Asch's Research

Aim of Asch (1951)

To investigate the extent to which people would conform to a majority in an unambiguous task.

Procedure of Asch (1951)

Participants took part in a line judgment task where they had to match a target line to one of three comparison lines.

Role of Confederates in Asch (1951)

Participants were placed in a group with confederates who deliberately gave the wrong answer on certain trials.

Findings of Asch (1951)

Participants conformed to the incorrect majority answer on about 37% of critical trials.

Conformity Rate in Asch (1951)

Around 75% of participants conformed at least once.

Conclusion of Asch (1951)

People often conform to group pressure even when the correct answer is obvious, mainly due to normative social influence.

Group Size Effect in Asch (1951)

Conformity increased as group size increased, but only up to three confederates; after this, conformity levels remained similar.

Unanimity in Asch (1951)

When one confederate gave the correct answer, breaking unanimity, conformity dropped significantly.

Key Factor in Conformity

Unanimity is a key factor in conformity.

Task Difficulty in Asch (1951)

Asch made the line-matching task harder, and conformity increased as participants became less confident in their own judgment.

Role of Informational Social Influence

Suggests that informational social influence played a role in increased conformity when task difficulty was higher.