Variables affecting conformity

Asch's research provided a platform for extensive studies on conformity. He conducted several variations of his original experiment to explore how different factors, such as group size, unanimity, and task difficulty, affect conformity levels.

GROUP SIZE

Asch systematically varied the size of the group to examine its effect on conformity. In his original experiment, the average conformity rate was approximately 32%. The table below outlines the average conformity rates for different group sizes.

	Average rate of conformity
1 confederate	3.6%
2 confederates	13.6%
3 confederates	31.8%
4 confederates	35.1%
6 confederates	35.2%
7 confederates	37.1%
9 confederates	35.1%
15 confederates	31.2%

The results show that conformity peaks at around 31.8% with just three confederates and remains relatively stable up to 15 confederates. This suggests that a small majority of three is sufficient to exert enough pressure for normative social influence to occur.

UNANIMITY

Unanimity refers to whether members of a group all agree or share the same opinion. In Asch's original experiment, the confederates gave unanimous, incorrect answers during the 12 critical trials.

Asch tested the effect of unanimity in two variations:

In one variation, a single confederate consistently gave the correct answer, reducing conformity to just 5%.
In another variation, a single confederate gave a different incorrect, reducing conformity to 9%.

Both variations highlight the importance of unanimity in conformity. When unanimity is broken, even by one person, conformity significantly decreases, demonstrating the power of group agreement in influencing behaviour.

TASK DIFFICULTY

In Asch's original experiment, conformity occurred despite the correct answer being obvious. In a variation, Asch increased the task difficulty by making the differences between the line lengths much smaller, making the correct answer less clear and the task more ambiguous.

Asch found that conformity increased as task difficulty increased. This suggests that in more challenging or ambiguous situations, people are more likely to conform due to informational social influence, they believe the group is more knowledgeable and correct, rather than conforming simply to fit in.