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Asch Conformity Experment

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Asch Conformity Experment
The Asch Paradigm
Majority Influence
Introduction
In this essay i will discuss the experiment that Solomon Asch’s conducted in (1950) were his main was aim was to discover how majority influence can affect one individual judgment and how pressure from the majority can pressurise one person to Conform, I will also evaluate his research method, the results and the findings he attained.
Aim
S Solomon Asch’s had disapproved of the Conformity experiment conducted by Muzzafer Sherriff as Asch had felt that sheriffs visual illusion known as the auto kinnect didn’t really show any results of conformity as the participants were asked to take part in an ambiguous task were they were just asked to point out how far the a light travelled in a dark room, Asch believed that Sherrifs experiment clearly had no right or wrong answer so it was impossible for the experiment to show any results of conformity in a group situation.
Asch figured the only way to measure the rates of conformity was to place an individual in a group situation were they would be influenced by the majority even if they knew their group was giving incorrect answers on a task that was ambiguous and obviously correct.

The Method (laboratory experiment)
Asch decided to form a group of 7-9 participants were only one participant was actually the case study (naïve student) Asch put together a simple perceptual task were he asked participants to analyse two cards were they had to compare three lines that were identical to the measurement of the line on the study Card in a practise experiment Asch decided to individually test in total of 36 participants on 20 different versions of the task which I mentioned above, Asch reported their were only three mistakes made on 720 trials which an overall conformity rate of 0.42% the purpose of the practise study was that Asch had proved that the tasks were easy to analyse and the answers were obviously correct and unambigious.Aschs method of research of conformity


References: David G Myers (2008) Psychology In Everyday Life, USA,Worth Publishers. Eamon Fulcher (2005) A guide to coursework in Psychology, Essex, Psychology Press Richard Gross (2000) Richard Gross (2010). The Science of Mind and Behaviour. Dubai: Hodder education. Page 400. The Asch Experiment - YouTube. 2012. The Asch Experiment - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw. [Accessed 01 October 2012].
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