Conformity (Asch)
- Created by: z_mills1
- Created on: 16-05-14 13:47
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- Conformity (Asch)
- Procedure
- in each experiment all but one were confederates
- in turn, participants and confederates were asked to state which of 3 lines shown was the same length as the stimulus line
- the real participant always answered last or second last
- confederates would give the same incorrect answer for 12 out of the 18 trials
- Findings
- for the 12 critical trials 36.8% of responses given by participants were incorrect
- 1/4 of participants never conformed
- pp's were correct in their judgement 99% of the time without confederates giving the wrong answer
- Variations
- difficulty - differences between lines were made smaller
- conformity increased
- size of majority
- low conformity when majority consisted of 2 or 3
- conformity rose to 30% with a majority of 3
- unanimity of majority
- when participant was joined by another real participant conformity fell dramatically
- difficulty - differences between lines were made smaller
- Evalauation
- lack of ecological validity - lab experiment
- judging lengths of lines is an insignificant task
- lack of historical and population validity
- experiment done in 1956 - McCarthyism era, strong anti-communist period when people were scared to be different from the majority
- conformity or independence?
- 2/3 of trials where the majority gave the same wrong answer, the participant stuck to their original opinion
- suggests independent behaviour being shown even in the face of an overwhelming majority
- 2/3 of trials where the majority gave the same wrong answer, the participant stuck to their original opinion
- lack of ecological validity - lab experiment
- Procedure
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