Questions and Answers
What was the age of the boy who observed his grandmother's behavior that led him to become a pioneer in social psychology?
7 years old
What was the purpose of Solomon Asch's experiment?
To investigate the impact of peer pressure on perception
What was the task given to the participants in Asch's experiment?
To identify the correct line on a card
What percentage of participants always gave the right answer in Asch's experiment?
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What percentage of participants conformed to the majority at least once in Asch's experiment?
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What happened when at least one confederate responded correctly in Asch's experiment?
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How many peers are required to influence an individual's opinion according to Asch's experiment?
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What was the effect of increasing the number of confederates beyond three in Asch's experiment?
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What was the result when all confederates gave obviously wrong answers in Asch's experiment?
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What was the demographic characteristic of the participants in Asch's experiment?
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What was the initial purpose of the experiment, as told to the participants?
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Study Notes
- A seven-year-old boy observed his grandmother pouring an extra glass of wine, claiming it was for the prophet, but the boy was skeptical and later became a pioneer in social psychology, determined to rationalize what happened that night.
- Solomon Asch conducted an experiment to investigate whether peer pressure can change our perception and make us believe in things that are not true.
- In the experiment, 123 white, male college students were told to participate in a study on visual judgment, where they were shown two cards with lines and asked to identify which line on the second card matched the first one.
- The students were seated in a way that allowed the actors (confederates) to respond first, leaving the real participant to respond last, and in the third round, the actors began giving obviously wrong answers.
- The experiment found that 23% of students always gave the right answer, 72% conformed to the majority at least once, and 5% completely succumbed to peer pressure and always gave the wrong answer.
- The experiment also showed that if just one other acting student responded correctly, the effect of peer pressure decreased substantially, and that the opinions of three peers are enough to influence a student to change their mind.
- Increasing the number of confederates beyond three did not increase the levels of conformity among others.
- The experiment was successfully replicated many times, and the effect remains significant, especially among women and homogeneous peer groups.
- Asch famously said in 1955, "The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white, black. This is a matter of concern."
- The experiment raises questions about our ways of education and the values that guide our conduct, and it remains a significant concern in today's society.
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