Variables affecting conformity

Question 1

variables affecting conformity

Answer 1

• group size
• task difficulty
• unanimity

Question 2

describe Asch’s experiment to test conformity

Answer 2

procedure:
- placed a naiive part in a group w/ several confederates
- group asked to look at ‘standard line’ + decide individually which of the other ‘test lines’ was the same length as the ‘standard line’ = w/out discussion
- then gave answers one by one, out loud
- naiive part was the last or second to last = heard the rest of the group’s answers before giving their own
- answer was obvious BUT confederates gave wrong answer 12/18 trials

Question 3

findings of Asch’s experiment

Answer 3

• 1% chance of making genuine mistake on the task
• 33% of responses given by parts = incorrect
• 75% of parts conformed at least 1/18 trials
• 5% of parts conformed on 18/18 trials
• 25% did not conform on any trial = 0

= parts interviewed after
= parts had continued to trust their own judgment but gave the same answer as the group to avoid disapproval (normative social influence)

Question 4

group size - factors affecting conformity

Answer 4

• groups w/ 1 confederate = conformity rate of 3%
• groups w/ 2 confederates = conformity rate of 13%
• groups w/ 3 confederates = conformity rate of 32%

Question 5

task difficulty - factors affecting conformity

Answer 5

• adjusted the task difficulty to make the test lines more similar in length
• level of conformity increased = informational social influence (look to others for confirmation)
• more difficult the task, the greater the informational social influence + conformity

Question 6

unanimity - factors affecting conformity

Answer 6

• when the group had unanimity (everyone agreed) = conformity increased
• when only one other person in the group gave a different answer from the others = NOT UNANIMOUS –> conformity dropped from 33% to 5%

Question 7

disads of Asch’s study

Answer 7

• temporal validity
• mundane realism + ecological validity
• gender bias
• population validity
• ethical issues

Question 8

temporal validity - disads of Asch’s study

Answer 8

• Asch’s study may not have temporal validity
• study was conducted 80 years ago
• people maybe more conformist then than they are now e..g post-war attitudes that people should work together and consent rather than dissent may have affected the results

Question 9

mundane realism + ecological validity - disads of Asch’s study

Answer 9

• task given to match line lengths = artificial + unlikely to occur in real life
• conformity usually takes place in a social context, often w/ familiar people rather than strangers
• study lacks mundane realism + ecological validity

Question 10

gender + cultural bias - disads of Asch’s study

Answer 10

• study is culturally + gender biased = only contains white American male parts
• study may not represent female behaviour or behaviour of other cultures

HOWEVER study has been replicated since w/ different samples of genders + cultures = reliable

Question 11

population validity - disads of Asch’s study

Answer 11

• Asch used a volunteer sample whose behaviour may not represent that of a wider population
• study doesn’t have population validity + results can’t be generalised to the wider population

Question 12

ethical issues - disads of Asch’s study

Answer 12

• deception (thought they were taking part in a test of perception)
• lack of informed consent (didn’t agree to take part in a study about conformity)
• psychological harm (parts put in a stressful + embarassing situation)

HOWEVER necessary to deceive parts to prevent demand characteristics = make the study invalid