asch - conformity

• What is conformity?

  Conformity is a form of majority influence where attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are adopted in response to group pressure.
• What are the three types of conformity?

  • Compliance
  • Identification
  • Internalisation
• How is compliance defined in terms of conformity?

  Compliance is publicly conforming to the behavior or views of others while privately maintaining one's own views.
• What is the definition of identification?

  Identification involves adjusting behavior and opinions to those of a group because membership is desirable and group members are seen as role models.
• What is internalisation in the context of conformity?

  Internalisation is the conversion of private views to match those of the group, making the behavior or belief part of one's own belief system.
• What are the differences between compliance, identification, and internalisation?

  • Compliance: Publicly conforming, privately disagreeing; temporary change.
  • Identification: Adjusting behavior to fit in with a desirable group; generally temporary.
  • Internalisation: Private views change to match the group; permanent change.
• What is the aim of Asch's research into conformity?

  To investigate the degree to which individuals would conform to a majority who gave obviously wrong answers.
• What was the procedure used in Asch's study?

  Participants were asked to identify which line (A, B, or C) matched the length of a given stimulus line.
• How many participants were real in Asch's study?

  One genuine participant among 7-9 confederates.
• What was the conformity rate on the critical trials in Asch's study?

  participants conformed on 37% of critical trials
• What explanation of conformity is given by participants who conform despite knowing the correct answer?

  Normative Social Influence (NSI).
• What are the strengths and limitations of Asch's study on conformity?

  strengths:

  methodology - conducted a controlled laboratory experiment, meaning he could control variables completely and demonstrate cause and effect, increasing internal validity. this could also help to improve reliability as it means the experiment could easily be replicated.
• What is the significance of cultural bias in conformity research?

  It indicates that conformity rates may vary across different cultures.
• What ethical issues were present in Asch's study?

  Fully informed consent was not obtained, and participants were misled about the study's purpose.
• What were the findings of Perrin and Spencer's replication of Asch’s study in England?

  They found that only 1 student conformed in 396 trials, indicating lower conformity levels.
• Would participants in Asch’s study likely have felt distressed? Why?

  Yes, they may have felt distressed due to the pressure to conform.
• What is one strength and one criticism of using a laboratory experiment to study conformity?

  Strength: Control over variables; Criticism: Lack of ecological validity.
• What percentage of participants conformed at least once in Asch's study?

  75% of participants conformed at least once.
• What is normative social influence?

  Normative social influence is conforming due to the desire to fit in.
• What is informational social influence?

  Informational social influence is conforming because you have the desire to be right.
• What are the independent variables investigated in Asch's research into conformity?

  • Group size
  • Unanimity
  • Task difficulty
• How does group size affect conformity rates according to Asch's research?

  Conformity rates increase with group size, but only up to a point. with only one confederate, conformity is 3%. with two confederates, conformity is 13%. with three confederates, conformity is 32%.
• How does unanimity affect conformity rates?

  Conformity rates increase when the majority influence is unanimous. when the confederate before the participant gave the wrong answer conformity dropped to 9%. when they gave the right answer, conformity dropped even further to 5.5%.
• How does task difficulty affect conformity?

  Conformity increases when task difficulty increases, as the right answer becomes less obvious.