Conformity

• What was Asch's aim and sample?

  • 123 male American undergraduates were places into groups of 6 - with 1 genuine participant and 5 confederates
  • Aim was to investigate conformity and majority influence
• What was Asch's procedure?

  • Groups were presented with 4 lines - 1 standard line and 3 comparison lines
  • Participants were asked to state which of the 3 lines was the same length as the standard line
  • Real participant always asked last/ second to last
  • Confederates gave same incorrect answer for 12/18 trials
• What were Asch's findings?

  • 36.8% conformed and 25% never conformed
  • 75% conformed at least once
• How did Asch investigate group size as a variable affecting conformity and what did he find?

  • Conformity was low when there were less than 3 confederates, any above 3 and conformity rose by 30%
  • But it did not increase after 4 so no overwhelming majority is needed
  • Shows that majority must be at least 3 to exert an influence - but individuals are more likely to conform when in a larger group
• How did Asch investigate unanimity of majority as a variable affecting conformity and what did he find?

  • When joined by a dissenter, conformity fell to 5.5% which appeared to free the genuine participant to behave more independently
  • Suggests that influence of the majority depends on it being unanimous, and that it is vital on establishing a consistent majority view
• How did Asch investigate task difficulty as a variable affecting conformity and what did he find?

  • Asch increased difficulty by making the comparison lines similar to the standard line in length, making it harder for ppts. to see the differences
  • Conformity increased showing that we look to others for confirmation when the task is difficult - links to informational social influence
• What is high internal validity a strength of Asch's investigation on conformity?

  • Experiment has strict control over extraneous variables like the timing of assessments and the type of task used
  • Confounding variable of lack of knowledge was controlled by doing the experiment without confederates beforehand
  • Suggests a valid 'cause and effect' relationship can be established as well as high reliability
• What research support strengthen's Asch's investigation on conformity?

  • Lucas et al asked participants to solve easy and hard maths problems with answers from 3 other students
  • Conformity was higher with the hard questions
  • Supports Asch's claim that task difficulty affects conformity
• How does artificial stimuli weaken Asch's experiment?

  • Task and situation were trivial and based on peoples' perception of lines
  • Findings cannot be generalised to real life because it does not reflect the complexity of real-life conformity where other variables exert influence
  • Shows low ecological validity because of lack of real reflectivity
  • Also may produce behaviour affected by demand characteristics as ppts. know they are in an experiment and have no reason not to conform
• How does artificial stimuli weaken Asch's experiment?

  • Task and situation were trivial and based on peoples' perception of lines
  • Findings cannot be generalised to real life because it does not reflect the complexity of real-life conformity where other variables exert influence
  • Shows low ecological validity because of lack of real reflectivity
  • Also may produce behaviour affected by demand characteristics as ppts. know they are in an experiment and have no reason not to conform
• How does population validity and cultural bias weaken Asch's experiment?

  • Asch's sample was culturally biased as it consisted of only white American men
  • US is a mostly individualistic culture where people are more concerned about themselves
  • Similar studies conducted in collectivist cultures show conformity is higher as they place higher value on groups not individuals
  • Shows that Asch's findings tell us little about conformity in people from other cultures
• What was Zimbardo's sample and aim?

  • 21 American male students volunteered
  • Aim was to investigate how readily people would conform to the social roles in a simulated environment
• What was Zimbardo's procedure?

  • Simulated prison in a university basement
  • Students were randomly assigned the roles of guard or prisoner - prisoners had to wear uniforms and were only referred to by numbers creating a loss of identity (de-individuation)
  • Guards were given handcuffs and mirror shades to reinforce boundaries and creating social hierarchy
  • All were encouraged to identify with their roles - like guards having complete power over the prisoners
• What were Zimbardo's findings?

  • Guards treated prisoners harshly, harassing and tormenting them and enjoying their new-found power
  • Prisoners forgot their previous lives and snitched on other prisoners to please guards, showing their belief that the prison was real
  • Prisoners would defend guards when others would break rules - reinforcing their social roles in the hierarchy
  • Prisoners became depressed after their rebellion was put down - one was released showing signs of psychological disturbance
  • Guards became increasingly brutal - study had to end after 6 days
• How is control a strength of Zimbardo's experiment?

  • Control over key variables like selecting emotionally stable participants and randomly assigning them to roles - ruled out personality differences as an explanation of the findings
  • Increases internal validity by establishing cause and effect
• How does the lack of ecological validity weaken Zimbardo's experiment?

  • Participants knew they were participating in a study and may have changed their behaviour to what they thought was expected of them (demand characteristics)
  • One guard said he based his role on a brutal stereotypical guard from the film Cool Hand Luke
  • Reduces the validity of the findings as they don't reflect real-life prison situations
• How does the lack of population validity weaken Zimbardo's experiment?

  • Zimbardo's sample consisted of only American students meaning it is an example of ethnocentric research - it cannot be generalised to other cultures
  • Collectivist cultures may be more conformist to their roles because they value the needs of the group over the individual
  • Suggests that Zimbardo's findings are culture-bound and lack generalisability
• How do ethical issues weaken Zimbardo's experiment?

  • Participants were not protected from stress, anxiety, emotional distress and embarrassment
  • One participant had to be released as he showed signs of psychological disturbance (uncontrollable screaming and crying)
  • Study would be deemed unacceptable according to modern ethical standards