Asch (lines) study

• Procedure


  123 American male student volunteer participants were tested in groups of 7-9 in which only 1 person was a genuine participant. They were asked to judge which of 3 comparison lines was the same length as standard line. They were asked to make this judgement verbally and in order with the genuine participant placed last or second to last. Confederates gave obviously wrong answers on 12 out of 18 trials.
• Findings

  Participants conformed in 36.8% of critical trials, 5% of participants conformed in every trial and 75% of participants conformed in at least 1 critical trial. Interviews after showed that the majority of the genuine participants knew they were giving the wrong answer in critical trials, however they chose to do so to fit in with the majority group.
• Conclusions


  Asch's research provides strong research evidence for compliance; participants showed a short-term change in their public behaviour, even though they privately disagreed, in order to avoid conflict.

  Asch's research provides strong evidence for normative social influence; participants showed a short-term public change in their behaviour because they wanted to be liked or accepted by the majority group as they feared rejection or social exclusion.
• Limitations of Asch's research

  • Affected by the time in which it was performed - Perrin and Spencer found just 1 conforming response in 398 trials when the study used engineering students - conformity is not the same over time and setting.
  • Demand characteristics - perceive the demands of the study, decreasing the internal validity - task was artificial meaning there was no reason for not conforming - consequences of conformity are important
• Limitations of Asch's research

  • Low population validity - only apply to certain groups - Asch only studied me - his results cannot be generalised as only apply to North American men.
  • deception - misled by the procedure - participants believed other people involved were genuine when they were confederates - however, ethical cost should be weighed against the benefits.