variables affecting conformity

• Figures in Asch’s study?

  • 123 male undergrads
  • 18 trials
  • Same wrong answer 12/18 trials
  • 12 trials - 33% conf
  • 1 in 20 conf on all trials
  • 1% conf in control cond
• Figures in variables affecting conformity? (Asch)

  • Group size- little conformity with 1 or 2 confeds, increased to 30% w 3, where there is no correct answer and person is concerned about fitting in, the larger the majority the more likely they'll conform (up to 3 people in maj)
  • Unanimity- conf from 33% to 5.5% - when someone supports a lone dissenter, conformity reduces
• AO3 for variables affecting conformity

  • ☹️ temporal bias- mcarthyism = anti communism, anti communist period, Perrin and Spencer repeated some years later in UK, 1/396 conforming response
  • ☹️ effect of gr size - studies have used limited range of majority sizes. Bond- no other studies than Asch have used maj greater than 9
  • ☹️ independent behaviour rather than conf - only 1/3 trials showed conf, 2/3 never conf. Shows independence rather than conformity
  • ☹️ gender bias- only studied undergraduate males, beta bias as women could have higher/lower conformity rates
  • ☹️ ethical issues- psychological harm due to not getting same answer as others
• how did the difficulty of the task affect conformity in Asch's study?

  • the degree of conformity determined by the self-efficacy of the individual
  • high self-efficacy- more trust individual has in own knowledge, less the conformity and vice versa
  • the more difficult the task, the more ambiguous the answer and the larger the rates of conformity