A01

• aschs method

  • Asch’s research aimed to test conformity and the effect of majority influence.
  • He used 123 American male undergraduate students. They were put into groups of 6, with one real participant and 5 confederates.
  • They were shown 4 lines, 3 comparison lines and one standard line, and were asked which out of the 3 is most like the standard line. Real participants were always made to answer last or second to last. The confederates gave the incorrect answer 12/18 times. 
• aschs findings

  • Findings showed 36.8% of participants conformed each time and 75% of participants conformed at least once. This is in comparison to a control group where only 1% were inaccurate answers.
• group size:


  he found ppts in groups over 3, conformity rose by 30% however past group size of 4 there was no real difference. 
• unanimity of group


  Secondly is unanimity of group, when real participant was joined by another participant who gave the correct answer, conformity fell to 5.5% as this increased the participants confidence in their own answers. 
• task difficulty

  when the comparison and standard lines were made more similar conformity rose, this is because the participants are more unsure of the actual answer so will therefore accept the confederates’ incorrect answers, this is an example of informational social influence leading to internalisation.