Final answer:
Solomon Asch's conformity experiments in the 1950s demonstrated the powerful effect of group opinion on individuals, as many subjects conformed to an incorrect majority view under social pressure. Privacy in responding reduced conformity, and larger group sizes increased the pressure to conform. These experiments have deepened our understanding of normative and informational social influence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Psychologist Solomon Asch is renowned for his groundbreaking experiments on conformity during the 1950s. To study social proof and the pressure of conforming to expectations, he created a scenario where a group of participants were presented with line segments of different lengths, labeled a, b, and c, along with a fourth segment labeled x. They were tasked with matching the length of segment x to one of the first three segments. The key to Asch's study was that in each group, only one person was the true subject, unknowingly surrounded by others who were confederates in the experiment. This setup illustrated the influence of majority opinion on the individual.
Asch's findings showed that a significant number of subjects conformed to the group's incorrect choice, providing an "obviously erroneous" answer that matched the consensus of the majority rather than trusting their own judgment. The outcome changed when subjects were allowed to write down their answer privately, reducing conformity by two-thirds, indicating the role of social pressure in public settings. Additionally, Asch found that the size of the group affected the level of pressure felt to conform.
The results of these studies contribute to our understanding of normative and informational social influence. They reveal the psychological struggle between the desire to fit in and the need to be accurate, displaying the potent effect of group dynamics on individual behavior.