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Psychology
Social influence
Asch's research
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Cards (8)
Procedure of the Solomon Asch experiment (1955)
123 Male
student
volunteers
took part in an experiment they were told was about
visual perception
Placed in groups of between
7
and
8
sat in a
line
or around a
table
(they were
confederates
)
Which
length
of one was correct, the confederates all said the same
wrong
answer and the real person answered last
Control
group of
36
tested individually
Findings of the Solomon Asch experiment
Control group had an error rate of only
1
%
Critical trials had
37
% conformity rate
25
% of participants conformed at least
once
Situational Variables
Group
size
Unanimity
Task
difficulty
Situational Variables- group size
Group of
three
needed for a significant change in conformity
Situational Variables unanimity
Unanimity broken leads to a change from
37
% to
5
% conformity
Situational Variables task difficulty
Conformity
increased
when task difficulty
increased
Limitation of Asch's research
Artificial situation
and
task
- leads to
demand characteristics
Only
American male
participants
Ethical issues -
deception
Strength of Asch's research
Other research supports it -
Todd Lucas
et al.
Counter point - Conformity more
complex
than
Asch
suggested