Asch's Research

Question 1

Asch research was to

Answer 1

Research group conformity

Question 2

Aschs Procedure

Answer 2

-123 American male undergrads
-places in groups of 6-8 confederates and 1 participant at the end
-participants were showed a standard line and 3 comparison lines one which was the same length as the comparison and 2 which were different
-When asked what was the correct answer, the confederates gave incorrect answers.
-18 trials in total with 12 of them having the confederates giving the wrong answers

Question 3

Asch’s findings

Answer 3

-Participants gave wrong answers 36.8% of the time
-25% didn’t conform at all
-75% confirmed at least once
-Participants said they confirmed to avoid rejection
(NSI)

Question 4

Asch’s variations

Answer 4

Group size
Unanimity
Task difficulty

Question 5

Group size

Answer 5

With 3 confederates conformity rose to 31.8% and any additional confederates didn’t make a significant difference
3 is the sweet spot

Question 6

Unanimity

Answer 6

The presence of a dissenting confederate reduced conformity by a quarter from when the majority was unanimous
Therefore the influence does somewhat depend on unanimity

Question 7

Asche AO3 neg

Answer 7

Lacks temproral validity
-Spencer and Perrin
-Performed in an anticommunist america were not conforming was looked down upon

Question 8

Asche AO3 neg

Answer 8

-demand characteristics
-Theres a high possibility tat people knew that tey were in an experiment
-15+ participants decreased conformity
-not generalisable