Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBirth and DeathEarly LifeAsch’s Conformity ExperimentsContributions to PsychologySelected Publications

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Table of Contents

Birth and Death

Early Life

Asch’s Conformity Experiments

Contributions to Psychology

Selected Publications

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Solomon Asch was a pioneering 20th century social psychologist who is perhaps best remembered for his research on the psychology ofconformity.Asch took aGestalt approachto the study of social behavior, suggesting that social acts needed to be viewed in terms of their setting. His famous conformity experiment demonstrated that people would change their response due to social pressure in order to conform to the rest of the group.

“The human mind is an organ for the discovery of truths rather than of falsehoods."—Solomon Asch

During the early years of World War II when Hitler was at the height of power, Solomon Asch began studying the impact of propaganda and indoctrination while he was a professor at Brooklyn College’s psychology department. He also served as a professor for 19 years at Swarthmore College, where he worked with renowned Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Köhler.

Asch is one of many psychology researchers who generated new ideas about human psychology in response to the events of World War II. Others include Victor Frankl, the father oflogotherapy.

It was during the 1950s when Asch became famous for his series of experiments (known as theAsch conformity experiments) that demonstrated the effects of social pressure on conformity. Just how far would people go to conform to others in a group? Asch’s research demonstrated that participants were surprisingly likely to conform to a group, even when they personally believed that the group was incorrect.From 1966 to 1972, Asch held the title of director and distinguished professor of psychology at the Institute for Cognitive Studies at Rutgers University.

Solomon Asch is considered a pioneer of social psychology and Gestalt psychology.His conformity experiments demonstrated the power of social influence and still serve as a source of inspiration forsocial psychologyresearchers today. Understanding why people conform and under what circumstances they will go against their own convictions to fit in with the crowd not only helps psychologists understand when conformity is likely to occur but also what can be done to prevent it.

Asch also supervisedStanley Milgram’sPh.D. at Harvard University and inspired Milgram’s own highlyinfluential research on obedience. Milgram’s work helped demonstrate how far people would go to obey an order from an authority figure.

While Asch’s work illustrated how peer pressure influences social behavior (often in negative ways), Asch still believed that people tended to behave decently towards each other. The power of situations and group pressure, however, could often lead to less than ideal behavior and decision-making.

In a 2002 review of some of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, Asch was ranked as the 41st most-frequently cited psychologist.

Below are some of Asch’s most important published works. His most prominent publications are from the 1950s and the time of his experiments in conformity.

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Morgan TJ, Laland KN.The biological bases of conformity.Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.,Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations.Pittsburgh PA: Carnegie Press; 1951.Swarthmore College.1951 Psychologist Solomon Asch’s Famous Experiments.University of Pennsylvania.Death of Solomon Asch.Almanac. 1996;42:23McCauley C, Rozin P.Solomon Asch: Scientist and humanist. In: Kimble GA, Wertheimer M, eds.,Portraits of pioneers in psychology, Vol. 5.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2003.Milgram S.Behavioral study of obedience.J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1963;67(4), 371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, et al.The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.Review of General Psychology. 2002;6(2):139-152. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139Additional ReadingRock, Irvin, ed.The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology.Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805804404; 1990.Stout, D.Solomon Asch Is Dead at 88; A Leading Social Psychologist.The New York Times; 1996.

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Morgan TJ, Laland KN.The biological bases of conformity.Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.,Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations.Pittsburgh PA: Carnegie Press; 1951.Swarthmore College.1951 Psychologist Solomon Asch’s Famous Experiments.University of Pennsylvania.Death of Solomon Asch.Almanac. 1996;42:23McCauley C, Rozin P.Solomon Asch: Scientist and humanist. In: Kimble GA, Wertheimer M, eds.,Portraits of pioneers in psychology, Vol. 5.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2003.Milgram S.Behavioral study of obedience.J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1963;67(4), 371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, et al.The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.Review of General Psychology. 2002;6(2):139-152. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139Additional ReadingRock, Irvin, ed.The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology.Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805804404; 1990.Stout, D.Solomon Asch Is Dead at 88; A Leading Social Psychologist.The New York Times; 1996.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Morgan TJ, Laland KN.The biological bases of conformity.Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.,Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations.Pittsburgh PA: Carnegie Press; 1951.Swarthmore College.1951 Psychologist Solomon Asch’s Famous Experiments.University of Pennsylvania.Death of Solomon Asch.Almanac. 1996;42:23McCauley C, Rozin P.Solomon Asch: Scientist and humanist. In: Kimble GA, Wertheimer M, eds.,Portraits of pioneers in psychology, Vol. 5.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2003.Milgram S.Behavioral study of obedience.J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1963;67(4), 371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, et al.The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.Review of General Psychology. 2002;6(2):139-152. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139

Morgan TJ, Laland KN.The biological bases of conformity.Front Neurosci. 2012;6:87. doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00087

Asch SE.Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In: Guetzkow H, ed.,Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations.Pittsburgh PA: Carnegie Press; 1951.

Swarthmore College.1951 Psychologist Solomon Asch’s Famous Experiments.

University of Pennsylvania.Death of Solomon Asch.Almanac. 1996;42:23

McCauley C, Rozin P.Solomon Asch: Scientist and humanist. In: Kimble GA, Wertheimer M, eds.,Portraits of pioneers in psychology, Vol. 5.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2003.

Milgram S.Behavioral study of obedience.J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1963;67(4), 371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525

Haggbloom SJ, Warnick R, Warnick JE, et al.The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.Review of General Psychology. 2002;6(2):139-152. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139

Rock, Irvin, ed.The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology.Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805804404; 1990.Stout, D.Solomon Asch Is Dead at 88; A Leading Social Psychologist.The New York Times; 1996.

Rock, Irvin, ed.The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology.Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805804404; 1990.

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