Social Influence Asch (1951)

Sherif (1935) The Autokinetic effect On the next slide is a light. The light will move and you have to say in which way it is moving.

Sherif (1935) The autiokinetic effect is when a stationary spot of light appears to move due to small movements of the eye Sherif told participants to estimate by how far the spot of light had moved. Asked individually Then exposed to the estimates of two other participants Estimates tended to converge to a group norm which was an average of these individuals’ estimates.

Issues with the previous research Sherif and other researchers used ambiguous situations to investigate conformity. Little known about conformity in non-ambiguous situations Asch also took issue with the methodology of these studies: “…confronted with opinions contrary to their own, many subjects apparently shifted their judgment in the direction of the views of the majorities ... there is some reason to wonder whether it was not the investigators who, in their enthusiasm for a theory, were suggestible, and whether gullible subjects were providing answers they thought good subjects were expected to give.” What research method terms can we use to sum up Asch’s criticisms?

Writing up a study in Psychology When we describe a piece of research you need to ‘Always Proceed Really Carefully’ we need to cover the ‘APRC’ Aim – Consider what  the researcher was trying to find out. Procedure – How did the researcher conduct the research? What did they do? What did they control? What materials did they use? What did they standardise? What did the ppts do? How did they collect their data? Results – These are usually always some kind of number , sometimes this is presented as a fraction or a decimal or a percentage. Conclusion  – Having considered the aim and analysed the results what conclusion can be drawn? The conclusion does not include any numbers

Aim Investigate the effects of group pressure on individuals in unambiguous situations. When confronted with an obviously incorrect answer, would individuals would give an answer which perpetuated this error (conformed) or would they would give an independent response? He also aimed to investigate the effect of various factors on the rate of conformity

Procedure Asch carried out a number of variations of the same experiment. You need to know in-depth procedures for the baseline study, and also some of the variations. TASK: Turn to the person next to you – 1 of you describe the procedure. Then the other one can describe the findings How correct were you?

The baseline study Findings for the baseline study In a control study carried out before this experiment, it was found that less than 1% of people made errors when carrying out this task when by themselves. What does this suggest about the line estimating task?

Results from the baseline study On the critical trials, 36.8% of responses were wrong. 25% never gave a wrong answer Others agreed on nearly every trial Behaviour was constant

Those who did not conform… Asch states “Those who strike out on the path to independence, do not, as a rule, succumb to the majority”. confidence in their own judgment capacity to recover from doubt felt it was “their obligation to call the play as they saw it”

Those who did conform… Asch says “Those who chose the path of compliance are unable to free themselves, and the ordeal is prolonged”. Believed that “I am wrong, they are right” conformed so as “not to spoil the results" suspected the majority were “sheep” thought the majority were “victim of an optical illusion”

The variations Using your text books…. You have to be able to explain the procedures and findings from 3 variations Only focus on how it is different from the baseline study You do not need to go into as much detail as you have for the baseline Variation Details Group Size Unanimity Task Difficulty

Conclusions The results from both the baseline study and the variations suggest that there is a strong tendency to conform to group pressures, even in an unambiguous situation.

Another piece of research…. Jenness (1932) Asked people individually to estimate how many beans the bottle contained Then put the group in a room with the bottle, and asked them to provide a group estimate. Subjects were asked individually if they would like to stick with their individual estimate, or go with the group estimate. Almost all changed their individual guesses to be closer to the group estimate.

Issues…Strengths… PACKS! Pgs 11-17 relate to the studies You need to have a GRAVE of Asch Use your PEE packs Work in pairs… think have I PEE’d? PACKS! Pgs 11-17 relate to the studies Pgs 4-11 are covering what we have already completed in class. Work your way through these pages Please have your memory packs ready for me to mark

PEEL Your Answers.

Point What is your point? Introduce your point.. “The theory of… argues that…”

Evidence Present the evidence to support your point… “_____ conducted an experiment… and found….”

“This shows/suggests….” Explain Explain the evidence in relation to the point. How does it support your point? “This shows/suggests….”

Link Link your ideas back to the question or point. “Therefore this supports…”

Homework / Tasks Pgs 4-17 should now be complete Homework is to read the additional research in your packs and complete the table on pg 19 of your packs – please have this ready for lesson 3 where will mark it Also, make yourself a nice APRC poster… to remind you what you need to do when writing up a study  Extension activities: On pg 7-8 there is also an updated version of the Asch (1955) study – make an APRC of this as well. Questions to answer: What are the main differences between Asch (1955) and Mori and Arai’s (2010)study? Are there any ethical issues with either study? What does replication mean and why was it important with Asch’s study? Do you think similar findings to Asch would be found today (2016)? Why, why not? Mori and Arai’s study was meant to reduce demand characteristics. What are demand characteristics and how did Mori and Arai attempt to reduce them? Did they reduce them?

Exam style questions. You must start practicing these: In relation to Asch's research, explain what is meant by the terms unanimity and task difficulty. (2 + 2 marks) Describe Asch's study of conformity. Include details of what he did and what he found in your answer. (6 marks) Outline Asch's investigations into two variables affecting conformity. (4 marks) A sixth-form college had a visit from the Anthony Nolan charity, to raise awareness of bone marrow donation for people suffering from leukaemia. A group of friends decide to take the 'spit test', to see if they would make suitable donors. But Hyacinth isn't sure whether to take the test or not. Using your knowledge of Asch's research, explain how two factors could affect Hyacinth's decision to conform to the rest of the group. (2 marks + 2 marks) Some friends are deciding where to go on holiday to celebrate the end of their exams. The majority of the group wants to go to Magaluf to have it large. But Asgarth wants to go on a sightseeing tour of European cathedrals and museums. Use your knowledge of Asch's research to explain how two factors might influence whether or not Asgarth conforms to the group. (2 + 2 marks) Describe and evaluate Asch's investigations into variables affecting conformity. (12 marks AS)