asch research into conformity

• aschs research into conformity includes the line experiment (1956)
• procedure of asch experiment

  • 123 american male students thought they were participating in visual perception study
  • shown 2 white cards at time - standard line card, 3 lines on one card
  • ptts asked which of 3 matched standard line
  • on first few trials - confederates gave right answer - then started making mistakes (all gave same wrong answer)
  • real ptts always answers last or second to last
• findings of asch research into conformity

  • 37% responses from ptts on 12 trials were incorrect (conformed on all trials)
  • 75% conformed at least once
  • 25% never conformed
• conclusions relating to NSI and ISI - why ptts conformed

  • distortion of action - did not want to stand out so conformed to group publicly but not privately (compliance)
  • distortion of judgement - doubted their accuracy (ISI)
  • conformed to avoid rejection (NSI)
• variations which affect conformity

  • task difficulty
  • group size
  • unanimity
• task difficulty as variation affecting conformity

  • when comparison lines were made more similar in length - was harder to judge correct answer
  • when uncertain, seem to look to others for confirmation - conformity increases
• group size as variation affecting conformity

  • asch found conformity tends to increase as group size increases
  • 1 confederate = 3% conformity
  • 2 confederates = 13% conformity
  • 4 considered optimal group size for conformity to occur
• unanimity as variation affecting conformity

  • presence of non conformist affects ptts likelihood of conforming
  • adding confederate who disagreed with others - led to reduced conformity levels
• evaluation points for asch research into conformity

  • ethical issues
  • lacks temporal validity
  • real world application
• ethical issues being eval point for asch research into conformity

  • asch's research considered to have multiple ethical issues which impact experiment
  • BPS outlines 6 key guidelines all psychological research must follow to be considered when publishing (deception, consent)
  • in his study ptts were told they were participating in visual perception study when they were actually being studied for conformity - breaks guidelines as there was deception where ptts werent told truth
  • asch study considered as limited due to ethical problems being exposed to ptts
• lacks temporal validity being eval point for asch research

  • perrin and spencer repeated study in UK later on - found there was only 1 conforming response out of 396 trials
  • when using youths on probation as ptts and confederates were probation officers - found higher levels of conformity
  • during time of asch study there were more risks associated with not conforming to certain american groups - explains why asch conformity rates were high
  • study is limited as it cannot be applied to other time periods due to circumstances that took place when conducted (e.g. mccarthyism)
• real world application as eval point for asch's research

  • strength of asch's research is its application to real life situations
  • example - research shown for over 95% of cases - first vote of jury determines final verdict
  • by understanding the situations in which individuals conform it can be applied to variety of scenarios
  • strengthens the validity of explanation