Variables affecting conformity

Question 1

Asch 1956

Answer 1

• 123 male American undergrads
• 12/18 ‘critical trials’
• control group of 36, less than 1 % made a mistake
• groups of 6-9, 1 ppt, rest confederates

Question 2

Asch’s line study results

Answer 2

• 75% conformed atleast once
• 25% never conformed
• 5% conformed in all critical trials
• 33% overall conformity rate

Question 3

reasons ppts conform

Answer 3

distortion perception, distortion judgement, distortion of action

Question 4

distortion perception

Answer 4

some ppts actually saw lines in the same way as the majority

Question 5

distortion of judgement

Answer 5

doubtful/unsure of their own judgement

Question 6

distortion of action

Answer 6

privately thought different but changed public belief to avoid disapproval

Question 7

asch study variations

Answer 7

group size, unanimity, and task difficulty

Question 8

group size

Answer 8

• little conformity for 1 or 2 people
• conformity increased to 33% with three people
• increase of ppts past the optimal doesn’t increase conformity

Question 9

task difficulty

Answer 9

more ppts conformed through ISI as difficulty increased

Question 10

unanimity

Answer 10

• conformity dropped to 5% w/ one dissenter
• breaking group consensus of unanimity main way to resist conformity

Question 11

variables affecting conformity strengths

Answer 11

confederates acted convincingly

Question 12

variables affecting conformity limitations

Answer 12

gender bias (all male ppts) , ethical issues (psych harm), ecological validity (artificial task)