Asch (1955) Variables Affecting Conformity

• What were the variables of Asch's variables study?


  group size

  unanimity

  task difficulty
• What was the variable into group size in Asch's Variables study?


  Asch wanted to investigate whether a group size could influence the rate of conformity

  he varied the number of confederates from 1-15 the conformity increased with group size (curvilinear relationship) but only to a certain point

  3 confederates increased the conformity to 31.8% but any more confederates after that the number didn't drastically change

  the size of a majority is important (to an extent)
• what was another variable into Asch's variable study?

  Asch wanted to know/investigate whether unanimity in the group would affect the levels of conformity by adding an non-conforming participant e.g a lone dissenter

  lone dissenter: in one trail he gave the correct answer and the other he gave the other incorrect answer to the confederates

  findings: naive participant conformed less in the presence of the lone dissenter, even when the answer was still wrong (from lone dissenter) - conformity =5.5% when naive was supported by dissenter
• what was the final variable in Asch's variables study?

  final variable was task difficulty

  Asch wanted to see if making the test harder would affect conformity

  increasing the difficulty increased the level of conformity

  
  

  task is low in mundane realism & not true to life (external validity)
• one evaluation point of asch's variables... 


  it used an artificial task - therefore may have presented demand characteristics as the aim would be easy to guess

  there would also be low internal validity as there could have been demand characteristics
• another evaluation point of Asch's variables


  weakness: limited application - all American and male sample

  America = an individualistic culture - meaning they care more about themselves (less likely to conform)

  limited application because other research suggests that females are more likely to conform or collectivist cultures are more likely to conform
• what is an individualistic culture?


  a culture of people in a society who think of themselves before thinking of a group
• what is a collectivist culture?


  a culture who thinks about the society first and is willing to help each other
• 3rd evaluation point of Asch's variables


  weakness: ethical issues - deception

  Asch deceived his naïve participant by advertising a vision test, not telling them the true aims of the test, and having them be unaware that there are confederates taking part in the study as well