ASCH AO3

• sample of pts - students so not representative of population so low population validity. also young people are more impressionable
• time - potential societal shifts, so may not be generalisable to modern day, only representative of that era
• location - conducted in an individualistic country and hence may not be applicable to collectivist cultures as they conform more
• ecological validity -line judging task was insignificant to everyday life and so conformity levels may differ if a more important task was performed
• internal validity - highly controlled and prevented demand characteristics by having pt answer last but one and six out of 18 trials where confederates did not answer with unanimous incorrect answers. therefore pts less likely to work out aim.
• research shows conformity depends on culture as collectivist cultures show higher levels of conformity than individualistic. this is because collectivist are more concerned with the needs of the group and may make group decisions to conform whereas individualistic focus on the self and being independent, may be less likely to conform.