- Published on
KembaraXtra-Psychology - Asch experiment
The Asch experiment is a landmark conformity study introduced in 1951 by Solomon E. Asch (1907–96). Participants believed they were in a visual discrimination task: across 18 trials they judged which of three lines matched a comparison line, a task so easy that error rates are near zero when people respond alone. In the experimental setup, however, only one person was the true participant; the others were accomplices trained to give unanimous wrong answers on 12 “critical” trials. Under this pressure, about 37% of responses on critical trials conformed to the incorrect majority. Resisting the group was often stressful, and conformity rose as the unanimous majority increased—up to about three against one—after which larger majorities produced little additional increase.
The Asch experiment is a landmark conformity study introduced in 1951 by Solomon E. Asch (1907–96). Participants believed they were in a visual discrimination task: across 18 trials they judged which of three lines matched a comparison line, a task so easy that error rates are near zero when people respond alone. In the experimental setup, however, only one person was the true participant; the others were accomplices trained to give unanimous wrong answers on 12 “critical” trials. Under this pressure, about 37% of responses on critical trials conformed to the incorrect majority. Resisting the group was often stressful, and conformity rose as the unanimous majority increased—up to about three against one—after which larger majorities produced little additional increase.
0 Comments