asch conformity

describe Asch’s original study

Asch’s three lines test investigated whether Ps would conform to a majority view when the view was obviously wrong (non-ambiguous). He used the three lines test which involved 3 comparison lines of various lengths, one of which matched a target line.

123 American male undergraduate students were used with each participant completing 18 trials. 7 confederates (stooges) were used with the genuine participant seated in the penultimate position. On 12 ‘critical’ trials, the stooges were instructed to give a unanimous incorrect response.

The naïve participant gave a wrong answer 36.8% of the time with 78% of Ps conforming to the majority on at least one occasion. Asch concluded that groups exert pressure on an individual to conform to the majority view. As Ps referred to the need to avoid ridicule  and rejection in interviews afterwards, this supported the view of NSI.

describe the variations that were completed

Asch completed a number of variations to his original study:

Group size – conformity increased to 31.8% when there was a group size of 3 but didn’t increase as group size increased suggesting that conformity can occur when there is a small majority.

Unanimity – the presence of a dissenter from the group led to conformity rates decreasing by ¼ compared with the unanimous condition. This person offers social support and reduces NSI and ISI.

Task difficulty – conformity increased when the comparison lines were closely matched to the target line, making the situation more ambiguous. ISI therefore increased.

define conformity

a change in behaviour or belief as a result of a real or imagined group pressure

what are the different types of conformity

compliance identification and internalisation

Describe what compliance is and what causes it

The shallowest level of conformity in which the individual changes their behaviour to fit in with the group/ avoid rejection. They don’t necessarily privately agree with the behaviour or belief but they do agree publicly . Compliance is not permeant it lasts only as long as the group is present. Compliance is generally cause by normative social influence

Describe what identification is and what causes it

The intermediate level of conformity the individual adopts the behaviour or beliefs of a group. The individual may or may not privately agree. They accept the groups norms out of a desire for a relationship or association with the group rather than a genuine internal agreement with everything the group stands for . This is linked to social identity where an individuals sense of who they are is based on their group membership

Describe what internalisation is and what causes it

The deepest level of conformity the individual accepts the behaviour or belief of the majority publicly and privately and it becomes part of the majority publicly and privately it becomes part of their belief system. Internalisation is a permanent form of conformity continuing even if the majority group is no longer present. Internalisation is most likely due to informational social influence

what are the different explanations for conformity

NSI and ISI

NSI

This is conforming to the majority to avoid rejection or being seen as outcast this is driven by a desire to be liked and gain social approval. As NSI is motivated by emotional reasons the resulting change in view or behaviour is superficial and temporary

ISI

is conforming to the majority because of a desire to be correct in situations where the right actions or belief is uncertain. ISI is driven by the belief that other have more knowledge or correct information. ISI is motivated by cognitive reasons resulting in a change of view or behaviour ids genuine and permanent

One strength

Point:
Asch’s use of the experimental method was a strength because it allowed for high levels of control and standardisation, making it possible to establish cause and effect.

Evidence:
In Asch’s line judgement study, the independent variable—the number of confederates giving a unanimous incorrect answer—was systematically manipulated, while the dependent variable—the participant’s response—was carefully measured. All participants completed the same 3 lines task under the same conditions, with identical instructions and procedures.

Explain:
This high level of standardisation reduced the influence of extraneous variables, increasing internal validity. As a result, any changes in participants’ responses could be directly attributed to the presence and size of the unanimous majority. The controlled setting also helped demonstrate that conformity occurred due to normative social influence, as participants often knew the correct answer but conformed to avoid standing out or being rejected by the group.

Link:
Therefore, the standardised and controlled nature of Asch’s experiment strengthened the reliability of the findings and allowed clear conclusions to be drawn about the causal role of group pressure and normative social influence in conformity.

suffers from beta bias

Point:
One limitation of the study is that it used an androcentric sample, as all 123 participants were male, which results in beta bias.

Evidence:
Because the research only included men, the findings assume that conformity rates are the same for females, meaning the results were generalised across genders despite not being representative.

Explain:
This creates a problem for population validity, as males and females may respond differently to social influence. Follow-up research has demonstrated that females are often more likely to conform, particularly in ambiguous situations, possibly due to greater concern for social relationships. This suggests that the original study underestimated conformity levels and that gender differences were ignored.

Link:
Therefore, the findings lack external validity, as they cannot be reliably generalised to females, limiting the usefulness of the study when explaining conformity in the wider population.

lack of mundane realism

A further limitation of Asch’s study is that it lacked mundane realism due to the artificial task and group setting used under highly controlled laboratory conditions.

Evidence:
Participants were placed in an unfamiliar group of strangers and asked to judge line lengths, a task that is far removed from real-life decisions.

Explain:
As a result, the study may have been affected by demand characteristics, with participants conforming because they believed this was the behaviour expected by the researcher rather than due to genuine normative social influence. This reduces the ecological validity of the findings, as conformity in everyday life often occurs in meaningful social contexts, such as when making decisions with friends or about important issues like voting behaviour. Research suggests that individuals are more likely to conform when interacting with people they know, due to greater fear of social rejection, yet Asch’s research did not investigate this.

Link:
Therefore, the study provides a limited explanation of how and why conformity occurs in real-world settings, reducing the external validity of Asch’s conclusions.