Social Influence

~ Studies for social influence ~ 

Asch’s study 

ü 123 American male participants

ü Volunteer sample 

ü 1 standard line vs. 3 comparison line

ü 18 trials in total – 12 critical trials which the participant has given an incorrect answer. 

ü 7-9 participants in a group > 6-8 confederates within a group – 1 naive participant.

ü 75% participants conformed at least once 

ü 36.8% participants conformed in the critical conditions. 

Evaluation: 

×     Ethically the participants were deceived// participants were told they took part in a visual perception test. 

×     Lack of external validity the study was set up in a lab setting therefore lacking mundane realism. Discussing the task to a group of people is not what people would do normally. 

×     Gender bias// lacking population validity as the study uses a male sample. This is alpha bias as it would be minimising the gender difference to conformity. 

×     Cross cultural difference in conformity levels – Perrin and Spence replicated Asch study in the UK – 1 out of 396 conformed. – Asch’s study cannot be applied across different culture. 

ü Lab study have high levels of control which eliminates EV’s which would make it easier to determine the cause and effect.