Conformity

• Conformity is a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group of people
• How many men did Asch test in his baseline study?


  123 men
• What was the purpose of showing participants two white cards in Asch's study?


  To compare the length of line X with the comparison lines A, B, and C
• What did line X represent in Asch's study?


  One of the lines on one card
• How many comparison lines were presented to the participants in each trial?


  Three comparison lines
• What was the relationship between line X and the comparison lines?

  One comparison line was always the same length as line X
• How did participants respond during each trial in Asch's study?


  They had to say out loud which comparison line was the same as line X
• How many participants were tested in each group during Asch's study?


  Groups of 6 to 8 participants
• In Asch's study, where was the genuine participant seated in the group?


  Last or second last in the group
• Who were the other participants in Asch's study?


  They were confederates of Asch
• What did the confederates do during the trials?

  They all gave the same incorrect scripted answers
• Did the genuine participant know that the other participants were confederates?


  No, the genuine participant did not know
• what were the findings of Asch’s study?

  On average, the genuine participant agreed with confederate’s incorrect answers 36.8% of the time
• What percentage of the participants never gave a wrong answer?

  25%
• What variables were investigated in Asch’s baseline study?

  1. Group size
  2. unanimity
  3. Task difficulty
• What was the main question Asch wanted to investigate regarding group size?


  Whether the size of the group would be more important than the agreement of the group
• How did Asch test the effect of group size on conformity?


  By varying the number of confederates from one to 15
• What was the total group size in Asch's study?


  From two to 16
• What type of relationship did Asch find between group size and conformity rate?


  A curvilinear relationship
• What happened to the conformity rate as the group size increased?

  Conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point
• What was the conformity rate when there were three confederates?


  31.8%
• What occurred when more confederates were added beyond three?


  The conformity rate soon leveled off
• What does Asch's finding suggest about people's sensitivity to others' views?


  Most people are very sensitive to the views of others
• How many confederates were enough to sway opinion according to Asch's findings?

  Just one or two confederates
• What was the main question Asch sought to answer regarding unanimity in his study?


  Asch wondered if the presence of a non-conforming person would affect the naïve participant's conformity.
• How did Asch introduce a non-conforming person in his study?

  He introduced a confederate who disagreed with the other confederates.
• What were the two variations of the confederate's responses in Asch's study?


  In one variation, the confederate gave the correct answer, and in another, he gave a different wrong one.
• What effect did the presence of a dissenter have on the genuine participant's conformity?


  The genuine participant conformed less often in the presence of a dissenter.
• To what level did the conformity rate decrease when a dissenter was present?


  The rate decreased to less than a quarter of the level it was when the majority was unanimous.
• What does the presence of a dissenter suggest about the behavior of the naïve participant?


  The presence of a dissenter appeared to free the naïve participant to behave more independently.
• What implication does the study suggest about the influence of the majority?

  The influence of the majority depends largely on it being unanimous.
• When is non-conformity more likely to occur according to the study's findings?


  Non-conformity is more likely when cracks are perceived in the majority's unanimous view.
• What was the main focus of Asch's investigation regarding task difficulty?


  To determine if making the task harder would affect the degree of conformity
• How did Asch increase the difficulty of the line-judging task?


  By making the stimulus line and the comparison lines more similar in length
• What effect did the increased difficulty have on the participants' ability to see differences between the lines?


  It made it harder for the genuine participants to see the differences
• Why might conformity increase when the task becomes harder, according to Asch's findings?


  Because the situation becomes more ambiguous, leading participants to look to others for guidance
• What psychological response do participants have when they are unsure of the right answer in a difficult task?


  They tend to assume that others are right and they are wrong
• What is one limitation of Asch's research?

  The task and situation were artificial.
• Why might participants have conformed in Asch's study?

  They may have gone along with what was expected due to demand characteristics.
• How did the trivial nature of the task affect conformity in Asch's research?


  There was really no reason not to conform.