In the late 19th century psychologists began to research suggestibility .
During the dawning of this new form .
of social psychology researchers found people would change their .
convictions after being confronted with an authority figure opposing .
their ideals. Were their findings true? That is the question Solomon .
E. Asch set out to answer when he began his experiments in the 1950s. .
His essay Opinions and Social Pressure is an effective paper because .
it is clearly written and objective.
Aschs experiments, completed in response to the findings of .
psychologist, Edward L. Thorndike, who claimed to have succeeded in .
modifying the esthetic preferences of adults, by challenging them with .
an opposing majority of peers or some form of authority figure. Asch .
wanted to determine if this was accurate. His methods of determining .
this were simple: a group of college students would be shown two cards; .
on the first card a single line was drawn and on the second card three .
lines were drawn of varying lengths with one line the same length as the .
line on the first card. The control group was instructed on how to .
answer, while an individual was left oblivious and instructed to choose .
the line from the second card that was of the same length as the line on .
the first card. The test given to see how the individual would answer .
when the control group was instructed to give incorrect responses. The .
experiments varied by the number in the control group but, the results .
illustrated a similar pattern that a significant percentage of the .
individuals would succumb to the majority and answer incorrectly. .
Astonishingly Asch claims, Even when the difference between the lines .
was seven inches, there were still some who yielded to the error of the .
majority. .
Written in the 1950s, Opinions and Social Pressure explains why Asch .
conducted his research, how his experiments were performed, and to .
report his conclusion.
