Variables Affecting Conformity

Variables Affecting Conformity:

Solomon Asch became famous for a series of studies that demonstrated the effects of social influence on conformity - showing that people are willing to go against the compelling evidence of their senses to conform to a group concensus (The Asch Effect- to do as others do rather than what we feel is right.) 

Key Study: Asch 1956

Asch asked student volunteers to take part in a visual discrimination task, unbeknown to these volunteers, all but one were confederates of the investigator. The real purpose of the study was to see how the 'lone real' participant would react to the behaviour of the confederates.

• Procedure - participants viewed lines of different sizes and compared them to a standard line.    Group contained confederates with participants answering second to last.                              …