Asch Line Study- Conformity

• What was the aim of Asch’s line study? (AO1)


  To see if ppts would conform to an obviously incorrect majority (ppts told it was a study on perception)
• What was the pilot study for Aschks line study?

  36ppts judged 20 line tasks. 717/720 were obvious. These were used in his line study (valid). This was important to ensure the answer to the questions was obvious.
• what was the procedure for Asch’s line study? 


  • 1ppts sat around the table with 6 Confederates(actors)
  • The participant would always be last to answer
  • ppts had to match a target line with another (A, B or C), answers given out loud, 6 Confederates first then ppt
  • They did this 18 times - first, the Confederates gave the correct answer(first 6 questions), then the remaining 12 questions they answered incorrectly
• Results of Asch’s line study


  • 37% conformity rate
  • 75% conformed at least once
  • 25% never conformed
• Groups size variation of this study

  The bigger the groups size, the higher the conformity rate:

  • 2 Confederates = 41%
  • 3 Confederates = 32%
  • 4+ Confederates = 37%

  Normative social influence - pressure to fit in
• What is the unanimous position variation of this study? 


  Same as the original except:

  1. one confederate gave the other incorrect answer = 91% conformity rate
  2. One confederate gave the correct answer = 5% conformity rate

  = pressure broken so ppt free to give their own answer as your not the only different one.
• What is the task difficulty variation of this study? 


  The harder the task, the higher the conformity rate.

  = informational social influence - we have a need to be right
• Can the variations be AO1 for ‘variations essay’ and AO3 for ‘Asch essay’ ? 


  Yes
• One strength of Asch’s line study (Lucas) 


  • asked ppts to solve easy and hard maths questions but were given ‘other students’ answers if they wanted to use them
  • Ppts conformed to ‘other students’ answers on hard questions
  • Backs up task difficulty variation (informational social influence)
• One strength of Asch’s line study? (Pilot study) 


  Pilot study conduct- if was testing an obvious incorrect majority
• One weakness of Asch’s line study (ethics) 


  • Deception- ppts told study was on perception but was on conformity. However, the benefits outweighed the cost as it was necessary to obtain natural conformity behaviour
  • Informed consent- Not given as deception used, But needed
  • Protection from harm - ppts may have felt great pressure and could have felt embarrassed. However this was no greater discomfort than everyday life and was needed for natural behaviour
• One weakness of Asch’s line study (methodological problems) 


  • Demand characteristics - some ppts may have worked out the aim and just gone along with the study. Confederates were not always convincing
  • Gender bias- only males used, shouldn't be generalised to females (beta bias). Female conformity is actually higher due to being more concerned socially
  • Cultural bias - only Americans used (individualistic), cannot be generalised to eastern cultures (beta bias)