The Power of Conformity: The Asch Conformity Experiment
1. Introduction
Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. Social psychologists often use the term conformity to refer to public compliance, which is when a person Yields to real or imagined pressure from a group. An example of public compliance would be if an individual went along with the rest of the group in laughing at a joke that he or she did not find funny. Another example of public compliance would be if a student changed his or her answer on a quiz after hearing other students' answers, regardless of whether the original answer was correct.
2. What is conformity?
Conformity can be defined as "yielding to group pressures" (Crutchfield, 1955). There are E3 different types of conformity: compliance, identification, and internalization. Compliance is when actions and/or behaviours adhere to what others do in a given situation but privately individuals may have different viewpoints. Identification is when an individual conforms because they want to be like another person or group within society. Internalization is when an individual believes in something so much that they are willing to sacrifice personal interest for the sake of social order.
3. The Asch Conformity Experiment
The Asch conformity experiments, also known as the Asch Paradigm, were a series of studies conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. The experiments showed that people were more likely to go along with the majority opinion, even when it was clearly wrong. The Asch conformity experiments are still widely cited today and are considered to be classic studies in social psychology.
4. The results of the Asch Conformity Experiment
The results of the Asch Conformity Experiment showed that people were more likely to conform to the majority opinion, even when it was clearly wrong. The experiment also showed that people were more likely to conform if they were part of a large group, if they were unsure of themselves, or if they believed that everyone else was correct. Overall, the experiment demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that people will often go along with the majority opinion, even when it is clearly wrong.
5. Conclusion
The Asch Conformity Experiment is a classic study in social psychology that has demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. The experiment showed that people were more likely to go along with the majority opinion, even when it was clearly wrong. The experiment also showed that people were more likely to conform if they were part of a large group, if they were unsure of themselves, or if they believed that everyone else was correct. Overall, the experiment demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that people will often go along with the majority opinion, even when it is clearly wrong.