task difficulty

• In the original study, the correct answer was always obvious
• · Asch made the differences between the lines smaller, so that choosing the correct answer would be more difficult
• · He found that the level of conformity increased
• ▪ Lucas et al. (2006) found that self-efficacy (confidence in your own abilities) affected influence. When given maths problems in an Asch-style experiment, high self-efficacy participants remained more independent than low self-efficacy participants, even when completing high difficulty tasks. This shows that situational differences and individual differences are important in determining conformity.
• The likelihood of a person conforming increases when the difficulty of the task increases