The Asch Conformity Experiments and Social Pressure

The Asch Conformity Experiments and Social Pressure The Asch Conformity Experiments, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s, demonstrated the power of conformity in groups and showed that even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence. The Experiment In the experiments, groups of male university students were asked to participate in a perception test. In reality, all but one of the participants were confederates (collaborators with the experimenter who only pretended to be participants). The study was about how the remaining student would react to the behavior of the other participants. The participants of the experiment (the subject as well as the confederates) were seated in a classroom and were presented with a card with a simple vertical black line drawn on it. Then, they were given a second card with three lines of varying length labeled A, B, and C. One line on the second card was the same length as that on the first, and the other two lines were obviously longer and shorter. Participants were asked to state out loud in front of each other which line, A, B, or C, matched the length of the line on the first card. In each experimental case, the confederates answered first, and the real participant was seated so that he would answer last. In some cases, the confederates answered correctly, while in others, the answered incorrectly. Aschs goal was to see if the real participant would be pressured to answer incorrectly in the instances when the Confederates did so, or whether their belief in their own perception and correctness would outweigh the social pressure provided by the responses of the other group members. Results Asch found that one-third of real participants gave the same wrong answers as the Confederates at least half the time. Forty percent gave some wrong answers, and only one-fourth gave correct answers in defiance of the pressure to conform to the wrong answers provided by the group. In interviews he conducted following the trials, Asch found that those that answered incorrectly, in conformance with the group, believed that the answers given by the Confederates were correct, some thought that they were suffering a lapse in perception for originally thinking an answer that differed from the group, while others admitted that they knew that they had the correct answer, but conformed to the incorrect answer because they didnt want to break from the majority. The Asch experiments have been repeated many times over the years with students and non-students, old and young, and in groups of different sizes and different settings. The results are consistently the same with one-third to one-half of the participants making a judgment contrary to fact, yet in conformity with the group, demonstrating the strong power of social influences. Connection to Sociology The results of Aschs experiment resonate with what we know to be true about the nature of social forces and norms in our lives. The behavior and expectations of others shape how we think and act on a daily basis because what we observe among others teaches us what is normal, and expected of us. The results of the study also raise interesting questions and concerns about how knowledge is constructed and disseminated, and how we can address social problems that stem from conformity, among others. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

The Débarrasser (to Clear) French Verb Conjugations

The Dà ©barrasser (to Clear) French Verb Conjugations In French, the verb  dà ©barrasser  means to clear or to rid (someone or something) of. When you want to say the past tense of got rid of or the present tense of clearing, then a verb conjugation is required. A quick French lesson will explain exactly how thats done. Conjugating the French Verb  Dà ©barrasser Dà ©barrasser  is a  regular -ER verb  and it follows the most common verb conjugation pattern found in the French language. The infinitive endings added to the verb stem  dà ©barrass-  are the same you will use for words like  dà ©barquer  (to land), attraper  (to catch), and many others. That makes learning each just a little easier. To transform  dà ©barrasser  to the present, future, or imperfect past tense, find the appropriate subject pronoun in the table. This will guide you to the appropriate verb to use in your sentence. For instance, I clear is je dà ©barrasse and we will clear is nous dà ©barrasserons. This is all quite simple when you take the time to study the conjugations. The endings are not difficult, but the length of this word may be the most challenging part of the lesson. Subject Present Future Imperfect je dbarrasse dbarrasserai dbarrassais tu dbarrasses dbarrasseras dbarrassais il dbarrasse dbarrassera dbarrassait nous dbarrassons dbarrasserons dbarrassions vous dbarrassez dbarrasserez dbarrassiez ils dbarrassent dbarrasseront dbarrassaient The Present Participle of Dà ©barrasser The  present participle  of dà ©barrasser  is formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem. This creates the verb  dà ©barrassant, which can also act as an adjective, gerund, or even a noun in some circumstances. A Past Tense Form of  Dà ©barrasser The imperfect past tense is not your only option for expressing I got rid of in French. You can also use the  passà © composà ©. To do so, you must conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  according to the subject pronoun used, then add the  past participle  dà ©barrassà ©. For example, I got rid of is jai dà ©barrassà © and we got rid of is nous avons dà ©barrassà ©. Remember that this can also work for a translation of have cleared. More Simple Dà ©barrasser Conjugations to Know There may also be times when you will need one of the following forms of  dà ©barrasser. The subjunctive verb mood is used when the action is uncertain did you really clear it? for example. Similarly, the conditional verb mood implies that the action will only happen if something else does.   Primarily found in literature and formal writing, you may not need to use the passà © simple nor the imperfect subjunctive. However, you should be able to recognize and associate these with  dà ©barrasser Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je dbarrasse dbarrasserais dbarrassai dbarrassasse tu dbarrasses dbarrasserais dbarrassas dbarrassasses il dbarrasse dbarrasserait dbarrassa dbarrasst nous dbarrassions dbarrasserions dbarrassmes dbarrassassions vous dbarrassiez dbarrasseriez dbarrasstes dbarrassassiez ils dbarrassent dbarrasseraient dbarrassrent dbarrassassent The imperative verb form is often used in exclamations and short, direct commands or requests. When using this one, skip the subject pronoun: simplify tu dà ©barrasse to  dà ©barrasse. Imperative (tu) dbarrasse (nous) dbarrassons (vous) dbarrassez