variables affecting conformity Flashcards
(6 cards)
what was the procedure of asch’s study? (7)
● 123 male US undergraduates tested
● believed study was testing perception, but really testing conformity
● asked to look at 3 lines of different lengths
● took turns to say which line they thought was the same length as the standard line
● real participant always answered second to last
● in 12 out of the 18 trials, the confederates were instructed to give the same incorrect answer
● asch was interested whether real participants would stick to what they believed was right
● or cave into the pressure of the majority and go along with its decision
why did asch carry out a number of variations of his original study?
to find out which variables had the most significant effects on the level of conformity
what were the variations carried out by asch? (3)
● group size
● unanimity of the majority
● task difficulty
explain the variation of group size in asch’s study (4)
● asch varied number of confederates within the majority - between 1-15
● found that when number of confederates rose from just one to two to three, conformity rates significantly increases
● anymore than three confederates made little difference to the conformity rates
● people are very sensitive to opinions of other people, as even a small number of confederates is enough to change an opinion
explain the variation of unanimity of the majority in asch’s study (3)
● asch introduced a dissenting confederate - sometimes they gave the correct answer, sometimes a wrong answer (but they always disagreed with the majority)
● found that in presence of a dissenter, conformity reduced on average regardless of whether the dissenter gave a right or wrong answer
● having a dissenter enables the naive participant to behave more independently, and gives them confidence to go against the majority
explain the variation of task difficult in asch’s study (3)
● asch made comparison lines more difficult to spot by making them all very similar in length
● he found that conformity rates increased significantly in this condition
● if the situation is ambiguous, we are more likely to look for guidance and to assume they are right and we are wrong
