The Studies of Human Behavior by Solomon Asch

Borey Ngin

Professor: Mike

English 1117

Jan.25.17

Group Pressure

        The studies of human behavior by Solomon Asch, a social psychologist a Rutgers University, that provide powerful evidence of the degree to which individuals can change their own judgement due to the group pressure even when these other are clearly wrong. Solomon Asch (1951) conducted an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. The studies are based on the experiment, the reaction of people in this situation and the size of majority or its unanimity.

First, Asch conducted the experiment demonstrate the operation of group pressure. The experiment began with a group of seven to nine men were assembled to compare their visual judgement. Subjects were shown two cards, one bore a standard line and the other bore three lines, one of which was the same length as the standard. The subjects were asked to choose the line. Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, everyone agreed on the answer accept the experiment 3 when the dissenter disagreed with the answer but found himself, the only one who disagreed will soon change. However, the experimenter told the other members of the group to give incorrect answers in unanimity. The people who were not instructed is the focal subject of the experiment. They were put in the situation which they found themselves in the majority of one, opposite from other which force them to change the answer or doubt.

In fact, the individual’s reaction shown differently. Asch explained “Two alternative were open to the subject: go along with majority, repudiating the evident of his sense” (Asch 656). This indicate that one refused to accept the fact that one was right causing one to question his own sense. At one extreme, about one quarter of the subjects were completely independent and never agreed with the wrong judgements of the majority. Some were quickly jump to the conclusion that their answers were wrong and the majority were right. Asch measured the number of times each participant conformed to the majority view.  On average, about one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials. Base on experiment, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group and because they believe the group is better informed than they are.