Solomon Asch carried out his famous 'line' experiment in the 1950s.

Discuss whether or not Asch's study of conformity would be considered to be ethical now.

Use your knowledge of the British Psychological Society guidelines on ethical issues in psychological research to inform your discussion.

Asch's study on conformity would likely be considered unethical by today's BPS guidelines for several reasons. Firstly, it involved deception. Participants were told they were taking part in a study of visual perception, not conformity. They were also deceived by the use of confederates who they believed were genuine participants. While Asch did debrief them afterwards, the initial deception is a clear breach of ethical guidelines. Secondly, the study lacked full informed consent. Because of the deception, participants could not give their full consent as they did not know the true aims of the study. Thirdly, there is the issue of protection from harm. Participants were put in a stressful and embarrassing situation where they were made to feel uncomfortable for disagreeing with the majority. This psychological distress could be considered a form of harm. Some participants reported feeling anxious and self-conscious during the experiment. However, it could be argued that the deception was necessary to ensure the study's validity; if participants knew the true aim, they would have shown demand characteristics. Also, the level of psychological distress was arguably minor and temporary. Asch also conducted a full debrief, explaining the true nature of the study and why the deception was necessary, which is a way of dealing with the ethical issues. Overall, while the study was hugely influential, it would struggle to get ethical approval today without significant modifications.