Variable affecting conformity Flashcards
(11 cards)
What year did Asch do his study?
1956
What were the procedures of Asch’s study?
123 male US undergraduates were tested - sat around table and took turns calling out which of three lines matched the standard line (participants always second to last - answer was obvious)
On 12/18 critical trials the confederates all gave the same wrong answer
Average conformity rate? What did Asch find in his study?
Average conformity rate was 33% i.e. participants agreed with the incorrect answer
- lines were clearly unambiguous as in control condition participants only got it wrong 1% of the time
What did Asch find once he’d interviewed the participants?
Majority of participants who conformed had continued privately to trust their own perceptions but changed their public behaviour, giving incorrect answers to avoid disapproval from other group members
What variables did Asch find affect conformity?
- Group size
- The unanimity of the majority
- The difficulty of the task
How does group size affect conformity?
Under the pressure of a majority of three confederates, the proportion of conforming jumped up to about 30% - however group size only important to a point
Campbell & Fairey suggest when there’s no objective answer people just try to fit in, but if there is a correct answer people are concerned with being correct
How does unanimity of majority affect conformity?
When another participant or a confederates gave the right answer, conformity levels dropped significantly from 33% to 5.5%
Breaking the groups unanimous position that was a major factor in conformity reduction
How does difficulty of task affect conformity?
In a variation of the study, Asch made the lengths of lines closer (less obvious) - conformity increased
Lucas et al investigated this further - influence of task difficulty is moderated by self-efficacy - those who were confident in their ability were less likely to conform
Why may Asch’s research be a ‘child of its time’?
In 1956, US was in the grip of McCarthyism - a strong communist period where people were scared to go against the majority
However, Perrin and Spencer attempted to repeat the study in 1980 and found similar results
Why may the confederates be unconvincing?
Difficult for confederates to act convincingly when the answer is clearly wrong - disrupting validity
Why may cultural differences affect conformity?
Smith et al analysed Aschs-type studies across a number of different cultures. Average conformity rate across different cultures was 31.2%
Individualist cultures: 25%
Collectivist cultures: 37% (Markus and Kitayama suggest collectivist cultures have a higher conformity rate as it acts as ‘social glue’ that binds communities together
