According to research presented in the text (Baron et al., 1996), participants were asked to select perpetrators after a lineup in conditions of high ambiguity; the perpetrator wore different clothing in the lineup than in the original photo, and the slides were shown very quickly. Recall also that some participants were told that the task was one that was being designed for use by the police department and were offered $20 if they were the most accurate, while others were told that it was just a laboratory task under development. This study demonstrated that __________.
A) the more important it was to the participants to be accurate, the more they conformed to other group members' answers
B) the more important it was to participants to be accurate, the less they conformed to other group members' answers
C) when the task was more important, people conformed more but their self-esteem decreased
D) people were more resistant to influence in this study than in the Sherif study because of the greater degree of mundane realism

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study by Baron et al. (1996) found that when participants believed the task had real-world importance (e.g., being told it was for police department use and being offered a monetary reward for accuracy), they were more likely to conform to the answers of others in the group, especially under conditions of high ambiguity. This suggests that the desire to be accurate in what was perceived as an important task led to increased conformity.

According to Research Presented in the Text (Baron Et Al