Asch's Conformity Study

• Participants?


  123 American male undergraduates
• Method?


  Participants were told that this was a test of perception.

  They were shown images of lines and told to choose which line (A,B, or C) matched the test line.

  On the first few trials confederates gave the right answer but then began to give the incorrect answer.
• Findings?


  Participants gave a wrong answer 37% of the time.

  75% of the participants conformed at least once.

  When participants were interviewed after they said they did it to fit in.
• What is a problem with the sample?

  All participants are from America so the study is culturally biased.

  All participants were male, so the study is gender biased.

  All participants were of similar age, so the study is age biased.

  This means that the study cannot be generalised to the wider population so lacks population validity.
• What is a problem with the ethical views?

  The participants were not aware of the confederates and were told that the test was for perception, so they were deceived and therefore couldn't have given informed consent.