Outline Asch's findings in relation to two variables affecting conformity. Briefly explain two limitations of Asch's conformity research. [8 marks]

ESSAY HINT: This question is only asking for findings (results) in relation to the variables affecting conformity (group size, unanimity and task difficulty). Students should not give any account of Asch's original study.

Asch found that task difficulty and unanimity both affected conformity. In one variation, he made the task more difficult by making the line lengths more similar. This made the correct answer less obvious and the task more ambiguous. Asch found that conformity increased when task difficulty increased.

In another variation, Asch investigated unanimity by introducing one confederate who gave the correct answer instead of the wrong one. When the group was no longer unanimous, the conformity rate dropped to 5%. This shows that breaking the group's unanimity greatly reduces conformity.

One limitation of Asch's research is that it does not fully take individual differences into account. For example, Perrin and Spencer (1980) replicated Asch's study with engineering, mathematics and chemistry students and found only one instance of conformity in 396 trials. This suggests that factors such as confidence, knowledge and expertise may reduce conformity. As a result, conformity cannot always be explained by normative social influence alone.

Another limitation is that Asch's study raised ethical issues, particularly deception and psychological harm. Participants were told they were taking part in a vision test, when the real aim was to investigate conformity, so they could not give fully informed consent. Some participants may also have experienced psychological discomfort or embarrassment when they realised they had agreed with a group that was clearly wrong. This is an issue because it means the research may have caused distress to participants, making the study less ethically acceptable.

There is research support for the notion of NSI. Asch found that the real participants gave visibly incorrect answers on a line judgement task, due to the influence from a larger group of confederates. When the participants were questioned, following the study, many explained that they had changed their answers in order to fit in and to avoid social rejection from the group. This suggests that the participants experienced NSI and conformed because they wanted to fit in and avoid social rejection.