1|Page
AS-level/ Paper 1 AQA Psychology
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Three types of conformity - ✔✔Compliance, Identification and Internalisation
Compliance - ✔✔When you change your public beliefs and behaviours to fit in with the
group but your private beliefs and behaviours stay the same
Identification - ✔✔When you temporarily change your private and public beliefs to be
liked by the group
Internalisation - ✔✔Permanently changing public and private beliefs in line with the
group
Name of Asch's Study - ✔✔The Line Judgement task
What was Asch's study investigating? - ✔✔Conformity
Sample of Asch's Study - ✔✔50 Male American Students
Number of trials where confederates gave the same wrong answer in Asch's study -
✔✔12 out of 18
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,2|Page
Percentage of Participants who conformed at least once in Asch's study - ✔✔74%
Percentage of time participants gave the wrong answer - ✔✔32%
Three factors that affect Conformity - ✔✔Group size, Task difficulty and Unanimity
Effect of Unanimity on conformity rates - ✔✔Conformity increases when all
confederates give the same wrong answer
Effect of Group size on conformity rates - ✔✔Conformity increase to 32% when there
are three or more confederates (a majority).
Effect of Task difficulty on conformity rates - ✔✔The more ambiguous (harder) the task,
the higher the conformity rates
Strengths of Asch's study - ✔✔-Evidence of NSI: follow-up interviews with participants
revealed that they conformed to fit in
Weaknesses of Asch's study - ✔✔Unrepresentative sample- androcentric (male) and
culture bias (American)
Lacks Eco Validity- there was no consequence for being wrong.
Perrin and Spencer- repeated study with UK engineering students and found only one
student conformed in 396 trials
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,3|Page
The two explanations of conformity - ✔✔Normative social influence (NSI) and
Informational social influence (ISI)
Normative Social Influence - ✔✔Conforming to fit in with the group
Informational Social Influence - ✔✔Conforming by looking to the group to know how
to behave or what to believe
Name of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔The Stamford Prison Experiment
What was Zimbardo's study investigating? - ✔✔Conformity to social roles
Sample of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔24 Male Student volunteers
Behaviour of "Guards" in Zimbardo's experiment - ✔✔Some were very aggressive
towards "inmates" and enforced the rules so tightly that any slipup was met with harsh
punishment. However, not all the guards were aggressive.
When taken away from the study, the "guards" returned to normal and were no longer
overly aggressive.
Ethical Issues with Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Informed Consent and deception- the
participants didn't know they would be taken from their houses
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
, 4|Page
Confidentiality- Participants were taken from their homes in full view of their
neighbours
Psychological and physical harm- Study had to be stopped after two days rather than
two weeks because of the "guards"
Right to Withdraw- "Inmates" believed they weren't able to leave
Strengths of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Well controlled- the roles were randomly assigned
to limit personality differences in the riles
Weakness of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Ethical issues- (see above) gives psychology a bad
reputation
Demand Characteristics- One "guard" stated that he based his behaviour on the film
"Cool Hand Luke"
Zimbardo didn't distance himself from the experiment- he acted as super-intendant of
the guards and, therefore, didn't/couldn't control the behaviour of the "guards" and
protect the "inmates" from harm
Name of Milgram's study - ✔✔The Yale shock experiment
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
AS-level/ Paper 1 AQA Psychology
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Three types of conformity - ✔✔Compliance, Identification and Internalisation
Compliance - ✔✔When you change your public beliefs and behaviours to fit in with the
group but your private beliefs and behaviours stay the same
Identification - ✔✔When you temporarily change your private and public beliefs to be
liked by the group
Internalisation - ✔✔Permanently changing public and private beliefs in line with the
group
Name of Asch's Study - ✔✔The Line Judgement task
What was Asch's study investigating? - ✔✔Conformity
Sample of Asch's Study - ✔✔50 Male American Students
Number of trials where confederates gave the same wrong answer in Asch's study -
✔✔12 out of 18
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,2|Page
Percentage of Participants who conformed at least once in Asch's study - ✔✔74%
Percentage of time participants gave the wrong answer - ✔✔32%
Three factors that affect Conformity - ✔✔Group size, Task difficulty and Unanimity
Effect of Unanimity on conformity rates - ✔✔Conformity increases when all
confederates give the same wrong answer
Effect of Group size on conformity rates - ✔✔Conformity increase to 32% when there
are three or more confederates (a majority).
Effect of Task difficulty on conformity rates - ✔✔The more ambiguous (harder) the task,
the higher the conformity rates
Strengths of Asch's study - ✔✔-Evidence of NSI: follow-up interviews with participants
revealed that they conformed to fit in
Weaknesses of Asch's study - ✔✔Unrepresentative sample- androcentric (male) and
culture bias (American)
Lacks Eco Validity- there was no consequence for being wrong.
Perrin and Spencer- repeated study with UK engineering students and found only one
student conformed in 396 trials
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,3|Page
The two explanations of conformity - ✔✔Normative social influence (NSI) and
Informational social influence (ISI)
Normative Social Influence - ✔✔Conforming to fit in with the group
Informational Social Influence - ✔✔Conforming by looking to the group to know how
to behave or what to believe
Name of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔The Stamford Prison Experiment
What was Zimbardo's study investigating? - ✔✔Conformity to social roles
Sample of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔24 Male Student volunteers
Behaviour of "Guards" in Zimbardo's experiment - ✔✔Some were very aggressive
towards "inmates" and enforced the rules so tightly that any slipup was met with harsh
punishment. However, not all the guards were aggressive.
When taken away from the study, the "guards" returned to normal and were no longer
overly aggressive.
Ethical Issues with Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Informed Consent and deception- the
participants didn't know they would be taken from their houses
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
, 4|Page
Confidentiality- Participants were taken from their homes in full view of their
neighbours
Psychological and physical harm- Study had to be stopped after two days rather than
two weeks because of the "guards"
Right to Withdraw- "Inmates" believed they weren't able to leave
Strengths of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Well controlled- the roles were randomly assigned
to limit personality differences in the riles
Weakness of Zimbardo's study - ✔✔Ethical issues- (see above) gives psychology a bad
reputation
Demand Characteristics- One "guard" stated that he based his behaviour on the film
"Cool Hand Luke"
Zimbardo didn't distance himself from the experiment- he acted as super-intendant of
the guards and, therefore, didn't/couldn't control the behaviour of the "guards" and
protect the "inmates" from harm
Name of Milgram's study - ✔✔The Yale shock experiment
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
