Q1) Discuss explanations into conformity (16 marks)
There are two explanations of conformity: normative social influence (NSI) and informational social
influence (ISI).
NSI is when an individual conforms to be accepted and feel part of a group; they conform due to the
desire to be liked. Asch’s (1956) study into conformity provides research support for NSI. He found
that many of the participants went along with the majority and provided an incorrect answer on a
line judgement task. When questioned by Asch in post ‐experimental interviews, participants said that
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group. This shows that NSI had
occurred because the participants conformed to fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when
the pressure to publicly conform is removed, by asking participants to write down their answers on a
piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the conformity rates fell to 12.5%. This provides further
evidence for NSI because the reduction in public pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
As well as this, research conducted by Garandeau and Cillessen has emphasised the role of NSI in
bullying. They found that groups with low quality of interpersonal friendships may be manipulated by
a skilful bully. This is so the victimisation of another child provides the group with a common goal.
This creates pressure on all of the members in the group to comply. This illustrates that sometimes
the desire for acceptance is so strong that it outweighs an individual’s moral code. This shows that
the assumptions of NSI that people conform for group approval is valid.
An alternative explanation to NSI is ISI. ISI occurs when an individual conforms due to the desire to be
right. This is usually associated with the internalisation type of conformity. This semi ‐permanent
change in behaviour and belief is the result of a person adopting a new belief system. This is because
the individual genuinely believe that their new beliefs are ‘right’ or that the majority are ‘experts’.
Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were asked to initially make
independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss their
estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual private
estimate. Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group estimate and
that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous
situations because the participants believe that they gain knowledge from the group and are now
more likely to be right.
Q2) Discuss research into conformity (16 marks)
NSI is when an individual conforms due to the desire to be liked. Asch’s (1956) study into conformity
provides research support for NSI. He found that many of the participants went along with the
majority and provided an incorrect answer on a line judgement task. When questioned by Asch in
post‐experimental interviews, participants said that they changed their answer to avoid disapproval
from the rest of the group. This shows that NSI had occurred because the participants conformed to
fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when the pressure to publicly conform is removed, by
asking participants to write down their answers on a piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the
conformity rates fell to 12.5%. This provides further evidence for NSI because the reduction in public
pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
While the Asch study provides support for the notion of NSI, more recent research has yielded
different results. For example, Perrin and Spencer conducted an Asch ‐style experiment and found a
conformity level of 0.25%. Therefore, it could be argued that the Asch’s results suffer from temporal
, validity which does not represent conformity and the idea of NSI in recent years. However, it must be
noted that Perrin and Spencer used a very different sample to Asch, consisting of engineering and
mathematic students. Therefore, it could be that the lower levels of conformity were also influenced
by the participant’s expertise in problem solving tasks.
An alternative explanation to NSI is ISI. ISI occurs when an individual conforms due to the desire to be
right. Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were asked to initially
make independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss
their estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual
private estimate. Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group estimate
and that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous
situations as the participants believe that they gain knowledge from the group and are now more
likely to be right.
While Jenness provides convincing evidence for the role of ISI, it must be noted that his experiment
has been criticised for lacking ecological validity. Providing an estimate of the number of beans in a
jar is a rather mundane task with no social consequences. Consequently, it is legitimate to question
whether we would display such levels of ISI in tasks that have more significant social consequences,
for example, hearing evidence in a court case from an ‘expert’ barrister. Therefore, until further
research examining ISI is conducted in the real ‐ world, these results remain confined to the
laboratory.
Q3) Discuss factors that can affect conformity. Refer to Asch’s variation studies. (16 marks)
Asch found that group size impacts the rate of conformity. In Asch’s original experiment, one real
participant was placed among six to eight confederates. Asch found that the average conformity rate
was 32%. Asch found that when there was only one confederate, conformity dropped to just 3% and
when there were three confederates, Asch found that conformity remained the same at around 32%.
However, increasing the group size has limitations. When Asch increased the size of the majority to
15 confederates, he found that conformity started to drop. This may be because the participants
started to become suspicious of the task which led to demand characteristics. These results show that
group size has a significant impact on conformity and that when a group has three or more people,
conformity reaches its highest level at approximately 32%.
Another factor that impacts conformity is unanimity, which is the extent to which the majority agree
in their views or behaviour. Asch examined the idea of unanimity in a variation in which one of the
confederates was instructed to give the correct answer throughout. In this variation, the average
conformity rate dropped to just 5%. This shows that when a majority is broken, people are more likely
to resist the pressure to conform. This is because they do not feel as though they are alone, and they
do not have to go along with the group.
The final factor that impacts conformity is task difficulty. In the original Asch experiment the correct
answer was always obvious; therefore, the participants were conforming due to normative social
influence and a desire to fit in. In the variation study, Asch made the length of lines significantly
smaller and more difficult to judge. He found that the rate of conformity increased. This is likely to be
the result of informational social influence. This is because individuals look to another for guidance
when completing the task. This suggests that as tasks become more difficult, people are more likely
to conform. This is supported by research conducted by Jenness who asked participants to make
independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss their
estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual private
There are two explanations of conformity: normative social influence (NSI) and informational social
influence (ISI).
NSI is when an individual conforms to be accepted and feel part of a group; they conform due to the
desire to be liked. Asch’s (1956) study into conformity provides research support for NSI. He found
that many of the participants went along with the majority and provided an incorrect answer on a
line judgement task. When questioned by Asch in post ‐experimental interviews, participants said that
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group. This shows that NSI had
occurred because the participants conformed to fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when
the pressure to publicly conform is removed, by asking participants to write down their answers on a
piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the conformity rates fell to 12.5%. This provides further
evidence for NSI because the reduction in public pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
As well as this, research conducted by Garandeau and Cillessen has emphasised the role of NSI in
bullying. They found that groups with low quality of interpersonal friendships may be manipulated by
a skilful bully. This is so the victimisation of another child provides the group with a common goal.
This creates pressure on all of the members in the group to comply. This illustrates that sometimes
the desire for acceptance is so strong that it outweighs an individual’s moral code. This shows that
the assumptions of NSI that people conform for group approval is valid.
An alternative explanation to NSI is ISI. ISI occurs when an individual conforms due to the desire to be
right. This is usually associated with the internalisation type of conformity. This semi ‐permanent
change in behaviour and belief is the result of a person adopting a new belief system. This is because
the individual genuinely believe that their new beliefs are ‘right’ or that the majority are ‘experts’.
Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were asked to initially make
independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss their
estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual private
estimate. Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group estimate and
that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous
situations because the participants believe that they gain knowledge from the group and are now
more likely to be right.
Q2) Discuss research into conformity (16 marks)
NSI is when an individual conforms due to the desire to be liked. Asch’s (1956) study into conformity
provides research support for NSI. He found that many of the participants went along with the
majority and provided an incorrect answer on a line judgement task. When questioned by Asch in
post‐experimental interviews, participants said that they changed their answer to avoid disapproval
from the rest of the group. This shows that NSI had occurred because the participants conformed to
fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when the pressure to publicly conform is removed, by
asking participants to write down their answers on a piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the
conformity rates fell to 12.5%. This provides further evidence for NSI because the reduction in public
pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
While the Asch study provides support for the notion of NSI, more recent research has yielded
different results. For example, Perrin and Spencer conducted an Asch ‐style experiment and found a
conformity level of 0.25%. Therefore, it could be argued that the Asch’s results suffer from temporal
, validity which does not represent conformity and the idea of NSI in recent years. However, it must be
noted that Perrin and Spencer used a very different sample to Asch, consisting of engineering and
mathematic students. Therefore, it could be that the lower levels of conformity were also influenced
by the participant’s expertise in problem solving tasks.
An alternative explanation to NSI is ISI. ISI occurs when an individual conforms due to the desire to be
right. Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were asked to initially
make independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss
their estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual
private estimate. Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group estimate
and that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous
situations as the participants believe that they gain knowledge from the group and are now more
likely to be right.
While Jenness provides convincing evidence for the role of ISI, it must be noted that his experiment
has been criticised for lacking ecological validity. Providing an estimate of the number of beans in a
jar is a rather mundane task with no social consequences. Consequently, it is legitimate to question
whether we would display such levels of ISI in tasks that have more significant social consequences,
for example, hearing evidence in a court case from an ‘expert’ barrister. Therefore, until further
research examining ISI is conducted in the real ‐ world, these results remain confined to the
laboratory.
Q3) Discuss factors that can affect conformity. Refer to Asch’s variation studies. (16 marks)
Asch found that group size impacts the rate of conformity. In Asch’s original experiment, one real
participant was placed among six to eight confederates. Asch found that the average conformity rate
was 32%. Asch found that when there was only one confederate, conformity dropped to just 3% and
when there were three confederates, Asch found that conformity remained the same at around 32%.
However, increasing the group size has limitations. When Asch increased the size of the majority to
15 confederates, he found that conformity started to drop. This may be because the participants
started to become suspicious of the task which led to demand characteristics. These results show that
group size has a significant impact on conformity and that when a group has three or more people,
conformity reaches its highest level at approximately 32%.
Another factor that impacts conformity is unanimity, which is the extent to which the majority agree
in their views or behaviour. Asch examined the idea of unanimity in a variation in which one of the
confederates was instructed to give the correct answer throughout. In this variation, the average
conformity rate dropped to just 5%. This shows that when a majority is broken, people are more likely
to resist the pressure to conform. This is because they do not feel as though they are alone, and they
do not have to go along with the group.
The final factor that impacts conformity is task difficulty. In the original Asch experiment the correct
answer was always obvious; therefore, the participants were conforming due to normative social
influence and a desire to fit in. In the variation study, Asch made the length of lines significantly
smaller and more difficult to judge. He found that the rate of conformity increased. This is likely to be
the result of informational social influence. This is because individuals look to another for guidance
when completing the task. This suggests that as tasks become more difficult, people are more likely
to conform. This is supported by research conducted by Jenness who asked participants to make
independent judgements about the number of jelly beans contained in a jar and then discuss their
estimates in a group. Following the discussion, participants then made another individual private
