AP PSYCHOLOGY

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Asch’s research method was a
A
lab experiment
B
field experiment
C
observation
D
correlation
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Asch used a lab experiment to 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.

Detailed explanation-2: -Asch (1951) conducted one of the most famous laboratory experiments examining conformity. He wanted to examine the extent to which social pressure from a majority, could affect a person to conform.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Asch conformity experiments consisted of a group “vision test”, where study participants were found to be more likely to conform to obviously wrong answers if first given by other “participants”, who were actually working for the experimenter.

Detailed explanation-4: -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.

Detailed explanation-5: -Conformity experiments. Asch is best known for his conformity experiments. His main finding was that peer pressure can change opinion and even perception. Asch found the majority of the participants succumbed at least once to the pressure and went with the majority.

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