AO1: Critical Trials

• Solomon Asch (1951), the age of McCarthyism conducted a group pressure study
• Aim of Asch's study


  • To investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform
• Sample:

  Asch used a sample of 50 American male college students who believed they were participating in a vision test (to prevent demand char.)

  
  

  sample randomly allocated into independent groups of 6-8 people

  • Each group had only 1 true pp, the rest were confederates: told how to act

  Tests were conducted in trials, where each group was seated in a row.

  • True pp was always sat either last or 2nd last
• Asch's study procedure


  1. Pps shown an image of a stimulus line (X) and 3 comparison lines (A, B, and C) and instructed to say out loud which comparison line matched the stimulus line in length

  
  

  2. Each trial had 1 correct answer and 2 obviously wrong answers

  
  

  3. In the critical trials, each confederate was instructed to say the same wrong answer for total group unanimity
• On average across the 12 critical trials, the conformity rate to wrong answers was 32%
• 75% of participants conformed at least once
• When interviewed after the experiment, most participants said they did not really believe in their answers, but had gone along with the group due to fear of being thought "peculiar"
• Normative social influence (NSI)


  Conforming to the majority to avoid judgment, even when the majority are clearly wrong
• Informational social influence (ISI)


  Conforming because you really believe the group's answers are correct
• NSI and ISI can coincide with one another, however NSI may hold more power
• Asch concluded that individuals are likely to conform to the majority opinion to avoid judgment, even when the majority are clearly wrong