evaluation of asch’s research

ethical issues:

deception: ppts were unaware of the true aim of the study, couldn’t give informed consent

HOWEVER is necessary for the study, couldn’t measure conformity if ppts knew the aim

reduces demand characteristics

how realistic was the study?

does not reflect everyday life, low ecological validity

unrealistic: took place in a controlled setting, a classroom at a university

line perception test is unrealistic, ppts had probably never heard of the test

POSITIVE: less extraneous variables

did the study have a representative sample?

all ppts were university students, more knowledge, potentially less likely to conform due to having more confidence in their own knowledge

all ppts were men, due to the time period females may have conformed more due to societal pressure

not representative of the whole population

can’t extrapolate findings

low population validity

where was the study conducted?

america, not a representative sample