Variables Affecting Conformity Asch

Question 1

Aschs original line study

Answer 1

123 American male students
Participants and confederates presented with 4 lines and asked to state which one of the 3 lines was the same length as the stimulus one
Confederates said wrong answer 12/18 x
36% conformed
25 never
75 conformed at least once

Question 2

Group size

Answer 2

More likely to conform when group size is bigger
Low conformity in groups with confederate sizes less than 3
Person less likely to conform as more ppl in agreement so have more confidence
Conformity doesn’t increase in groups larger than 4

Question 3

Unanimity of majority

Answer 3

Individual more likely to conform when the group is unanimous
The more unanimous the group is the more confident the participant is in their answer being correct

Question 4

Task difficulty

Answer 4

N individual is more likely to conform when a task is difficult
Asch altered lines to make them more similar
When task is difficult ppt is more uncertain of their answer so greater conformity
Suggests ISI is a major explanation for conformity

Question 5

AO3

Answer 5

Support: use of lab experiment so extraneous and confounding variables are strictly controlled, meaning that replication of the experiment is easy, successful replication increases reliability of findings becuz it reduces likelihood the findings were one off

Limitation: lacks ecological validity as it was based on people’s perception of lines and so the findings cannot be generalised to real life as ot does not reflect the complexity of real life conformity ie confounding variables and other influences in large groups