Asch’s Research

• Aim

  The aim of this study was to find out how much people conform to the opinion of others even in a situation where the answer is unambiguous (clear, obvious)
• Procedure

  • 123 American male undergraduates - volunteers
  • Each pp tested individually whilst in a group of 6-8 confederates (real pps not aware)
  • Each group = 1pp, judging line matching to standard, had to say answers aloud
  • 1/3 matched, the other 2 lines obviously wrong
  • Pp always said answer last or penultimate to hear everyone else
  • First few trials, every confederate gets answer right but soon make ‘errors’ where they all get the answer
  • pps took part in 18 trials, 12 of the trials - confederates gave wrong answer
• Findings

  • Pps gave wrong answer 36.8% of the time
  • 25% of pps didn’t conform on any trials, but 75% confirmed at least once
  • After, most pps said they didn’t really believe their answers, but conformed to avoid rejection
• Conclusion

  The control trials (confederates giving correct answers) show that the task is easy to get right. Therefore, the incorrect answers and conformity levels given by the pps in the critical trials demonstrate that a majority can have an influence on the decisions a person makes, even when the situation is unambiguous