Throwback Thursday: Asch Conformity Experiment

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For our very first classic experiment discussion, we are going to look at Solomon Asch's Conformity study, which first took place in the 1950's. The purpose of the study was to see if an individual would conform their answer to a simple question to match a group, even when the other members of the group were giving an incorrect answer.

The design was very simple. He had a group of people in a room who were "in" on the experiment (also known as confederates). These people were a part of the experiment itself, so their behavior was not being measured.

Asch then brought in the actual study participant, who was under the assumption that everyone else in the room was also just a participant in the study.

There were two white display boards, one that had one black line, and one that had three black lines of different lengths. On the board with three lines each line was labeled A, B, and C. Every person in the room was asked in turn to voice a judgement on which of the three lines was the same length as the line on the other board.

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The experimenter began by asking the confederates which lines matched, and possibly for a round or two they would give the correct answer. But then on a third set of lines, they each gave the same incorrect answer. For example if the matching line was B, all the confederates answered A.
Because the true participant was towards the end of the line, they had heard several people report the wrong answer. So when it came time for their answer, some participants gave the same response as the confederates.

Seems crazy, right? They know everyone else is wrong. They're all looking at the same information. Why would they choose to give an answer that they know to be incorrect? In the video below, the phenomenon is explained in a bit more detail, with a preface by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who has one of the most famous psychology experiments of all time (but we'll get to that in a few weeks).


Still seems pretty amazing, doesn't it? What do you think you would do? 
Questions, comments, suggestions? Let me know below!
- Carly

Back To Basics: Psychology and Research

Psychology: psy·chol·o·gy
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. - Oxford English Dictionary 

Pretty boring to start with a definition, I know, but just think about the variety of things that definition can encompass:

Why did I fail my math test even though I studied?

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Why does it bother me when my friends do something and I'm not invited?

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Why do I get so consumed with how others perceive me?

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Why do people ignore fire alarms?

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How do people choose their friends or partners?

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You can use psychology and psychological research to attempt to answer these questions and more. There may already be a fair amount of research dedicated specifically to some of these questions, in which case we can review the existing research to see if it's satisfactory, or we can use that research as a basis of conducting our own. This process we can get into in further detail as we progress. But it is important to note that the best place to start is ALWAYS by seeing what's already out there. A great resource for this, particularly for students, is JSTOR, an online catalog of journal articles and publications. Students can usually access all of the articles for free through their educational institution, but if you aren't affiliated with a school you can still sign up for free and get partial access or pay for a more advanced access. Alternatively your library will likely provide you access to a similar online catalog. 

This Thursday we'll be discussing a classic psychological experiment, and a part of that discussion will be the research design and process, so stay tuned!

- Carly

Welcome

Welcome to DIY Psych!

You're probably wondering what this site is going to be about, and to be honest, I've got a lot of ideas, but along the way I'll need some input, some feedback, and some collaboration from readers. I think that the fundamentals of psychology are under appreciated, and I'm hoping this can be a place where we can discover those fundamentals in a fun way, and figure out what they mean for our everyday lives. Whether this means discussing groundbreaking studies of the past and how they are applicable in today's society, or debating or debunking current studies that may need a bit more evidence.

Nothing is off limits! If people want to discuss specific studies, concepts, have more detailed questions about the mechanics of research, we'll do it here. If you want a new take on the theories of a classic psychologist, we can do that too. At first there will be a pretty wide variety of content, feeling out what truly interests people and what they respond to, and then we'll focus it more narrowly based on public response.

If you are an expert on something, or would like to participate or contribute to the blog, by all means please contact me and we can set something up! Collaboration is encouraged!

In the beginning I'm going to do two posts a week, Mondays and Thursdays, with potential bonus posts as the mood strikes me :)

Any comments questions or feedback, please let me know below or head on over to my contact page!

Have a great weekend!

Carly