Variables Affecting Conformity

Question 1

What is Asch’s baseline experiment?

Answer 1

Participants judged line lengths in a group of confederates who purposely gave wrong answers; conformity rate was about 36%

Question 2

What variables did Asch investigate?

Answer 2

Group size, unanimity, and task difficulty.

Question 3

How did Asch control group size?

Answer 3

He changed the number of confederates from 1 up to 15 to see how many people it took to influence conformity.

Question 4

How did Asch investigate task difficulty?

Answer 4

He made the comparison lines more similar in length so the task became harder and more ambiguous.

Question 5

What were the findings of unanimity in Asch’s experiment?

Answer 5

When one confederate disagreed with the majority, conformity dropped sharply because the participant felt social support.

Question 6

What is a limitation of Asch’s experiment?

Answer 6

The participants were American men, researchers argue that women may be more conformist.

Question 7

What is another limitation of Asch’s experiment?

Answer 7

The situation and task were too artificial and participants knew they were in a study. Gives rise to demand characteristics

Question 8

What is one strength of Asch’s experiment?

Answer 8

Other studies support the effects of task difficulty such as Todd Lucas’ experiment. Participants given answers from others on hard questions conformed more.

Question 9

What is a counterpoint to the strength of Asch’s experiment/Todd Lucas’?

Answer 9

Participants with high confidence in their maths/task ability conformed less than those who were less confident.