Solomon Asch

Solomon Asch (1907-1996) was an an American scientist who is known for his research in social psychology. His primary areas of research included impression formation, prestige and conformity and the nature of group pressure. His most famous work seems to be on conformity -- video of Asch's conformity study are often quite popular in American Universities.

Asch stated in his theories that “Most social acts have to be understood in their setting, and lose meaning if isolated. No error in thinking about social facts is more serious than the failure to see their place and function.” Simply put, social actions can only be understood in context. In isolation, these actions and activities cannot be properly understood.