Variables affecting Conformity

Who investigated variables affecting conformity and how

ASCH, he conducted a baseline study

Procedure of baseline study

• Participants were shown 2 cards, 1 w. standard line on it, other card had 3 comparison lines

• 1 of the 3 lines was the same length as the standard, other 2 were clearly diff

• Each group member stated which of the 3 lines matched the standard

  • Participant always answered 2nd to last 

• 18 trials involving diff pairs of cards

  • 12 (critical trials) confederates gave same, clearly wrong answer 

Findings of baseline study

• 75% conformed at least once 

• 25% never conformed (never gave a wrong answer)

• Naïve participants conformed 38.6% of the time

  • High levels of conformity even when situation was unambiguous 

• In control condition, participants made mistakes 1% of time

What did Asch find out after interviewing participants after baseline study?

Majority of participants that had conformed continued to privately trust their own judgement ; they have incorrect answers to avoid disapproval from other group members (compliance)

What were the variables Asch tested?

1. Group size 

2. Unanimity

3. Difficulty of Task  

Group Size & Conformity baseline study

• PROCEDURE: Asch increased size of group by adding more confederates, increasing majority size

• FIND: W. 3 confederates, conformity to wrong answer rose to 31.8%

• CONC: Small majority (1,2) isn’t enough for influence to be exerted , conformity doesn’t increase much above 3. 

Unanimity & Conformity Baseline Study

Tested whether agreeance of al confederates on wrong answers affected conformity ; whether another, non-conforming person would affect participant’s conformity 

• PROCEDURE: Confederate who disagreed w. majority present. (dissenting confederate)

• FIND: Reduced conformity by approx. 25% ; participant behaved more independently 

• CONC: The influence of the majority depends to some extent on whether there are unanimous. 

Task Difficulty & Conformity Baseline Study

• PROCEDURE: Made stimulus line & comparison lines more similar in length 

• FINDINGS: Conformity increased when task difficulty increased

• CONC:  ISI plays a greater role when task harder. 

DIS1: A’s research being a ‘child of its time’

P: A’s findings may have low temporal validity as the research took place in a particular period of US history where conformity was more important

Ev: In 1956, US was in a strong ant-communist period; people were scared to go against majority, & more likely to conform

Ex: 1980 Perin & Spencer repeated A’s study in the UK. They first obtained only 1 conforming response out of 396 trials, where a majority unanimously gave same wrong answer. In subsequent study, they used youths on probation as participants & probation officers as confederates. Found similar levels of conformity to those found by Asch.

L: Therefore, Asch’s research may be product of specific place & time it was conducted in. Confirmed conformity is more likely if perceived costs of not conforming are high, which would’ve been the case during McCarthy era in US.

DIS2: Artificial Situation

P: The task & lab setting were artificial

Ev: Comparing lines, lab setting. Identifying lines was an unimportant task, so no real reason not to conform. Groups didn’t resemble groups we see in everyday life 

Ex: This meant participants knew they were in a study which could have caused them to display demand characteristics 

L: Findings aren’t generalisable to real world scenarios, especially where conformity might be important to the individuals. 

DIS3: Cultural differences 

P: Research suggests there’re important cultural differences in conformity, & so we should expect diff, results dependent on culture in which a study takes place 

Ev: Smith et al (2006) analysed results of Asch-type studies across a no. of diff cultures. Average conformity rate for individualist cultures = approx. 25%, whereas collectivist cultures = 37%

Ex: Markus & Kitayama (1991) suggest that this is because in collectivist cultures, conformity is favoured more, it’s viewed as a form of ‘social glue’ that bind communities together.

L: This means that we cannot generalise the findings of Asch’s studies to everyone.