Independence or conformity in the Asch experiment as a reflection of cultural and situational factors

It is argued that the classic Asch studies of conformity may not be universal but rather reflect the historical and cultural state of the USA in the 1950s. In particular, contemporary British student subjects do not demonstrate the same compliance to the unanimous majority: in a procedural replication of the Asch study with student subjects, on only one out of 396 critical trials was compliance found. The Asch effect can, however, be demonstrated where subjects and settings are selected so that the personal costs of not yielding to the majority would be high. Thus, levels of compliance similar to those found by Asch were shown by youths on probation where the confederate group and the experimenter were probation officers, and by alienated black youths where the experimenter was white.