Solomon Asch
Encyclopedia
Solomon Eliot Asch also known as Shlaym, was an American
Gestalt psychologist
and pioneer in social psychology
.
which then belonged to the Russian Empire
, to a Jewish Family. He immigrated to the United States
in 1920 and received his bachelor's degree
, majoring in psychology
from the College of the City of New York
in 1928. At Columbia University
, he received his master's degree
in 1930 and Ph.D.
in 1932.
for 19 years, working with psychologists including Wolfgang Köhler
.
He became famous in the 1950s, following experiments
which showed that social pressure can make a person say something that is obviously incorrect. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1965.
This experiment was conducted using 123 male participants. Each participant was put into a group with 5 to 7 "confederates" (people who knew the true aims of the experiment, but were introduced as participants to the naive "real" participant). The participants were shown a card with a line on it, followed by another card with 3 lines on it labeled a, b, and c. The participants were then asked to say which line matched the line on the first card in length. Each line question was called a "trial". The "real" participant answered last or penultimately. For the first two trials, the subject would feel at ease in the experiment, as he and the other "participants" gave the obvious, correct answer. On the third trial, the confederates would start all giving the same wrong answer. There were 18 trials in total and the confederates answered incorrectly for 12 of them, these 12 were known as the "critical trials". The aim was to see whether the real participant would change his answer and respond in the same way as the confederates, despite it being the wrong answer.
Solomon Asch thought that the majority of people would not conform to something obviously wrong, but the results showed that 25% of the participants did not conform on any trial. 75% conformed at least once, and 5% conformed every time (37% conformity over subjects averaged across the critical trials). Asch suggested that this reflected poorly on factors such as education, which he thought must over-train conformity.Others have argued that it is rational to use other people's judgments as evidence. '. Other's suggest it is polite and politic; consistent with subject's claim that they did not believe the other's judements – they merely conformed.
Meta-analyses suggest that a single additional dissenter dramatically reduces (to 5-10%); that males show around half the effect of females (tested in same-sex groups); and conformity is higher among members of an ingroup
He also cooperated with H. Witkin
and inspired many ideas of the theory of cognitive style
, and inspired the work of the psychologist Stanley Milgram
and supervised his Ph.D at Harvard University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Gestalt psychologist
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
and pioneer in social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
.
Early life and education
Asch was born in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
which then belonged to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, to a Jewish Family. He immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1920 and received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, majoring in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from the College of the City of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1928. At Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, he received his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1930 and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1932.
Career
Asch was a professor of psychology at Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
for 19 years, working with psychologists including Wolfgang Köhler
Wolfgang Köhler
Wolfgang Köhler was a German psychologist and phenomenologist who, like Max Wertheimer, and Kurt Koffka, contributed to the creation of Gestalt psychology.-Early life:...
.
He became famous in the 1950s, following experiments
Asch conformity experiments
The Asch conformity experiments were a series of studies published in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups. These are also known as the Asch Paradigm.-Introduction:...
which showed that social pressure can make a person say something that is obviously incorrect. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1965.
This experiment was conducted using 123 male participants. Each participant was put into a group with 5 to 7 "confederates" (people who knew the true aims of the experiment, but were introduced as participants to the naive "real" participant). The participants were shown a card with a line on it, followed by another card with 3 lines on it labeled a, b, and c. The participants were then asked to say which line matched the line on the first card in length. Each line question was called a "trial". The "real" participant answered last or penultimately. For the first two trials, the subject would feel at ease in the experiment, as he and the other "participants" gave the obvious, correct answer. On the third trial, the confederates would start all giving the same wrong answer. There were 18 trials in total and the confederates answered incorrectly for 12 of them, these 12 were known as the "critical trials". The aim was to see whether the real participant would change his answer and respond in the same way as the confederates, despite it being the wrong answer.
Solomon Asch thought that the majority of people would not conform to something obviously wrong, but the results showed that 25% of the participants did not conform on any trial. 75% conformed at least once, and 5% conformed every time (37% conformity over subjects averaged across the critical trials). Asch suggested that this reflected poorly on factors such as education, which he thought must over-train conformity.Others have argued that it is rational to use other people's judgments as evidence. '. Other's suggest it is polite and politic; consistent with subject's claim that they did not believe the other's judements – they merely conformed.
Meta-analyses suggest that a single additional dissenter dramatically reduces (to 5-10%); that males show around half the effect of females (tested in same-sex groups); and conformity is higher among members of an ingroup
He also cooperated with H. Witkin
Herman Witkin
Herman A. Witkin was an American psychologist who specialized in the spheres of cognitive psychology and learning psychology. He was a pioneer of the theory of Cognitive styles and Learning styles...
and inspired many ideas of the theory of cognitive style
Cognitive style
Cognitive style or "thinking style" is a term used in cognitive psychology to describe the way individuals think, perceive and remember information. Cognitive style differs from cognitive ability , the latter being measured by aptitude tests or so-called intelligence tests...
, and inspired the work of the psychologist Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram was an American social psychologist most notable for his controversial study known as the Milgram Experiment. The study was conducted in the 1960s during Milgram's professorship at Yale...
and supervised his Ph.D at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
External links
- The Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict
- Solomon Asch: Forming Impressions of Personality Full text of the classic journal article that introduced the concept of central versus peripheral traits and the "halo effect".