study into conformity- Asch Flashcards
briefly explain Aschs study procedure
tested conformity by showing participants 2 cards which on one had a standard line and on the other were 3 comparison lines. the participants then had to match the standard line to one of the 3 comparison lines. Each naive participant was tested individually in 18 trials by being with a group of 6-8 confederates who all were instructed to give the same wrong answer for 12 critical trials (the naive didn’t know this).
conclusions/findings of Aschs study
-participants suggested they conformed because they felt self conscious giving the correct answer and were afraid of disapproval. Therefore they demonstrated the want to be accepted into the group because of normative social influence.
-participants conformed more often with incorrect answers the confederates gave when problems were more ambigious because they didn’t want to be wrong so they thought the confederates knew the right option. This demonstrates how they changed due to informational social influence.
evaluation of Aschs study
-one limitation was that participants were decieved to think it was bout perception but it was actually about conformity.
-another limitation is that it wasn’t generalisable beyond the 123 white american participants conformity.
-one strength is that it can be used to explain normative and informational social influence.
3 factors that increase conformity levels (Aschs research)
-having 3-5 confederates (conformity rose to 33%)
-increasing ambiguity of the task (he made differences between lines smaller)
-being from a collectivist culture
3 factors that decrease conformity levels (Aschs research)
-having only 1/2 confederates (conformity dropped to 13% with 2 and 3% with 1)
-a non-unanimous majority (conformity dropped to 5% when participant only had one confederate who didn’t conform and gave the right answer)
-being from an individualist culture
