Variable affecting conformity Flashcards
(12 cards)
Aim of Asch’s study
To investigate conformity and majority influence
Participtants of Asch’s study
- 123 male American undergraduates in groups of 6; consisting of 1 true participant and 5 confederates
Procedure of Asch’s study
- Participants and confederates were presented with 4 lines; 3 comparison lines and 1 standard line
- They asked to state which of three lines was the same length as a stimulus line
- The real participant always answered last or second to last
- Confederates would give the same incorrect answer for 12 out of 18 trials
- Asch observed how often the participant would give the same incorrect answer as the confederates versus the correct answer
Findings of Asch’s study
36.8% conformed
25% never conformed
75% conformed at least once
In a control trial, only 1% of responses given by participants were incorrect
What factors affected level of conformity
- Size of majority group/group size
- Unanimity of majority
- Task difficulty
Size of majority/Group size
Point: An individual is more likely to conform when in a larger group.
Evidence: Conformity was low when there were fewer than three people in the group. However, when the group size increased to three or more, conformity rose by 30%.
Explanation: People are more likely to conform when everyone in the group agrees, as this makes them trust the group’s answer more and doubt their own. However, conformity does not continue increasing in groups larger than four, making this the ideal group size for influence.
Link: This shows that at least three people are needed to influence others, but a huge majority isn’t always necessary to make someone conform.
Unanimity of majority
Point: People are more likely to conform when everyone in the group gives the same answer, rather than different answers.
Evidence: When a participant had support from someone giving the correct answer, conformity dropped from 32% to 5.5%. If the group gave mixed answers, conformity still fell but only to 9%.
Explanation: The more agreement there is in a group, the more confident a person will be that the group is correct, making them more likely to doubt their own answer.
Link: Having a fully united group is key to creating a strong majority opinion. This is important because it influences people by making sure no opposing views weaken the group’s position.
Task difficulty
Point: People are more likely to conform when a task is difficult.
Evidence: In Asch’s study, he altered the comparison lines (e.g., A, B, and C) to make them more similar in length. Since it was harder to judge the correct answer, conformity increased.
Explanation: When a task is difficult, people become more unsure of their own answer and look to others for confirmation. The more difficult the task, the greater the conformity.
Link: This suggests that informational social influence plays a big role in conformity when the situation is unclear. If someone lacks enough knowledge to make a confident decision, they rely on others to guide them.
Strength of Asch’s study ✅
(high external validity)
✅ One strength of Asch’s study is that it had high internal validity.
📌 The study had strict control over extra factors, such as timing and task type. Participants first completed a control trial without confederates to check if they actually knew the correct answer.
💡: This means that Asch could establish a cause-and-effect relationship between majority pressure and conformity, ensuring that the results were valid and reliable.
🔗 Therefore, Asch’s study provides strong evidence that people conform due to group pressure, not because they lack knowledge.
Strength of Asch’s study ✅
(normative social influence)
✅ Asch’s study strongly supports the idea of normative social influence (NSI).
📌 Participants later admitted they conformed to fit in with the group, rather than because they actually believed the incorrect answers.
💡This supports the idea that people conform to avoid standing out or being judged, even if they privately disagree with the majority.
🔗 This highlights the power of social influence in shaping people’s behavior, even in simple tasks like judging line lengths.
Weakness of Asch’s study ❌
(ecological validity)
❌ A major problem with Asch’s study is that it lacks ecological validity.
📌 The task involved matching line lengths, which is a very artificial situation that does not reflect real-life situations where people experience pressure to conform.
💡 In real life, conformity happens in more complex and meaningful situations, like work, school, or friendships, where different social pressures are involved.
🔗 This means Asch’s study may not fully explain how or why people conform in real-world situations.
Weakness of Asch’s study
(lacks population validity)
❌Another problem is that Asch’s findings may not apply to everyone because the sample was too limited.
📌 The participants were only American male undergraduates, which means the study ignored gender and cultural differences.
💡This creates beta bias, as it assumes that results from men can be applied to women, even though research suggests that women may conform differently. Also, people from collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan) may conform more than those from individualist cultures (e.g., the USA).
🔗 Because of this, Asch’s findings may not be universally applicable to all groups of people.
