Method
In 1951, Solomon Asch conducted his first conformity laboratory experiments at Swarthmore College, laying the foundation for his remaining conformity studies. The experiment was published on two occasions.
Groups of eight male college students participated in a simple "perceptual" task. In reality, all but one of the participants were actors, and the true focus of the study was about how the remaining participant would react to the actors' behavior.
The actors knew the true aim of the experiment, but were introduced to the subject as other participants. Each student viewed a card with a line on it, followed by another with three lines labeled A, B, and C (see accompanying figure). One of these lines was the same as that on the first card, and the other two lines were clearly longer or shorter (i.e., a near-100% rate of correct responding was expected). Each participant was then asked to say aloud which line matched the length of that on the first card. Before the experiment, all actors were given detailed instructions on how they should respond to each trial (card presentation). They would always unanimously nominate one comparator, but on certain trials they would give the correct response and on others, an incorrect response. The group was seated such that the real participant always responded last.
Subjects completed 18 trials. On the first two trials, both the subject and the actors gave the obvious, correct answer. On the third trial, the actors would all give the same wrong answer. This wrong-responding recurred on 11 of the remaining 15 trials. It was subjects' behavior on these 12 "critical trials" that formed the aim of the study: to test how many subjects would change their answer to conform to those of the 7 actors, despite it being wrong. Subjects were interviewed after the study including being debriefed about the true purpose of the study. These post-test interviews shed valuable light on the study: both because they revealed subjects often were "just going along" and because they revealed considerable individual differences to Asch.
Asch's experiment also had a condition in which participants were tested alone with only the experimenter in the room. In total, there were 50 subjects in the experimental condition and 37 in the control condition.
Results
In the control group, with no pressure to conform to actors, the error rate on the critical stimuli was less than 1%. In the actor condition also, the majority of participants' responses remained correct (63.2%), but a sizable minority of responses conformed to the actors' (incorrect) answer (36.8 percent). The responses revealed strong individual differences: Only 5 percent of participants were always swayed by the crowd. 25 percent of the sample consistently defied majority opinion, with the rest conforming on some trials. An examination of all critical trials in the experimental group revealed that one-third of all responses were incorrect. These incorrect responses often matched the incorrect response of the majority group (i.e., actors). Overall, 75% of participants gave at least one incorrect answer out of the 12 critical trials.
Human Experimentation (22 Videos)
Playlist by Mark R. Elsis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJOF-2UZFg&list=PL9SLRU38-i-ZiW8lTSKOKRx6xGOeBpVyC
Somehow Succeed
Are we scared
Because we don't know
Are we paired
So conflict will grow
Are we bred
To learn to conform
Are we led
To kill and mourn
Will life cease
Because of greed
Or will peace
Somehow succeed
It's up to you
It's up to me
To change ourselves
To somehow see
by Mark R. Elsis
July 8, 1981
Somehow Succeed inspired Michael Jackson to create Beat It.
The single Beat It, along with its music video, propelled Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time. The happenstance of Michael Jackson and I meeting that night in AM-PM, created a miracle to make the world a better place. This brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart, every day of my life.
The Genesis of Beat It
by Mark R. Elsis
https://MichaelJackson.net
Confined To Conformity
Confined to conformity
Stuck in your ways
Living so uniformly
Trapped in your maze
by Mark R. Elsis
March 19, 1980
