Some May Argue That the Findings of the Solomon Asch

question 10

Essay

Some may argue that the findings of the Solomon Asch experiment are not terribly valuable because conformity is being assessed on a relatively innocuous task (i.e., choosing line sizes). What kind of situation might you use to test conformity that would be immune to this criticism? Can you think of a way to test conformity in the real world in a way that would be both useful and ethical?

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Definitions:

Conditioned Response

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become conditioned through association.

Unconditioned Response

A natural, automatic reaction to a stimulus that does not require learning to occur, such as flinching at a loud sound.

Waking Up

The transition from sleep to wakefulness, involving physiological and psychological adjustments by the body and mind.

Conditioned Stimulus

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus, elicits a conditioned response.