In a famous experiment, psychologist Solomon Asch showed participants a line and asked them to identify which of three comparison lines matched it. When surrounded by confederates who unanimously gave obviously wrong answers, 75% of participants conformed at least once, giving answers they knew were incorrect. When just one confederate gave the correct answer, conformity dropped dramatically.
It can be inferred from the text that
people cannot perceive line lengths accurately
most participants genuinely believed the wrong answers
social pressure can override individual judgment even when the correct answer is obvious
conformity occurs only in laboratory settings
Correct Answer: C
Choice C is the best answer. Participants gave wrong answers they knew were incorrect due to social pressure.
- Context clues: Participants gave "answers they knew were incorrect" when others did; the task was obvious.
- Meaning: Knowing the right answer but saying the wrong one shows social pressure overriding judgment.
- Verify: Conformity dropped when even one person gave the correct answer, confirming the social dynamic.
💡 Strategy: When people act against their own knowledge, infer what external pressure caused the discrepancy.
Choice A is incorrect because participants "knew" the answers were incorrect—they could perceive correctly. Choice B is incorrect because they knew the answers were wrong. Choice D is incorrect because the passage describes laboratory findings about human nature generally.