AO3

• Individual differences


  • Increasing the task difficulty was influenced by the confidence of the individual
  • Participants who were more confident in their abilities were less likely to conform, even when task difficulty was high
• Majority influence


  Dependent on someone's personality as opposed to changes in the environment
• Asch's research may be a child of its time—the study took place in a period of history when conformity was high (US in 1956 = strong anti-communist period—McCarthyism)
• Demonstrates that people were afraid to go against the majority and would be more likely to be influenced by the size of the group
• Cultural differences in conformity


  • Higher levels of conformity arises in collectivist cultures because it is viewed more favourably as a form of 'social glue' that binds communities together
  • Shows that social support might play a bigger role in collectivist vs. in individualist cultures