Independent Behaviour and Social Change

Asch's participants were influenced by situational factors

• Group Size

The bigger the majority, the more influential it will be. To test this, Asch conducted his experiment with different amounts of confederates. With only two confederates, they conformed only 14%. With three, they rose to 32%. There was little change in conformity after this. Very small majorities are easier to resist than large ones. 

• Social Support
  

When one of the confederates agreed with the participant, conformity fell to 5.5%. This made it easier for the participant to conform. 

Confidence and expertise

Wiesenthal found that if people felt competent in the task, they were less likely to conform. 

Perrin and Spencer replicated Asch's study with engineering students. Conformity was much lower. This could be due to confidence.

Gender

Eagly argued that men and woman's different social roles are…