1|Page
PSYCHOLOGY A LEVEL PAPER 1
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Define compliance - ✔✔Where you go along with the group in order to fit in even
when you don't believe in their view point, likely to be linked to NSI.
E.g. in the post-experiment discussions of Asch's study, most conforming participants
claimed to have went along with the wrong answer to avoid ridicule..
Define identification - ✔✔Adopting the views of a group both publicly and privately
because you value membership of that group. This is a stronger form of conformity,
temporary and is not maintained when individuals leave the group. For example, in the
army you may adopt the behaviour and beliefs of fellow soldiers, but on leaving the
army for civilian life, new behaviours and opinions will be adopted.
Define internalisation - ✔✔(True Conformity) Behaviour/belief of the majority is
accepted by the indivudal and becomes part of their own belief system. Lasts even
when the majority isn't present. Most likely to be linked to ISI.
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,2|Page
Define conformity - ✔✔The process of yielding to majority, when an individual is
influence by a majority group's views or behaviour
What are the different explanations for conformity? - ✔✔Informative Social Influence
(ISI)
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Variables affecting conformity (Investigated by Asch): Group size, Task Difficulty &
Unanimity
Describe normative social influence - ✔✔When a person conforms to be accepted and to
feel as though they belong to a group. This usually occurs when conformity is socially
rewarding or in order to avoid social rejection.
Provide research support for normative social influence. (& year) - ✔✔Asch (1955) A
line judgement test where the matching line was obvious. Over the 12 critical trials
(where the majority gave the clearly incorrect answer) 75% of participants conformed at
least once.
Study shows that as conformity occurred in a non-ambiguous situation, normative
influence was the only explanation for the levels of conformity seen here.
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,3|Page
Describe informational social influence - ✔✔Explains conformity that occurs out of a
desire to be right. Occurs in ambiguous situations where the correct answer or solution
or way to behave isn't clear.
Provide research support for informational social influence - ✔✔Jenness (1932)
Ambiguous situation where participants had to estimate the number of beans in the jar.
Found that. Individual estimates moved towards the estimates of others showing that
they privately believed the group estimate over their original one. Thus displaying
informational social influence.
Describe the procedure Asch's Original Research into Conformity. (1955) - ✔✔123 male
students
Participant answered last or 2nd to last to call out which of the three comparison lines
matched the standard line. Was only 1 true participant and other 6 were confederates.
Critical Trials: 12/18 trials where confederates provided the wrong answers.
How many participants took place in Asch's original study? - ✔✔123 American male
students
What year did Asch's original study take place? - ✔✔1955
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
, 4|Page
What was the task in Asch's original study? - ✔✔To say which comparison line, A,B or
C was the same as the stimulus line on 18 different trials
Describe the control group in Asch's original study? - ✔✔36 participants who were
tested individually on 20 trials, to test how accurate individual judgements were
What were the critical trials of Asch's original study? - ✔✔12 (out of 18 total trials) were
critical, which meant that the confederates gave identically wrong answers and the real
participants always answered last or second to last.
Describe the results of Asch's original study - ✔✔1. The control group had an error rate
of less than 1% demonstrates the obviousness of the answer
2. 32% conformity rate in the critical trials
3. 25% of participants never conformed at all
4. 5% of participants conformed every single time
What did the post-experiment discussions find in Asch's original study? - ✔✔- Majority
of conforming participants did so in order to avoid ridicule
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
PSYCHOLOGY A LEVEL PAPER 1
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
Define compliance - ✔✔Where you go along with the group in order to fit in even
when you don't believe in their view point, likely to be linked to NSI.
E.g. in the post-experiment discussions of Asch's study, most conforming participants
claimed to have went along with the wrong answer to avoid ridicule..
Define identification - ✔✔Adopting the views of a group both publicly and privately
because you value membership of that group. This is a stronger form of conformity,
temporary and is not maintained when individuals leave the group. For example, in the
army you may adopt the behaviour and beliefs of fellow soldiers, but on leaving the
army for civilian life, new behaviours and opinions will be adopted.
Define internalisation - ✔✔(True Conformity) Behaviour/belief of the majority is
accepted by the indivudal and becomes part of their own belief system. Lasts even
when the majority isn't present. Most likely to be linked to ISI.
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,2|Page
Define conformity - ✔✔The process of yielding to majority, when an individual is
influence by a majority group's views or behaviour
What are the different explanations for conformity? - ✔✔Informative Social Influence
(ISI)
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Variables affecting conformity (Investigated by Asch): Group size, Task Difficulty &
Unanimity
Describe normative social influence - ✔✔When a person conforms to be accepted and to
feel as though they belong to a group. This usually occurs when conformity is socially
rewarding or in order to avoid social rejection.
Provide research support for normative social influence. (& year) - ✔✔Asch (1955) A
line judgement test where the matching line was obvious. Over the 12 critical trials
(where the majority gave the clearly incorrect answer) 75% of participants conformed at
least once.
Study shows that as conformity occurred in a non-ambiguous situation, normative
influence was the only explanation for the levels of conformity seen here.
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
,3|Page
Describe informational social influence - ✔✔Explains conformity that occurs out of a
desire to be right. Occurs in ambiguous situations where the correct answer or solution
or way to behave isn't clear.
Provide research support for informational social influence - ✔✔Jenness (1932)
Ambiguous situation where participants had to estimate the number of beans in the jar.
Found that. Individual estimates moved towards the estimates of others showing that
they privately believed the group estimate over their original one. Thus displaying
informational social influence.
Describe the procedure Asch's Original Research into Conformity. (1955) - ✔✔123 male
students
Participant answered last or 2nd to last to call out which of the three comparison lines
matched the standard line. Was only 1 true participant and other 6 were confederates.
Critical Trials: 12/18 trials where confederates provided the wrong answers.
How many participants took place in Asch's original study? - ✔✔123 American male
students
What year did Asch's original study take place? - ✔✔1955
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
, 4|Page
What was the task in Asch's original study? - ✔✔To say which comparison line, A,B or
C was the same as the stimulus line on 18 different trials
Describe the control group in Asch's original study? - ✔✔36 participants who were
tested individually on 20 trials, to test how accurate individual judgements were
What were the critical trials of Asch's original study? - ✔✔12 (out of 18 total trials) were
critical, which meant that the confederates gave identically wrong answers and the real
participants always answered last or second to last.
Describe the results of Asch's original study - ✔✔1. The control group had an error rate
of less than 1% demonstrates the obviousness of the answer
2. 32% conformity rate in the critical trials
3. 25% of participants never conformed at all
4. 5% of participants conformed every single time
What did the post-experiment discussions find in Asch's original study? - ✔✔- Majority
of conforming participants did so in order to avoid ridicule
Katelyn Whitman© 2025, All Rights Reserved.
