What was the Asch conformity experiment?
The Asch conformity experiment was a series of 1950s studies by social psychologist Solomon Asch. He asked a simple question: on a task with an obvious answer, if everyone around you gives the same wrong answer, will you trust your eyes or go along with the group?
- Researcher
- Solomon Asch
- When
- 1950s
- Task
- Pick which of three lines matches a standard line
- Key result
- About one-third of critical-trial answers conformed
How it worked
- Seven to nine people sat in a room, but only one was a real participant; the rest were confederates.
- Each saw a standard line and three comparison lines and said aloud which matched.
- The task was easy: people judging alone made errors less than 1% of the time.
- On certain trials, the confederates all gave the same wrong answer. The real participant answered near the end.
Results
Even with the right answer in plain sight, people went along. About one-third (roughly 37%) of answers on critical trials matched the wrong majority, and about three-quarters of participants conformed at least once.
Roughly a quarter never conformed, and Asch himself highlighted this independence. In interviews, conformers said they doubted their own eyes or did not want to stand out.
What changed conformity
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| A majority of just one | Almost no conformity |
| A majority of three or more | Conformity rose sharply, then leveled off |
| One ally who gave the correct answer | Conformity dropped dramatically |
| Answers written privately | Conformity decreased |
Pressure weakened the moment unanimity was broken. Our tendency to judge ourselves against others connects to social comparison theory.
Culture and era
Bond and Smith (1996) meta-analyzed 133 studies from 17 countries. Conformity in the US declined after the 1950s, and it tended to be higher in collectivist cultures than in individualist ones. Everyday examples range from laughing at a joke everyone else laughs at to staying silent in a meeting.
Lessons for classrooms and meetings
- Collect opinions privately first. Anonymous polls or written notes reduce conformity.
- Protect the lone dissenter. A single ally makes others more candid.
- Let leaders speak last. When the boss speaks first, conformity rises. See also groupthink.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Asch conformity experiment?
- Solomon Asch’s line-judgment study testing whether people would go along with a unanimous majority giving an obviously wrong answer.
- What were the results of the Asch experiment?
- About one-third of answers on critical trials conformed to the wrong majority, and about 75% of participants conformed at least once.
- How can conformity be reduced?
- Having just one ally who breaks unanimity, or letting people give answers privately, sharply reduces conformity.
References
- Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 70(9), 1–70.
- Bond, R., & Smith, P. B. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch’s (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. Psychological Bulletin, 119(1), 111–137.