variables affecting conformity

Asch investigation

three key situational variables that influence the extent to which individuals conform to a majority group

what are the three situational variables

• Group Size

• Unanimity (Social Support)

• Task Difficulty

Group Size procedures

Asch varied the number of confederates in the majority group from 1 to 15.

what is the conformity rate with 1 confederate

3%

2 confederates

rose to 12.8%

3 confederates

jumped to 31.8%

whats happens when the number of confederates are increase after 3

very little differences in conformity rates

group size Conclusion

A small majority is sufficient to exert maximum normative social influence; adding more people beyond a small threshold yields diminishing returns.

Unanimity (Social Support) procedures

introduced a dissenting confederate who broke the unanimity of the majority

Unanimity findings

Conformity dropped drastically from 36.8% down to 5% when the dissenter gave the correct answer

Unanimity Conclusion

Unanimity is crucial for a majority to exert control. Breaking the majority's unanimity gives the participant social support

Task Difficulty Procedure

Asch made the line lengths much closer together, making the correct answer harder to discern and increasing task ambiguity.

Task Difficulty Findings

Conformity rates increased significantly under the more ambiguous conditions.

Task Difficulty Conclusion

As task difficulty increases, self-confidence drops and task ambiguity rises. Individuals shift from being influenced by (NSI) to (ISI), looking to others for guidance when uncertain.