Asch’s Study

• What was Asch’s study on?

  Conformity.
• What was the aim of Asch’s study?

  To investigate group pressure in an unambiguous situation.
• What method was used in this study?

  123 American Men.

  Two cards: standard line and three comparison lines.

  12 Critical trials where confederates (actors in the trial) gave the wrong answer:
• What were the results of this study?

  On critical trials, the participant gave the wrong answer 1/3 of the time.

  25% NEVER gave a wrong answer.
• What was the conclusion of Asch’s study?


  People are influenced by group pressure, though many people can resist.
• What is a negative evaluation of Asch’s study?

  It was an artificial task, it was trivial and the situation involved strangers so it does not reflect everyday situations.

  (APPLICABILITY)
• What is another negative evaluation of Asch’s study?

  It was androcentric and ethnocentric, meaning that it did not represent the wider range of the populous. (GENERALISABILITY)
• What was a social factor that impacted Asch’s study?

  Group size.

  Two confederates = 13.6% conformity, three confederates = 31.8% more than three made little difference.
• What was a dispositional factor that impacted Asch’s study?

  Expertise.

  More knowledgeable people would conform less.