Solomon Asch is considered one of the pioneers of social psychology, an area in which he concentrated his research, this Polish psychologist went to the United States with a few years to live and it is in this country that he completed his school and university studies.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1907, at the age of 13, his family moved to New York, where Solomon Asch completed his studies and earned his doctorate in psychology in 1932. Over time, he became known for his original experiences. in the field of social psychology. One of its areas of study is the influence others can have on our behavior.
- While completing his studies at Columbia University.
- Solomon Asch was assisted by Max Wertheimer.
- A Gestalt psychology specialist who has had a major impact on his training.
- Particularly arousing great interest in perception.
- Thought and association phenomena at Asch.
“Most social acts must be understood in their environment to lose their meaning if they are isolated. Isn’t it a more serious mistake when you think of social facts than ignoring one’s place and function?-Solomon Asch-
Solomon Asch worked as a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College for 19 years, his time at this institution allowed him to establish a strong relationship with Wolfgang Kohler, whom he always admired, his theories aroused his interest in research and served as the basis for the experiments that made him famous.
Asch gained enormous fame for these experiences and for publishing his book, “Social Psychology,” in 1952. It was also there that he developed his research, in addition to the fundamental concepts of his theory.
At that time, Asch revolutionized the studies of the human spirit. He has also worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania. He also had a brief sting at Harvard University, where he oversaw the doctoral thesis of the famous and controversial Stanley Milgram.
Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments generically known as the “Asch Experiment”. It is a series of research carried out in 1951 whose main objective was to verify that people are subject to the power of the group, adopting an attitude according to it.
The experience consisted essentially of forming a group of 7 to 9 students. All but one were part of the experiment and were complicit in the researcher, each was shown some lines and the researcher asked each to indicate which was the longest, the correct answer was very obvious, but the accomplices begin one. by one to talk about the option that was noticeably less as if it were the right choice Did you have any connection to the subject that was actually being evaluated?the only one who wasn’t complicit? He felt strong pressure from the group to respond to the same option, against his logic that there was another important line.
Solomon Asch showed that many of the experimental subjects ended up exchanging their answers, choosing the majority’s answer even if it was manifestly incorrect. In addition, Asch also questioned whether the people who gave this answer were really convinced that the answer was as follows. he found that he did not: the number of people who chose the wrong line decreased considerably when it was possible to give the answer privately, so the influence was manifested mainly by the fact that others saw his answer.
To complete the central study, Solomon Asch introduced some variants. The first change was to introduce a theme (which was also part of the experiment) that would break with most. Asch showed that simply having someone breaking the consensus greatly reduced the number of experimental subjects who chose the wrong choice, who gained confidence to go against the majority now that they were backed by someone else’s opinion.
Asch’s experiences, while criticized, have provided a different and original vision of how we can be influenced and conditioned by the opinion of the majority, the truth is that today he is considered one of the most important psychologists in history. Award for Distinction for Scientific Contributions from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1967.