<Dd> Asch also examined whether decreasing or increasing the majority size had an influence on participants' level of conformity . It was discovered that very small - size opposing groups (actors) were associated with low levels of yielding . Increasing the opposing group to two or three persons increased conformity substantially . Increases beyond three persons (e.g., four, five, six, etc .) did not further - increase conformity . </Dd> <Dd> Asch also varied method of participants' responding in studies where actors verbalized their responses aloud but the "real" participant responded in writing at the end of each trial . Conformity significantly decreased when shifting from public to written responses . </Dd> <P> The Asch conformity experiments are often interpreted as evidence for the power of conformity and normative social influence, where normative influence is the willingness to conform publicly to attain social reward and avoid social punishment . From this perspective, the results are viewed as a striking example of people publicly endorsing the group response despite knowing full well that they were endorsing an incorrect response . </P> <P> In contrast, John Turner and colleagues argue that the interpretation of the Asch conformity experiments as normative influence is inconsistent with the data . They point out that post-experiment interviews revealed that participants experienced uncertainty about their own judgement during the experiments . Although the correct answer appeared obvious to the researchers, this was not necessarily the experience of participants . Moreover, subsequent research has demonstrated similar patterns of conformity where participants were anonymous and thus not subject to social punishment or reward on the basis of their responses . From this perspective, the Asch conformity experiments are viewed as evidence for the self - categorization theory account of social influence (otherwise known as the theory of referent informational influence). Here, the observed conformity is an example of depersonalization processes, whereby people expect to hold the same opinions as others in their ingroup and will often adopt those opinions . </P>

In the asch studies which of the following produced a decrease in conformity