Asch (1951) baseline

• What was Asch's baseline study into conformity?

  Aim: to investigate if people would conform to the majority even if the answer was unambiguous eg. correct

  
  

  Procedure: lab experiment, sample - 123 males from USA, university students, used 12 group trails and 6 isolated trials = 18 total, each person in the room had to match up line A, B or C with the standard line X and say their answer aloud with the naïve participant 7th or last to answer

  
  

  group trials/critical trials: had 7 confederates and one naïve participant, (participant was naïve as they though they where taking a vision test)
• What were the findings into Asch's baseline study?


  the overall conformity in/on all trials was 36.8%

  at least 75% conformed in 1 trial

  conformity in every trial was 5%

  and non conformity in all trials was 25%
• evaluation of Asch's baseline study


  -lacks generalisability or population validity as there is only male participants in the study

  -high reliability as it can be easily replicated because it was a lab study

  -lacks ecological validity as it was conducted within an lab and not within real settings

  -good control over extraneous variables

  -lacks ethics as the participants were deceived and they didn't give informed consent (most likely)
• eval of Asch's baseline study

  strength: NSI research support -> easy task but confederates got it wrong, so more likely to conform

  • participants said that they were afraid of disapproval & self conscious giving the wrong answer

  proves NSI
• eval of asch's baseline study


  strength: ISI research support -> participants conformed when the answer was ambiguous/ got harder e.g maths problems

  difficult answer = more likely to conform

  easy answer = know their own answer

  Proves ISI
• eval of Asch's baseline study


  counterpoint of both ISI & NSI: 1955 Asch -> difficulty distinguishing between explanations of conformity

  adding lone dissenter changes the conformity rates (decreases.. but how)

  increase in social support - decreases NSI conformity

  increasing new information - decreases ISI conformity
• another evaluation of Asch's baseline study 


  individual differences: McGhee and Tevan 1967 -> some people are more likely to conform - they are called 'nAffiliators' because they have a higher need to be liked

  • NSI might underline conformity more in others (people) = individual differences
• final evaluation of Asch's baseline study


  weakness? : ISI & NSI working together -> when there is an unanimous group, conformity is greatest. can have both conformities together

  • cant distinguish between them - seems to criticise