DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC.

1
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

ASCH CONFORMITY EXPERIMENT:

THE POWER OF PEER PRESSURE

A Thesis paper presented to the

Faculty Members of the School of Psychology

Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Inc.

PsySoc213: Social Psychology

By

Cabal, Ien Kaila M.

Camua, Hannah Aneeza

Danes, Mark John

Espiritu, Aliana May

Moya, Robin

December 2023
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 2
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Asch conformity experiment is a particular form of conformity that occurs when

individuals are pressured to conform to the majority opinion, even if that opinion is

wrong. Conformity is the process whereby people change their beliefs, attitudes,

actions, or perceptions to more closely match those held by groups to which they

belong or want to belong or by groups whose approval they desire. (Levine, 2020)

People conform to group pressure because they are dependent on the group to satisfy

two important desires: the desire to have an accurate perception of reality and the desire

to be accepted by other people. But, conformity has some advantages and purposes.

People who conform tend to be very reliable, responsible, and trustworthy, or they tend

to follow rules. In line with this, people who conform can be much more comfortable in

social atmospheres because they are able to respond to other people’s behaviors, tones,

and feelings. (Jones, 2023) Conformity can have both positive and negative

consequences. On the one hand, it can help to promote social harmony and cooperation.

On the other hand, it can also lead to groupthink, the suppression of dissent, and the

spread of misinformation.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 3
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

In the 1950s, Solomon Asch conducted an experiment to investigate the extent

to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. Asch

found that 75% of unaware subjects confirmed based on the answers of other

participants, even when they knew the answer was wrong. Asch came to the conclusion

that in group settings, more people are likely to conform. Asch did find less conformity

in his study when participants gave their answers privately.

However, there is one area that warrants further investigation is the lack of

diversity among participants in the initial Asch conformity experiments. The majority

of those involved were male undergraduate students, which could restrict the

applicability of the results to different groups. A potential solution to this issue would

be to broaden the pool of participants in future studies, considering factors such as

gender, age, and background. Moreover, initial Asch conformity experiments heavily

centered on visual perception judgments, leaving a void in studying its implications on

other forms of conformity, such as beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. To bridge this gap,

further investigations could investigate the impact of social pressure on conformity

across various domains, and the potential factors that can moderate or mediate this

impact.

In the Philippines, conformity has been developed and Filipinos are more likely

to conform to group values than individuals from other cultures. This could be due to

several factors, including the strong emphasis on collectivism and harmony in

Philippine culture. In 2011, Alvarado conducted a study that examined the effect of
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 4
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

social pressure on ethical decision-making among Philippine high school students.

Studies have shown that students often make poor decisions when they are under peer

pressure. This suggests that Filipinos may be more susceptible to conformity where

ethical decisions are involved. Another study conducted by Asuncion and Sison (2016),

examined the effect of group size on coherence among Philippine college students.

Studies have shown that students are more likely to conform to majority stereotypes the

larger the group. This means that as group size increases, the pressure to conform

increases.

According to a recent study, some psychologists have found that conformity is

not all that prevalent anymore based on the inclusion of different races, genders, and

ages that were lacking in Asch's study. (Boyd & Saleh, 2023) However, there is still a

problem with Asch conformity because it shows that it is truly a powerful force that can

influence our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Additionally, forcing people to conform,

or even pressuring people into conforming can be detrimental to one's well-being. This

can affect one's mental health in a variety of ways, including leading to depression,

anxiety, and increased stress. In line with this, this research is of great importance

because by understanding the factors that influence conformity, people can learn to

resist it and make more informed decisions.

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 5
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

Research Questions

1. How did pressure from a group could lead people to conform?

2. Is it more easy to conform than to stand up for your own choices?

Hypothesis

The hypothesis of the study would be whether or not the selected students of Dr.

Yanga’s Colleges Inc. will give in to the choices of the majority regardless of their

beliefs.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 6
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

METHODOLOGY

Research Participants

Students of Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. from the Senior High School up to the

College Department ages 18-23 regardless of their gender identity will be the subject of

the study.

Research Procedure

The series of procedures that can be done to replicate the Asch Conformity

Experiment are as follows:

1. At the beginning of the experiment, the participants will be told that they will be

participating in a logical reasoning test.

2. A member of the group will approach the participant to explain that the test will

be recorded and obtain the participant’s informed consent.

3. In the experimental condition, ten participants will be seated with a carefully

constructed sitting plan to avoid any suspicions. Only one participant will be the

genuine subject and the remaining nine will be the confederates who are

carefully tutored to give certain pre-selected responses.

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 7
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

4. The said experiment will take place in a closed room inside the campus,

particularly in the psychology building with only the participants in the study

and the experimenters.

5. Each participant, in turn, was asked to answer a series of tests flashed to the TV

monitor, such as which line was longest, which among the pictures matched the

reference picture, and would be asked to choose sides that would depend on

their beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes.

6. Each question was called a “trial” seeing that we are testing the usefulness of

each question to the occurrence of conformity. The subject will answer last or

next to last.

7. The confederates will give a variety of answers at the first two trials, at first

correct, to avoid arousing suspicion in the genuine subject, but then with some

incorrect responses added. On the third trial, all the confederates would start

giving the same wrong answer.

a. There were eleven trials in total and the confederates will answer seven

of them incorrectly.

b. These seven trials will be known as the “critical trials”

8. For each trial, the response of the subject will be recorded and observed by the

experimenters discreetly to see if the subject will conform to the majority. There
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 8
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

would be given intervals after each trial allowing the participants a brief

moment of reflection on their answers and recording their thoughts on their

judgement

9. Once all eleven trials are executed, one member of the group will explain to the

participant what really happened and a debriefing will happen regarding what

happened to know:

a. Did they purposely conform with the group's response?

b. What are they thinking when they choose to side with the group even if

at the back of their minds they have a different answer.

Variables

This social experiment will examine if the participants will submit themselves to

peer pressure while doing the said Asch conformity test disguised as a logical reasoning

test focusing on the three variables: The confederates that will be used to test the

participants as the independent variables. While the ability of the participants to

conform to the peer pressure is the dependent variable. There is a direct effect of the

independent variable; thus, the ability of the participants to conform to peer pressure

will be identified by the study depending on how the confederates affect them. The

students that are in a control condition would be the controlled variable. The objective

of the study is to test if their participants can handle the pressure given by the majority

and what would be their response to peer pressure.

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 9
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

ABILITY OF THE
PARTICIPANTS TO
CONFORM TO PEER
CONFEDERATES PRESSURE
OF THE STUDY

DEPENDENT VARIABLE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

Figure 1: Variables

Data Collection

The data will be collected by using a set of logical reasoning tests in order to

provide an observation of the occurrence of conformity. The materials used in this

experiment would be a laptop, HDMI/projector, TV monitor, and smartphones. The set

of vision tests will be stored on the laptop and flashed on the screen with the use of the

TV monitor and HDMI/projector for it to be easily seen by the participants. On the

other hand, the smartphones will be used as a recording device for audio and video

footage. There will be observations to determine how the participant will respond to the

majority’s answer, and whether they will conform or not to the choices made by their

peers. Once done, they will be asked to answer two questions with regard to their

thoughts and feelings to imply the importance of honest responses from the participants.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 10
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

Sample Questions
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 11
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

Ethical Considerations

At the beginning of the experiment, the participant’s informed consent will be

gathered immediately in order to prioritize the participant’s well-being, ensuring they

can withdraw at any time and protect their confidentiality, and also to provide post-

experiment support if needed. The experimenters will acknowledge the use of deception

which is necessary for this study it should also be noted to minimize the uses of

deception to a possible extent while achieving the objectives and initiate talking to the

participants at the end of the study, explaining the true nature of the study, the role of

confederates, and the reasons for any deceptions..

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 12
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

For the participant’s confidentiality, the data gathered shall be stored in a secure

way like limiting access to a few people only in order to minimize the potential harm

for the participants while maximizing the benefits of the study for the society and

participants. Careful planning for the execution of the experiment is also necessary to

avoid causing physical harm to participants and experimenters should be ready to

intervene for any unexpected harm or negative consequences that might happen. There

should also be fair treatment in order to avoid any form of discrimination or bias in

treating, selecting, or assigning the participants.

Continuous monitoring of the well-being of participants even after the

experiments and the experimenters should be prepared to provide support if participants

have concerns and open communication to encourage participants to express their

questions or concerns at any point of the experiment. Lastly, there would be post-

experiment support to provide participants with contact information for support services

if they experience any discomfort or emotional distress after the experiment is done.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 13
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

RESULTS

Data Analysis

PARTICIPANT #1
Number of times the participant conform 3
Number of time the participant did not conform 8
Total number of trial made 11
Figure 2.1: Participant #1

PARTICIPANT #2
Number of times the participant conform 4
Number of time the participant did not conform 7
Total number of trial made 11
Figure 2.2: Participant #2

Figure 2.1 shows that the participant conform only 3 times and in the remaining

8 trials the participant did not conform. During the experiment with the first participant,

He just sat quietly and calmly observing the confederates, when the experiment started

the experimenters also started to observe his answers and actions. There was a time that

the experimenters saw the participant looking and waiting for the confederates to

answer the question so he could conform to what the majority will choose. However,

halfway through the questions, the participant doesn't seem to care much about what

will be his answer.

Figure 2.2 shows that the second participant conform in 4 out of 11 trials and

the remaining 7 trials the participant did not conform. The experiment started just as

soon as the participant sat inside the room. Observing the participant, he was more
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 14
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

focused on answering the test at first, He didn't bother to check the confederate's

answers he was just mainly focused on the questions at the front, But in half of the

experiment he kept checking, and turning his eyes to the confederates to see and seek

the confederate’s answers, this means that the said participant is thinking about copying

the answer of the others.

Findings

The results of the Asch conformity experiments at Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc.

were striking. Unexpectedly, participants are less likely to conform, they choose their

own beliefs rather than to conform to the majority. This suggests that participants are

highly insusceptible to social pressure and not willing to go against their own judgment

in order to fit in with a group of people.

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 15
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

DISCUSSION

Interpretation of Results

The participants did not conform to the choices of the majority 68.18% of the

time which is far greater than the 31.82% where the participants conform. The result of

the replication of the study conducted at Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. deviates from the

previous researches wherein participants conform to the group most of the time, it

found an interesting phenomenon of non-conformist behavior of the participants. This

is a great illustration of how individuals can maintain their independence and critical

thinking even when confronted with social pressure.

Implications

This experiment demonstrates that standing up to social pressure could prove to

be a powerful tool. The individuals demonstrated their capacity to keep their own

thinking and resist the decision of the group by refusing to give in to the majority's

incorrect conclusions. This experiment also encourages thought about what motivates

people to steer away from the norm. Further investigation may reveal specific traits or

external situations that support independent thinking and autonomy in group settings.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 16
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

Limitations

It is important to recognize that not all experiments can have their desired

outcome. In the case of the result of our experiment, there are several errors and key

points that could alter the result.

Sitting arrangement, while it is true that people’s opinions could be affected by

others regardless of their relationship, the participant should also feel the pressure. In

the case of our study, the experimenters failed to have the confederates pick a chair

beside the participants or even just near the participants where the participants could

hear and believe how they make decisions allowing the participants to have their own

world to think about what they are going to choose.

Unanimity of the confederates, the participants did not feel the unanimity of the

confederates since the confederates were not unanimous with their choices, the pressure

wasn’t felt by the participants since the confederates had different answers. The

experimenters failed to make sure that the confederates really understood the

instructions given to them.

Participant’s individuality, there are individuals that have a natural inclination to

resist conformity and maintain their own choices. A participant’s own personality can

also affect the course of the experiment.

 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 17
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

Future Directions

The result of non-conformity in the replication of Asch conformity experiment

at Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. has significant implications for future experiment

directions. Possible directions that future experimenters could explore further are as

follows:

Carefully constructed and implemented sitting arrangement, future

experimenters should make sure that the participants are feeling the pressure plan to

have a confederates sit next to them and have a little chat to gain trust making it easier

for the participants to trust and believe the choices of the majority.

Unanimous confederates, future experimenters should also make sure that the

confederates understood the instructions that was given to them, making sure that they

are unanimous with their choice of answer.

Study the participant’s individuality, identify the factors that enables them to

resist social pressure. Future experimenters should delve into the existence of certain

personality traits or distinctive variations that allow people to refuse conformity.

Furthermore, future experiments should look into circumstances that might promote

nonconformity.
 DR. YANGA’S COLLEGES, INC. 18
Asch Conformity Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

REFERENCES

Jones, S. (2023, June 01). The dangers and benefits of conformity. The Wrangler.

https://ylhsthewrangler.com/29870/features/the-dangers-and-benefits-of-

conformity/

Levine, J. M. (1999). Solomon Asch’s Legacy for Group Research. Personality and

Social Psychology Review, 3(4), 358–364.

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0304_5

Levine, J. M. (2016, August 24). Conformity | Definition, Studies, Types, & Facts.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/conformity

MSEd, K. C. (2022, November 14). What is conformity? Verywell Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-conformity-

2795889#:~:text=Understanding%20conformity%20can%20help%20you

The Asch Study | Conformity Experiment, Findings & Impact. (2017). study.com.

Retrieved November 21, 2023, from

https://study.com/academy/lesson/conformity-solomon-ashs-study-of-

informational-vs-normative-conformity.html