Question 1

Solomon Asch carried out his famous 'line' experiment in the 1950s.

Discuss whether or not Asch's study of conformity would be considered to be ethical now.

Use your knowledge of the British Psychological Society guidelines on ethical issues in psychological research to inform your discussion.

Accepted Answer

1.  Start by stating your overall judgement (e.g., it would likely be considered unethical).
2.  Structure your answer around specific BPS ethical guidelines. Good ones to discuss for Asch are: Deception, Informed Consent, and Protection from Harm.
3.  For each guideline, explain how Asch's study breached it. Use specific details from the study (e.g., what participants were told, the role of confederates).
4.  To create a balanced discussion ('discuss'), consider the counter-arguments. Why might the ethical breaches have been considered necessary at the time? How did Asch try to mitigate the issues (e.g., debriefing)?
5.  End with a concluding sentence that summarises your argument.

Question 2

What mistakes do candidates make on this AQA GCSE question?

Accepted Answer

A common mistake is to only list the ethical issues without discussing them. For example, just stating 'Asch used deception' is not enough. You need to explain what the deception was and why it is an ethical problem. Another mistake is not providing a balanced argument.

Solomon Asch carried out his famous 'line' experiment in the 1950s.

Discuss whether or not Asch's study of conformity would be considered to be ethical now.

Use your knowledge of the British Psychological Society guidelines on ethical issues in psychological research to inform your discussion.

How to approach this question

Full Answer

Common mistakes

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