- Describe Asch’s conformity studies
- Explain why people conform
- Evaluate the ethics of the research
Conformity
Humans are social animals to the core: exclusion once meant death. So the pull to agree with the group runs deeper than logic.
Definition: Conformity
Conformity is changing your behaviour or beliefs to match a group — either to be liked (normative influence) or because you assume the group knows better (informational influence).
Key points
- Asch (1951): 37% of answers conformed to a unanimous wrong majority on an easy line-judgement task.
- One ally breaks the spell — dissent collapses conformity.
- Normative: conforming to fit in. Informational: conforming to be right.
- Culture matters: collectivist societies conform more.
The lone dissenter
When Asch added one confederate who gave the right answer, conformity fell from 37% to about 5%. It only takes one person to make disagreement thinkable.
Practice
Distinguish normative and informational social influence.
Liked vs right.
Normative: conforming to be accepted/liked. Informational: conforming because you believe the group has better information.
Why is Asch’s study ethically questionable?
What didn’t participants know?
Participants were deceived about the study’s purpose and placed under social stress without full informed consent — though it was mild and debriefed.
Key takeaways
- People conform even when they know the group is wrong.
- Motives: fitting in (normative) or assuming the group knows (informational).
- A single ally dramatically reduces conformity.
- Deception in research needs ethical justification.