question 4

What are the strengths of Asch’s research?

Answer 4

-extremely influential- provided the psychological community with a paradigm- still used today- pressure to fit in is real- important implications e.g. deliberations in a jury

Question 5

What are the limitations of Asch’s research?

Answer 5

-low population validity- all American- results may not apply cross-culturally- Bond and Smith (1956)- meta-analysis of 133 studies from 17 countries using the Asch paradigm- higher conformity in collectivist cultures- in those places it’s more desirable to be part of a group- can’t be used cross-culturally
-low temporal validity- done during the McCarthyism era- may reflect the state of society not human behaviour
-unethical- participants were deceived- mild psychological harm (COUNTERPOINT- uphold the validity as reduced demand characteristics)