Asch Conformity Experiment

Summary

The script details Solomon Asch's classic conformity experiment, where participants were asked to match a line's length amidst group pressure to conform. It explores how social forces influence perception, with 37% conforming due to informational or normative influences. The experiment also shows that conformity decreases when unanimity is broken or when responses are private, highlighting the power dynamics within group settings.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The script describes an experiment by Solomon Asch that examines conformity under social pressure, specifically regarding the perception of line lengths.
• 🎯 The task in the experiment is to identify which of three lines matches the length of a line presented on the left side of a card.
• 👥 The experiment involves a group setting where only one person is a real subject, and the others are confederates instructed to give incorrect answers.
• 👀 Subjects often conform to the group's incorrect answers, with 37% of them going along with the group on critical trials.
• 🤔 Asch found that subjects' conformity was based on different reasons, such as believing the group must be right or wanting to avoid conflict.
• 👫 Providing a partner to the naive subject who also gives the correct response significantly reduces conformity, dropping to only 5% of critical trials.
• 🔗 The power of the group seems to stem not just from its numbers but also from the unanimity of its opposition, which can be diminished by breaking that unanimity.
• 📉 Conformity can be categorized into informational conformity, where individuals are convinced by the group's correctness, and normative conformity, driven by fear of group disapproval.
• 📝 In a variation of the experiment, subjects were told to write their answers privately, which greatly reduced conformity due to the absence of group criticism.
• 📉 The private response experiment shows that the normative factor of conformity is significantly influenced by the fear of public disapproval.
• 📚 Asch's experiment is a classic in social psychology, demonstrating how people can deny their own perceptions under group pressure and providing insights into the conditions that affect conformity.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the experiment described in the script?

The main purpose of the experiment is to examine the influence of social forces on individual perception and behavior, specifically focusing on the conformity of perception under group pressure.

What is the task given to the participants in the experiment?

The task is to compare the length of a line on the left with three lines on the right and determine which of the three lines is equal in length to the one on the left.

What role do the confederates play in the experiment?

The confederates are instructed to give wrong answers on some trials to observe how the real subject responds to group influence.

How does the experiment reveal the subject's conformity to the group?

The experiment reveals conformity when the subject, despite seeing the correct answer, agrees with the group's incorrect answers due to the pressure to conform.

What percentage of critical trials did subjects conform in Solomon Asch's experiment?

Subjects conformed in 37% of the critical trials, going along with the group's incorrect judgments.

What were the different reasons subjects conformed to the group, as revealed by interviews?

Subjects conformed either because they genuinely believed the group was correct, or to avoid discomfort by not disagreeing with the group.

What effect did having a partner who also gave the correct response have on conformity?

Having a partner reduced conformity to only 5% of the critical trials, showing that the unanimity of the group's opposition significantly influences conformity.

What is informational conformity, and how does it differ from normative conformity?

Informational conformity occurs when individuals conform because they believe the group is right, while normative conformity happens when individuals conform to avoid disapproval from the group for deviating.

How does the experiment demonstrate the power of group unanimity on conformity?

The experiment shows that when the group's unanimity is disrupted, such as by having a partner who agrees with the subject, the group's power to influence conformity is greatly reduced.

What was the effect of allowing subjects to write their answers privately in another variation of the experiment?

Allowing subjects to write their answers privately reduced conformity by two-thirds, indicating that the fear of group criticism is a significant factor in conformity.

What broader implications does Asch's experiment have for understanding human behavior?

Asch's experiment has broader implications for understanding how people may deny their own perceptions and submit to group pressure, and it helps to study the conditions that increase or reduce conformity.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Solomon Asch Experiment on Conformity

This paragraph introduces the Solomon Asch experiment, which investigates how social pressure influences individual perception and behavior. The experiment involves participants comparing line lengths on cards, with one real subject and several confederates instructed to give incorrect answers. The real subject is expected to conform to the group's incorrect judgments, demonstrating the power of social influence. Asch found that 37% of subjects conformed in critical trials, with various reasons for doing so, including believing the group was right or wanting to avoid conflict. The paragraph also discusses the effects of providing a partner to the naive subject, which significantly reduced conformity due to the group's unanimity being challenged.

🤝 The Impact of Partnership on Conformity

This section delves into the effects of having a partner in the Asch experiment. When a naive subject is given a partner who also gives the correct response, the likelihood of the subject conforming to the group's incorrect answers drops to just 5%. Subjects may feel warmth and connection towards their partner but often deny that this influenced their own responses. The partnership variation highlights that the group's power is not just in its numbers but also in its unanimous opposition, which, when disrupted, lessens the group's influence significantly.

🤔 Types of Conformity: Informational and Normative

This paragraph distinguishes between two types of conformity: informational and normative. Informational conformity occurs when individuals conform because they believe the group's opinion is correct. In contrast, normative conformity is driven by the fear of group disapproval for deviating from the norm. The paragraph also describes an additional variation of Asch's experiment, where subjects are told to write down their answers privately due to arriving late. This private response setting removes the fear of group criticism, leading to a significant reduction in conformity rates, demonstrating the strength of the normative conformity factor.

👀 Observing and Studying Conformity

The final paragraph of the script emphasizes the significance of Asch's experiment as a classic study in social psychology. It allows researchers to observe conformity directly and to examine the conditions that either increase or decrease its occurrence. The experiment not only reveals the extent to which people will deny their own perceptions under group pressure but also provides insights into the dynamics of social influence and the factors that can mitigate it.

Keywords

💡Experiment

An experiment is a scientific procedure designed to test a hypothesis and explore phenomena under controlled conditions. In the video's context, the experiment examines how social forces can influence perception and behavior. The Solomon Asch experiment, as mentioned, investigates conformity by having participants match the length of a line with one of three options, despite the clear correct answer.

💡Conformity

Conformity refers to the act of adjusting one's behavior, attitudes, or beliefs to align with those of a group. The video discusses how subjects in the experiment conform to the incorrect answers given by the majority, highlighting the psychological pressure to fit in and agree with others, even at the expense of one's own judgment.

💡Social Forces

Social forces are the pressures and influences exerted by society or groups that can shape an individual's behavior. In the script, social forces are depicted through the group dynamics where participants feel compelled to agree with the group's incorrect answers, demonstrating the power of social influence.

💡Perception

Perception is the process by which individuals interpret and organize sensory information to give meaning to their environment. The video's theme revolves around the distortion of perception under group pressure, as participants in the experiment are influenced to perceive line lengths differently to match the group's responses.

💡Confederates

Confederates are individuals who are secretly working with the experimenter to control certain aspects of the experiment. In the script, the confederates are instructed to give wrong answers to influence the real subject's responses, thus manipulating the social environment to study conformity.

💡Critical Trials

Critical trials are specific instances within an experiment where the main variables of interest are tested. In the video, the critical trials are those in which the group gives a unanimous incorrect answer, and the subject's conformity is measured by whether they agree with the group or not.

💡Informational Conformity

Informational conformity occurs when individuals change their behavior or beliefs because they believe the group has more accurate information. The video describes this when subjects doubt their own perceptions and agree with the group, assuming the group must be right.

💡Normative Conformity

Normative conformity is the change in behavior to gain social acceptance or to avoid disapproval from the group. The script illustrates this when subjects choose to conform to avoid the discomfort of disagreeing with the group, even when they know the group is wrong.

💡Unanimity

Unanimity refers to complete agreement among all members of a group. The video's partnership variation demonstrates that the power of the group's influence is significantly reduced when unanimity is broken, as having one partner who agrees with the subject's correct perception reduces conformity.

💡Private Response

A private response is when participants in an experiment answer without the influence of the group's knowledge of their answer. In the script, the private response experiment shows a significant drop in conformity, indicating that the fear of group disapproval is a major factor in normative conformity.

💡Solomon Asch

Solomon Asch was a psychologist known for his conformity experiments, which are referenced in the video. His work is foundational in understanding social influence and the factors that affect an individual's willingness to conform to group opinions, even when they are clearly incorrect.

Highlights

The experiment examines behavior under the pressure of social forces, as demonstrated by Solomon Asch's study.

Participants were asked to compare the lengths of lines, identifying which of the three lines matched a standard line.

Only one person in the group was a real subject; the others were confederates instructed to give wrong answers on certain trials.

Initially, the subject provides the correct answer, but on the third trial, the subject conforms to the incorrect group response.

Asch found that subjects conformed to the group on 37% of the critical trials.

Subjects conformed for different reasons; some believed the group was correct, while others conformed to avoid conflict.

In some cases, subjects genuinely believed that the group was correct, leading to a distortion of their judgment.

In other cases, subjects knew the group was wrong but conformed to avoid discomfort, indicating a distortion at the level of response.

Introducing a partner who also gave the correct response reduced conformity to 5% of the critical trials.

Despite feeling warmth towards the partner, subjects typically denied that the partner influenced their independent judgment.

The experiment demonstrated that the group's power was significantly reduced when unanimity was broken.

Informational conformity occurs when we are convinced the group is correct, while normative conformity arises from fear of disapproval.

In a variation where subjects wrote their answers privately, conformity dropped by two-thirds, showing the impact of group pressure.

Asch's experiment revealed that people often deny their own perceptions to submit to group pressure.

The study provided insights into the conditions that increase or reduce conformity, making it a classic in social psychology.

Transcripts

but an experiment is not a public

opinion poll

it examines behavior under the pressure

of social forces

as the experiment of solomon ash reveals

the experiment you'll be taking part in

today involves the perception of

lengths of lines as you can see here i

have a number of cards

and on each card there are several lines

your task is a very simple one you're to

look at the

line on the left and determine which of

the three lines on the right

is equal to it in length all right we'll

proceed in this order

you'll give your answer only one of the

people in the group is a real subject

the fifth person with the white t-shirt

the others are confederates of the

experimenter and have been told to give

wrong answers on some of the trials

the experiment begins uneventfully as

subjects give their judgments

two two two

two two

three three

three three three but on the third trial

something happens two

two two

two

two the subject denies the evidence of

his own

eyes and yields to group influence

ash found subjects went along with the

group on 37

of the critical trials but he found

through interviews

that they went along with the group for

different reasons

one one they must be right

there for them and one of me one

this subject's yielding is based on a

distortion of his judgment

he genuinely believes that the group is

correct

one one

one two

one two

two two

i know they're wrong but why should i

make waves two

in this case the subject knows he is

right but goes along to avoid the

discomfort of disagreeing with the group

here the distortion is at the level of

his response

two two

two two

in the previous experiment the naive

subject stood alone against the group

in this variation ash gave the naive

subject a partner

here seated in the third position who

also gives the correct response

one one

two one

two with a partner yielding drops to

only five percent of the critical trials

compared to thirty seven percent without

a partner

although subjects report warmth and good

feeling toward the partner they

typically deny that he played a role in

their own independence

the partnership variation shows that

much of the power of the group

came not merely from its numbers but

from the unanimity of its opposition

when that unanimity is punctured the

group's power is greatly reduced

sometimes we go along with the group

because what they say convinces us they

are right

this is called informational conformity

but sometimes we can form because we are

apprehensive that the group will

disapprove if we are deviant

this is called normative conformity the

strength of the normative factor is

shown in another variation carried out

by ash

in this variation the subject is told

that because he had arrived late

you would have to write his answers

subjects in this private response

experiment are exposed to the same

amount of misleading information as

other subjects but they are immune from

any possible criticism by the group one

one one and this enormously reduces the

pressure to conform

conformity drops by two thirds

ash's experiment is a classic it reveals

how people will deny what they see

and submit to group pressure it allows

us not only to observe conformity

but to study the conditions that

increase or reduce its occurrence