Asch

• What was the aim of Asch's star study?

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

  • 123 American male student volunteers
  • Told it was a study of visual perception
  • Participants in groups of 7-9 with confederates
  • Task: identify which line (1, 2, or 3) matched the stimulus line
  • 12 of 18 trials had confederates giving incorrect answers
  • Control group of 36 participants tested individually
• How many critical trials did confederates give incorrect answers in Asch's study?

  12 out of 18 critical trials.
• What was the error rate of the control group in Asch's study?

  The error rate was 0.04%.
• What percentage of participants conformed on all critical trials in Asch's study?

  5% of participants conformed on every one of their 12 critical trials.
• What were the qualitative findings regarding reasons for conforming in Asch's study?

  • Distortion of action (NSI): conformed publicly to avoid ridicule
  • Distortion of perception (ISI): believed their perception must be wrong
• What are the strengths of Asch's study?

  • High control of extraneous variables
  • Increased internal validity
  • Standardized procedures
  • Control group allows for comparison
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding ecological validity?

  • Conducted in a lab setting
  • Trivial task may not apply to real-life conformity
  • Group identity not realistic
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding mundane realism?

  • Task was trivial
  • Low mundane realism
  • Cannot be applied to real-life situations like jury deliberation
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding demand characteristics?

  • Participants knew they were in a research study
  • May have conformed due to the demands of the situation
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding temporal validity?

  • Perrin and Spencer's replication found only one conforming student in 396 trials
  • Suggests Asch's study lacks temporal validity
  • 1950s were a more conformist time in America
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's study regarding population validity?

  • Sample consisted of American male student volunteers
  • Individualist culture of America
  • Cannot generalize to other demographics
• What ethical issues were present in Asch's study?

  • Participants were deceived about the nature of the study
  • Thought confederates were genuine participants
  • Failure to protect from harm due to stress and embarrassment
• How does task difficulty affect conformity according to Asch's study?

  • Increased task difficulty leads to increased conformity
  • Less clear answers make individuals less confident in their judgments
• How does group size affect conformity in Asch's study?

  • Conformity rates increased with group size up to a certain point
  • 1 confederate: 3% conformity
  • 2 confederates: 13% conformity
  • 3 confederates: 32% conformity
• How does the unanimity of the group affect conformity in Asch's study?

  • Adding dissenters reduces conformity
  • Correct confederate: 5.5% conformity
  • Incorrect but dissenting confederate: 9% conformity
• What gender differences in conformity were found in Asch's study?

  • Female participants conformed more than males
  • Females: 28.6% conformity
  • Males: 5% conformity
• What might explain the gender differences in conformity found in Asch's study?

  Females might care more about social roles and are socialized into more submissive roles.