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why is the asch experiment important

by Kirstin Christiansen Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Why was the Asch experiment important? Solomon Asch's experiment was so important because it was the first major psychological experiment showing just how strong the pressures of conformity are. Final Solomon Asch Quiz

The Asch conformity experiments are among the most famous in psychology's history and have inspired a wealth of additional research on conformity and group behavior. This research has provided important insight into how, why, and when people conform and the effects of social pressure on behavior.May 10, 2022

Full Answer

How did Solomon Asch conduct his classic experiment?

Solomon Asch conduct his classic experiment by selecting eight college male student who were actors apart form one. The group were shown two cards where one had a single line while the other had three lines labelled A, B, and C. They were then asked to say aloud which line on the second card matched with the line on the first card.

Was the Asch conformity experiment ethical?

He believed that the main problem with Sherif’s (1935) conformity experiment was that there was no correct answer to the ambiguous autokinetic experiment. Why was Asch’s study unethical? Finally, Asch’s research is ethically questionable. He broke several ethical guidelines, including: deception and protection from harm. Asch deliberately ...

What is the Asch paradigm?

» Paradigm The Asch paradigm, in psychology, is a series of experiments on conformityrun by Solomon Asch in the 1950s. These experiments tested the way individuals responded to group-think, and to what extent social pressure could cause a person to conform.

What are some experiments using scientific method?

What are the 7 easy scientific method experiments?

  1. Rainbow Milk Experiment. In the Rainbow Milk Magic Experiment, students will combine milk, dish soap, and food coloring to learn all about why the colors begin to swirl and ...
  2. Tornado in a Bottle Experiment. This Tornado in a Bottle Experiment is the perfect way to teach the scientific method to kids. ...
  3. Fingerprint Science Experiment. ...

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What is the main purpose of the conclusion Asch experiment?

The experiment concluded that people conform for two main reasons: they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is more informed than they are (informational influence).

What was the significance of the Asch line test study quizlet?

Asch was interested to see if the real participant would conform to the majority view. Asch's experiment also had a control condition where there were no confederates, only a "real participant". Asch measured the number of times each participant conformed to the majority view.

What is the focus of the conformity experiment?

In psychology, the Asch conformity experiments or the Asch paradigm were a series of studies directed by Solomon Asch studying if and how individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs and opinions.

What was the Asch experiment measuring?

Solomon Asch conducted an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform.

What is the significance of the Wallace Line quizlet?

The Wallace line marks a geographical separation that Wallace inferred from DNA evidence. A. It divides two geographic regions that Wallace realized had quite different biota. What would happen to the seasons if the Earth were tilted 35 degrees off its orbital plane instead of the usual 23.5 degrees?

What happened to subjects in Asch's studies of conformity?

Results of the Asch Conformity Experiments Nearly 75% of the participants in the conformity experiments went along with the rest of the group at least one time. After combining the trials, the results indicated that participants conformed to the incorrect group answer approximately one-third of the time.

What is the purpose for post test quizlet?

What is the purpose of Posttests? Postests are used to determine exactly which treatment conditions are SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.

Why are Bartlett's 1932 studies important quizlet?

Why was Bartlett (1932) important at the time and what was the result of it? Bartlett's study was important at the time and the research resulted in support for the schema theory and the theory of reconstructive memory.

Who was Solomon Asch?

Solomon Asch was a reknowned Polish-American pscyhologist

What two fields of psychology did Asch contribute to?

Social psychology and Gestalt psychology

What makes Asch's approach to psycology and research interesting?

He used his background in Gestalt psychology and applied it to his social psychology studies

To whom did Asch serve as a PhD supervisor?

Stanley Milgram

What field of psychology did Asch conduct his most famous experiment in?

Conformity

What is confomirty?

When someone changes their behavior or beliefs to fit in with a group

How did Asch study conformity?

He had participants try to match the length of one line to three others and had other people in the room give intentionally incorrect answers

What are the results of Asch's experiment?

The results of Asch's experiment resonate with what we know to be true about the nature of social forces and norms in our lives. The behavior and expectations of others shape how we think and act on a daily basis because what we observe among others teaches us what is normal, and expected of us. The results of the study also raise interesting questions and concerns about how knowledge is constructed and disseminated, and how we can address social problems that stem from conformity, among others.

What was Asch's goal?

Asch's goal was to see if the real participant would be pressured to answer incorrectly in the instances when the Confederates did so, or whether their belief in their own perception and correctness would outweigh the social pressure provided by the responses of the other group members.

Who conducted the Asch conformity experiment?

The Asch Conformity Experiments, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s, demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence.

What did Solomon Asch demonstrate about social pressure?

The Asch Conformity Experiments, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s, demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence.

What is the purpose of Asch's experiment?

Asch’s experiment aimed to demonstrate how the power of conformity made people give false answers despite the fact that they knew they were right and the group was wrong.

Who ran the Asch experiment?

One of the greatest psychologists of the past century, Solomon Asch, ran a series of experiments during the 1950s. These experiments demonstrate to what extent a person’s own opinion can be influenced by that of the group.

How many participants gave false answers in the matching experiment?

During the matching experiment, nearly 75% of the participants gave a false answer in order to conform to the group at least once. The final results demonstrated that the incorrect answers were given nearly one-third of the time.

What is the job of a planted person in an experiment?

Their job is to subtly convince the rest of the room, the genuine participants, to come around to their way of thinking.

What did Solomon Asch do in his experiment?

Solomon Asch conducted an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform.

What was Asch interested in?

Asch was interested to see if the real participant would conform to the majority view. Asch's experiment also had a control condition where there were no confederates, only a "real participant.".

How did Asch use the line judgment test?

Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates/stooges. The confederates had agreed in advance what their responses would be when presented with the line task.

What did Asch think of the high levels of conformity found by Asch?

Some critics thought the high levels of conformity found by Asch were a reflection of American, 1950's culture and told us more about the historical and cultural climate of the USA in the 1950s than then they do about the phenomena of conformity.

What was the main problem with Sherif's (1935) conformity experiment?

He believed that the main problem with Sherif's (1935) conformity experiment was that there was no correct answer to the ambiguous autokinetic experiment. How could we be sure that a person conformed when there was no correct answer?

What does Asch mean by low ecological validity?

This means that the study has low ecological validity and the results cannot be generalized to other real-life situations of conformity. Asch replied that he wanted to investigate a situation where the participants could be in no doubt what the correct answer was. In so doing he could explore the true limits of social influence.

When did Asch change the procedure?

In further trials, Asch (1952, 1956 ) changed the procedure (i.e., independent variables) to investigate which situational factors influenced the level of conformity (dependent variable).

What was Asch famous for?

It was during the 1950s, Asch became famous for his series of experiments (known as the Asch conformity experiments) that demonstrated the effects of social pressure on conformity.

What are Solomon Asch's contributions to psychology?

Contributions to Psychology. Solomon Asch is considered a pioneer of social psychology and Gestalt psychology. 5 His conformity experiments demonstrated the power of social influence and still serve as a source of inspiration for social psychology researchers today.

What is Asch SE?

Asch SE. Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed., Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations. Pittsburgh PA: Carnegie Press; 1951.

What did Asch believe about peer pressure?

While Asch's work illustrated how peer pressure influences social behavior (often in negative ways), Asch still believed that people tended to behave decently towards each other. The power of situations and group pressure, however, could often lead to less than ideal behavior and decision-making.

Where did Asch go to college?

Asch attended the College of the City of New York and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1928. He then went to Columbia University, where he was mentored by Max Wertheimer and earned his master's degree in 1930 and his Ph.D. in 1932.

Where was Solomon Asch born?

Solomon Eliot Asch was born September 14, 1907, in Warsaw, Poland. He died February 20, 1996, in Haverford, Pennsylvania at the age of 88.

Who supervised Stanley Milgram's Ph.D. at Harvard University?

Asch also supervised Stanley Milgram's Ph.D. at Harvard University and inspired Milgram's own highly influential research on obedience. Milgram's work helped demonstrate how far people would go to obey an order from an authority figure. 6.

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The Asch Experiment Challenges Conformity – Without The Individual Realising It

Conformity Is More Important Than Doing The Right Thing

You Can Be Influenced, Whether You Like It Or Not!

  • The results of Asch's experiment resonate with what we know to be true about the nature of social forces and norms in our lives. The behavior and expectations of others shape how we think and act on a daily basis because what we observe among others teaches us what is normal, and expected of us. The results of the study also raise interesting quest...
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Experimental Procedure

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One of Asch’s experiments looked at a vision test sample. Participants were shown a line segment. They then had to pick the matching line from three segments of different lengths. Each participant was asked individually to give their answer regarding the line segment of their choice. Sounds pretty straightforward, but, of c…
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Findings

  • This brings us to the second of Asch’s observations. In considering your answer to the above question, also consider your own personal situation and day to day life. You might find yourself strongly disagreeing with the statement that conformity is more important than doing the right thing. After all, we would all like to believe that doing the right thing is part of our human nature. …
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Conclusion

  • Conformity is about influence. However, it is possible to conform without being completely submissive. Next time you are in a group situation, think about how easy you are to influence, as well as those around you. Look out for some of these factors which may increase conformity: 1. The more people are present, the greater is the increase in conformity. At the same time, thecha…
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Critical Evaluation

  • Experimental Procedure
    Asch used a lab experimentto study conformity, whereby 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a ‘vision test.’ Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates/stooges. The confederates had agreed in advanc…
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Asch Conformity Video Clip

  • Findings
    Over the 12 critical trials, about 75% of participants conformed at least once, and 25% of participants never conformed. In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer.
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Factors Affecting Conformity

  • Conclusion
    Why did the participants conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar. A few of them said that they really …
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1.The Asch Conformity Experiments - Verywell Mind

Url:https://www.verywellmind.com/the-asch-conformity-experiments-2794996

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23 hours ago The Asch conformity experiments are among the most famous in psychology’s history and have inspired a wealth of additional research on conformity and group behavior. This research has …

3.Asch Conformity Experiment - Simply Psychology

Url:https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html

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4.Solomon Asch: The Man Behind the Conformity …

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