Why did the participants conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar.
A few of them said that they really did believe the group's answers were correct.
Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence).
There's also a follow up study if I recall, that if there is even one person not answering with the group there is a significantly greater chance for a person to disagree with the group.
Also look at this experiment.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html
Solomon Asch - Conformity Experiment
Conclusion
Why did the participants conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar.
A few of them said that they really did believe the group's answers were correct.
Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence).
There's also a follow up study if I recall, that if there is even one person not answering with the group there is a significantly greater chance for a person to disagree with the group.