AQA Psychology – Social influence – Conformity: types and
explanations – Essay
Discuss what research has told us about why people conform (16)
AO1: Point
There are two explanations for conformity. Informational social influence (ISI)
is when people conform to groups based on the idea that they want to be
right. This is common in ambiguous situations where the correct answer in
unknown. This explanation for conformity may occur in the classroom setting
when a student is unaware of the correct answer and goes along with the
class.
Another explanation for conformity is normative social influence. This is
when we conform to the group for the purpose of fitting into the norms of
society. This is common in the in uncertain situations, particularly around
strangers where we don't want to be rejected or around people we know and
want to seek approval from.
There are 3 types of conformity. Compliance is when we “go along” with the
opinions of the group temporarily in public settings but not privately.
Identification is when we value and identify with the group we are associated
with so change our opinions publicly. This doesn’t mean that the opinions will
change privately.
The highest level of conformity is internalisation. This means that we
genuinely accept the opinions of the group and accept them both publicly
and privately.
A03: Evaluation
One strength of informational social influence is research support by Lucas.
He found that where math's tasks were more difficult participants were more
likely to conform to the wrong answers that were given to them compared to
easy questions. This shows that ISI is an explanation for conformity.
However, this study faces ethical issues such as deception, where
participants are unaware of the true aims of the task. Therefore, Lucas’ study
may not be credible for understanding ISI as an explanation for conformity.
Another strength of explanations of conformity is research support by Asch
for normative social influence. He found that in an unambiguous task
participants conformed to the wrong answer 36.8% of the time. However, the
explanations – Essay
Discuss what research has told us about why people conform (16)
AO1: Point
There are two explanations for conformity. Informational social influence (ISI)
is when people conform to groups based on the idea that they want to be
right. This is common in ambiguous situations where the correct answer in
unknown. This explanation for conformity may occur in the classroom setting
when a student is unaware of the correct answer and goes along with the
class.
Another explanation for conformity is normative social influence. This is
when we conform to the group for the purpose of fitting into the norms of
society. This is common in the in uncertain situations, particularly around
strangers where we don't want to be rejected or around people we know and
want to seek approval from.
There are 3 types of conformity. Compliance is when we “go along” with the
opinions of the group temporarily in public settings but not privately.
Identification is when we value and identify with the group we are associated
with so change our opinions publicly. This doesn’t mean that the opinions will
change privately.
The highest level of conformity is internalisation. This means that we
genuinely accept the opinions of the group and accept them both publicly
and privately.
A03: Evaluation
One strength of informational social influence is research support by Lucas.
He found that where math's tasks were more difficult participants were more
likely to conform to the wrong answers that were given to them compared to
easy questions. This shows that ISI is an explanation for conformity.
However, this study faces ethical issues such as deception, where
participants are unaware of the true aims of the task. Therefore, Lucas’ study
may not be credible for understanding ISI as an explanation for conformity.
Another strength of explanations of conformity is research support by Asch
for normative social influence. He found that in an unambiguous task
participants conformed to the wrong answer 36.8% of the time. However, the
