Conformity - Mori and Arai (2010)

Aim

• To replicate Asch’s Study more accurately (some confederates could have been more convincing than others)

Method

• 104 participants of mixed gender

• Tested in groups of 4 who knew each other

• 3 wore identical glasses, 1 wore different glasses which showed a different line matching the sample line than the other glasses showed

• Participants answered out-loud, with the minority participant going second to last, the same as Asch’s Study

Results

• Women often conformed to the majority (36.8%)

• Men did not conform to the majority

Conclusion

• Women are much more susceptible to conformity than men

• This is because women are expected to have harmony within their groups, and men are socialised to be more independent

Evaluation: Strengths

• Used a mixed gender sample - Meaning it produced data for both male and female conformity

• Used familiar people - Conformity generally happens among familiar people as participants will see them again, whereas strangers they will never see again (research into conformity between friends is more important than research into conformity between strangers)

Evaluation: Weaknesses

• Confined to Japan - Meaning the results can not be generalised to other cultures