Conformism vs. courage. Lessons from the Asch experiment

Sooner or later we come to a situation where we ask ourselves how we could have done something in the past or behave in a specific way when from today’s perspective it is so illogical and unwise. And we inevitably bump into the issue of attention, self-awareness and courage.

The courage in listening to the inner truth. The courage in facing of difficulties along the way. The courage in standing up for our own truth, our vision. The courage regardless of what those around us say about it.

In certain situations, we are all guilty of conforming to the opinion of those around us, even when we know it is wrong. It’s not for nothing that the popular saying goes, “Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are.” This phenomenon, known as conformity, is one of the most fascinating aspects of human psychology.

Solomon Eliot Asch, a Polish-American gestalt psychologist and pioneer of social psychology, conducted an experiment in which he found that individuals are highly likely to conform to the opinion of the majority, even when it is clearly in the wrong. This study challenged the prevailing assumption that individuals will always act independently and highlighted the important influence of social factors on individual behavior.

Why is this important?

The research showed how a person depends on social factors. Of course, this is most important in light of political influences and decision-making. However, Asch believed that his research was broader and examined individuals’ interpretations of reality, the influence of social norms, and the role of independence and individual freedom in decision-making.

The Asch Experiment

In 1951, Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments where individuals were placed in experimental groups in which their simple perceptual judgments were constantly challenged by other group members who were prearranged actors.
Seven to nine individuals were gathered in a classroom at once to participate in a seemingly simple visual discrimination experiment. The participants were all white males and aged 17 to 25 years. A total of 123 people participated in the experiment.

The groups had the task of recognizing the lengths of the lines on the paper. The reference line had to be compared with three other lines, one of which was the same length as the reference line. In each trial, the subject was placed in a group of players. These players had pre-prepared answers to the questions, and he was the only one who didn’t know he was being put in a fake situation. It was a minority of one individual against a unified majority.

The individual faced a situation where the group unanimously opposed his assessment. Thus, the subject was faced with the choice of choosing the answer that he himself believed to be correct, or the answer chosen by all the other participants.

In other words, he was faced with the choice of listening to his inner voice or the voice of the environment.

The results of the experiment

The results were surprising.

– 32% (about 1/3) of all participants’ answers were conformist, which means they followed the wrong majority,

– 75% of the participants gave a wrong answer at least once because they adapted to the group,

– 25% of participants never adapted to wrong majority answers.

In the control group (without majority pressure), there were less than 1% incorrect answers, which shows that the task itself was not difficult.

The experiment further showed that independence and yielding are not psychologically homogeneous. In addition to other psychological conditions, the reactions of individuals also depended on the very nature of the individual. Namely, there are marked differences between individuals in the same situation, which is related to their character and social relationships.

“The desire for acceptance and belonging is a universal human need, but we must not sacrifice our own integrity for it.” – Solomon Asch

Types of individual differences

The liberating result is that there are still individuals who did not submit to the majority opinion.

In the conversation after the experiment, Asch determined whether the subject was aware of his concession and whether he was doing it consciously or compulsively. In this way, he also established the nature of differences between individuals. The differences between the critical subjects in their reactions to the given conditions were striking. Some subjects maintained complete self-confidence throughout, while others felt disoriented, full of doubts, and under intense pressure not to be different from the majority.

The independent subjects stood by their assessments. Their main forms of reactions were:

1. Independence based on trust in one’s own perception and experience. Despite the opposition of the group, the subjects relied on their perception and successfully overcame the pressure.

2. Independent and withdrawn entities. Their reactions were based on clear principles about the necessity of being an individual.

3. Subjects with considerable tensions and doubts. They relied on a sense of responsibility to the task to stand by their judgments.

The subordinate subjects lost their self-confidence and perceived the majority as a confident group acting without hesitation, believing that the experiment involved an “illusion” to which others, but not themselves, had succumbed. They felt strong pressure not to stand out, which led them to give in to the majority.

Among subordinate subjects, the main forms of reactions were:

1. Distortion of perception. Due to peer pressure, they gave in completely, not realizing that their assessments were being distorted.

2. Distortion of judgment. Most subordinate subjects, doubting their perceptions, accepted that the majority were right.

3. Distortion of actions. These subjects did not change their perception or judgement, but they did compromise because of the desire not to stand out.

Asch’s experiment helps us understand why people follow the opinion of others and that the environment is very important to us. A big factor is the fear of rejection, of not being accepted in the group. After all, man is a herd creature. People want to be accepted and avoid conflicts. But each of us also has free will and the potential for courage. Strong individuals are those who take risks, are brave enough to be rejected by the group for their opinion, but are not afraid of it.

If we want to be successful and fulfill our vision of ourselves, it is crucial to be able to maintain our individuality when necessary.

Understanding this phenomenon helps us become more confident and critical of the information we receive. Don’t be afraid to be different – that’s our strength!

Source: Asch, S. E. (1951), Effects of Group Prejudice upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgment

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