Scholastic Achievement Levels and Conformity of Junior High School Students in the Asch Experiment

We examined the influence of scholastic achievement levels on conformity behavior in the modified Asch experiment without using confederates (Mori \u0026 Arai, 2010). Four hundred and sixteen Japanese junior high school students (12 - 14 years old) were classified into three groups based on their scholastic achievement: high, middle, and low. We then created 22 same-sex groups (half male, half female). Each group included one high or low achievement “minority” student and three “majority” students who were all high or all low achievement students. The results showed that low achievement students in the minority role tended to conform more frequently than high achievement minority students—especially when amongst a high achievement majority. In addition, low achievement females showed more frequent conformity than low achievement males.