AO3

• Asch's study - strengths

  • High internal validity - There was strict control over extraneous variables, such as timing of assessment and the type of task used. The participants did the experiment before without confederates to see if they actually knew the correct answer, thus removing the confounding variable of a lack of knowledge. This suggests that valid and reliable ‘cause and effect’ relationships can be established, as well as valid conclusions.
• Asch's study - strengths

  • Supports normative social influence - participants reported that they conformed to fit in with the group, so it supports the idea of normative influence, which states that people conform to fit in when privately disagreeing with the majority
• Asch's study - weaknesses

  • Lacks population validity due to sampling issues - For example, the participants were only American male undergraduates, and so the study was subject to gender bias, where it is assumed that findings from male participants can be generalised to females (i.e. beta bias).
• Asch's study - weaknesses

  • Ethical issues: - there was deception as participants were tricked into thinking the study was about perception rather than compliance so they could not give informed consent. - There could have been psychological harm as the participants could have been embarrassed after realising the true aims of the study. - Such issues simply mean that a cost-benefit analysis is required to evaluate whether the ethical costs are smaller than the benefits of increased knowledge of the field. They do not affect the validity or reliability of findings!
• Asch's study may be a 'child of its time'

  • His findings may be unique as the research took place in a time where the US was in a strong anti-communist period. during this time people were scared to go against the majority and so are more likely to conform. This suggest Asch's study may lack temporal validity
• Cultural differences in conformity

  • Research suggests that there are important cultural differences in conformity
  • Smith et al. (2006) analysed the results of Asch-type studies across a number of different cultures. The average conformity rate across the different cultures was 31.2%. What was interesting was that the average conformity rate for individualist cultures (e.9. in Europe and the US) was about 25%, whereas for collectivist cultures in Africa, Asia and South America it was much higher at 37%.