Asch (1956): study into conformity

• What was the aim of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  To see whether lone ppt will conform with a group of confederates
• What was the sample of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  123 male US undergraduates
• What was the method of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  Lab experiment, independent groups
• What was the procedure of Asch's 1956 study into conformity? 


  • Ppts told they were in a visual test
  • Seated around table -> 5-7 confederates + 1 naïve ppt
  • Naïve ppt always answered second to last
  • Asked to look at 3 lines + judge which matched a line presented by researcher
  • Unambiguous task
  • Group took turns answering out loud -> 12/18 trials = all confederates answered same question incorrectly
  • There was also a control group without confederates to see baseline level of mistakes made
• What were the findings of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  • Critical trials -> avg. conformity rate = 33%
  • 75% ppts conformed at least once
  • Individual differences in conformity rates -> 25% ppts never conformed, 50% conformed in 6 or more critical trials
  • Control condition -> ppts only made errors 1% of the time
  • Ppts interviewed afterwards -> most said they privately trusted their own judgement but changed their answers to avoid disapproval
  • Some did report genuinely doubting their own judgement too
• What were the conclusions of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  • Most ppts conformed to avoid group's disapproval -> complied due to normative influence
  • Some felt pressured by informative influence -> conformed because they thought their initial judgements = incorrect
  • Incorrect answers did seem to be due to normative/informational social influence
  • No. of incorrect answers far exceeded those in control condition where there was no pressure to conform
• What are the strengths of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  • Well-operationalised + DV that clearly showed conformity to unambiguously wrong answers
  • Well-controlled -> ppts always answered second to last + out loud = intense pressure to conform
  • Only having 12 critical trials = ppts not suspicious (would have been if confederates gave wrong answers in every trial)
  • Effective operationalisation = clear causal relationship established due to high internal validity
  • Highly replicable: Usto, Drace + Hadziametovic (2019) in Bosnia, Herzegovina with muslim ppts = similar results
• What are the weaknesses of Asch's 1956 study into conformity?


  • Rare that we have to conform with strangers compared to friends
  • Unambiguous stimulus = artificial -> situations where we conform usually involve ambiguity (IRL conformity = higher?)
  • Asch's study lacks mundane realism + has low ecological validity -> rates of conformity can't be generalised beyond lab
  • Historical bias -> McCarthyism in 1950s = people scared to stand out in fear of accusations of being a communist
  • Perrin + Spencer (1980) -> Asch's study = a 'child of its time'
  • If study was replicated today, conformity rates = lower?