Asch’s research

Group size procedure

• Asch varied the number of confederates (people secretly working with the experimenter) who gave the wrong answer before the real participant responded.

Group size findings

• Conformity increased as group size increased, but only up to a point.

• The biggest increase occurred with 3 confederates.

Unanimity procedures

• Asch introduced a dissenting confederate who gave the correct answer or a different wrong answer.

Unanimity findings

• Conformity dropped significantly when unanimity was broken.

• Even one dissenter made participants feel more confident giving the correct answer.

Task difficulty procedures

• Asch made the task harder by using line lengths that were more similar, making the correct answer less obvious.

Task difficulty findings

• As task difficulty increased, conformity also increased.

• Participants were more likely to doubt their own judgment and rely on the group.

P

Limitation = lack of external validity

E

Later recreation by Perrin and Spencer (1980) found only one pp conformed in 396 trials

C

However, they used engineering students; may be more confident in measuring lines

S

So, line task an extraneous variable, invalidating conclusions

P

Strength = support from other studies

E

Lucas et al. (2006): easy vs difficult maths                                             question, conformity to wrong answer higher on difficult question

E

People conform to given ‘majority’ answer due to need for information

L

So, corresponds with Asch’s findings abouttask difficulty

P

Limitation = artificial task

E

Lack of mundane realism – comparing line lengths is not meaningful or typical

E

Fiske (2014): Asch’s groups unlike groups we have in real life

L

So, findings may not be generalisable to real-world situations

P

Limitation = ethical issues

E

Deliberate deception (though necessary to avoid demand characteristics)

E

Psychological harm potentially caused due to distress pps felt when disagreeing with majority

L

So, reduced reliability as study cannot be replicated due to ethical issues

C

However, ethical cost was outweighed by benefits gained from the study (i.e. increased our knowledge on why people conform)

S

So, practical applications for Asch’s research in the judicial system