Asch's Study - Social Influence

• What was the aim of Asch's study?


  To investigate if people would conform to the majority in an unambiguous task
• How many male American students participated in Asch's study?


  123 male American students
• Who were the naive participants in Asch's study?


  The real participants who did not know the aims of the study
• What is a confederate in the context of Asch's study?


  An actor employed by the researcher who pretends to be a participant
• What task were participants asked to perform in Asch's study?


  To identify which comparison line matches the standard line
• How many trials were conducted in Asch's study?


  18 trials altogether
• How many of the trials were considered critical trials?


  12 critical trials
• What percentage of participants conformed at least once on the critical trials?

  75%
• What was the incorrect answer rate on the 12 critical trials?


  37%
• What conclusion can be drawn from Asch's study?


  People conform to group pressure even in an unambiguous situation
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding ecological and population validity?


  • Low ecological validity: artificial task of judging line lengths
  • Lacked population validity: sample consisted only of American males
• Why is the artificial task in Asch's study considered a weakness?


  It is not something people are often asked to do in real life
• How does the lack of population validity affect the findings of Asch's study?


  It limits the applicability of the findings to the whole population
• What is a strength of Asch's study regarding reliability?


  It used standardized procedures that ensured consistency
• Why is it important that Asch's study can be easily replicated?


  To see whether conformity behavior has changed since the 1950s
• What does it mean that Asch's study could be a 'child of its time'?


  It reflects the social pressures of 1950s America
• How did the political climate of the 1950s affect conformity in Asch's study?


  People were more used to conforming due to societal pressures
• What ethical issue is associated with Asch's study?


  It used deception as participants were unaware of the confederates
• Why is the use of deception in Asch's study considered a weakness?


  It makes it difficult to replicate the study in modern times
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Asch's study?


  Strengths:

  • High reliability due to standardized procedures

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Low ecological validity
  • Lack of population validity
  • Potentially outdated findings due to historical context
  • Ethical concerns regarding deception