Question

An important distinction between Asch's experiment in which participants judged the length of lines and Sherif's experiment in which participants judged the movement of light was that

a. Asch's participants were older than were Sherif's
b. There was an obvious answer in judging lines but not so in judging movement of light
c. Asch's participants made judgments private whereas Sherif participants made judgment publicly.
d. Asch's participants were all male and Sherif's participants were female.

Answer 1

The distinction between Asch's and Sherif's experiments is that Asch's involved a clear correct answer and investigated normative social influence, while Sherif's had no obvious answer and focused on informational social influence. Conformity in Asch's study was higher under public response conditions and pressure to align with the group, while Sherif's results showed consensus forming in ambiguous situations.

Step-by-step explanation:

Asch's Conformity Experiment vs. Sherif's Experiment

The key distinction between Solomon Asch's conformity experiment and Muzafer Sherif's experiment lies in the presence of a clear correct answer. In Asch's experiment, participants judged the length of lines with an obvious correct answer available, which made the instances of conformity—in the presence of incorrect group consensus—strikingly evident. On the other hand, Sherif's experiment involved judging the movement of light, which was ambiguous and had no clear correct answer, hence the social influence involved different mechanisms.

Asch's study focused on normative social influence, demonstrating how individuals conform to group pressure to fit in or avoid ridicule, despite knowing the group's answer was incorrect. This was quantitatively observed when subjects gave a wrong answer to conform with the group's opinion. Conformity was reduced when subjects could respond privately, highlighting the impact of public scrutiny on decision-making.

Sherif's study, involving the autokinetic effect where a static light appears to move in a dark room, captured informational social influence whereby people look to others for guidance in situations where the correct answer is uncertain, leading to a group-formed consensus that may be adopted by individuals.