A01

• In Asch’s baseline study, participants had to compare and match a standard line to other lines of varying lengths. Each group consisted of one genuine participant and confederates who always gave the wrong answer. Genuine participants agreed with the confederates a third of the time. Building upon his baseline study, he explored various factors influencing conformity levels.
• Firstly, Asch examined the impact of group size on conformity. Conformity rates increased with group size initially but only up to three confederates where conformity peaked at 31.8%. Even the presence of one or two confederates could significantly influence opinion, highlighting individuals' sensitivity to group consensus.
• Secondly, Asch investigated the effect of unanimity within the group. Introducing a dissenting confederate drastically reduced conformity levels, demonstrating the power of non-conformity to liberate individuals from group influence. This effect persisted even when the dissenter contradicted the genuine participant.

  Lastly, Asch explored how task difficulty influenced conformity. Increasing the complexity of the line comparison task increased conformity rates, attributed to informational social influence (ISI), where uncertainty prompts individuals to defer to others for guidance.