PS6: Social Influence
How others affect our behaviour: conformity, obedience, and the factors that increase or decrease social influence. Key studies by Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo.
Social Influence
How others affect our behaviour: conformity, obedience, and the factors that increase or decrease social influence. Key studies by Asch, Milgram and Zimbardo.
Key Fact: Conformity is changing your behaviour or beliefs to fit in with a group. Internalisation: genuinely accepting group norms (deep, lasting change). Identification: adopting group behaviour to gain membership. Compliance: going along publicly but not privately changing.
Key Fact: Asch's (1951) line conformity experiment: 75% of participants conformed at least once, giving a clearly wrong answer. Conformity increased with group size (up to 3) and unanimity, but decreased with a dissenting partner.
Key Fact: Milgram's (1963) obedience study: 65% of participants delivered the maximum 450V shock when instructed by an authority figure. Obedience increased with proximity of authority, legitimacy of the institution, and uniform.
Key Fact: Zimbardo's (1973) Stanford Prison Experiment: participants assigned as guards became abusive; prisoners became passive and distressed. The study showed how social roles can alter behaviour dramatically. Terminated after 6 days.
Key Fact: Factors affecting conformity: group size, task difficulty (harder tasks increase informational conformity), unanimity. Factors affecting obedience: proximity, location, uniform, buffers, and seeing others disobey.
📋 Key Vocabulary and Concepts
For Social Influence, you must know:
- Conformity
- Internalisation
- Identification
- Compliance
- Obedience
- Authority
- Social roles
- Group size
- Unanimity
- Dissenting partner
- Informational social influence
- Normative social influence
❓ Practice Questions
Q1: Describe Asch's conformity experiment and evaluate its methodology.
Q2: Explain why people obey authority, referring to Milgram's research.
Q3: Evaluate the ethical issues in Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment.
✅ Answers
- Asch showed 75% conformed at least once in a clearly wrong line-judgement task. Strengths: controlled, replicable, established key variables (group size, unanimity). Limitations: artificial task (low ecological validity), historically and culturally bound (1950s America), ethical issues (deception, stress).
- People obey because: agentic state (people see themselves as agents executing orders), legitimacy of authority (uniform, institution), gradual commitment (each 15V increment is small), buffers (physical distance from the learner). Milgram showed that ordinary people can commit harmful acts when instructed by authority.
- Zimbardo's SPE raises serious ethical concerns: participants suffered emotional distress; lack of fully informed consent; Zimbardo acted as superintendent rather than researcher, losing objectivity; no right to withdraw initially. However, the study revealed powerful insights about how social roles influence behaviour.
🎯 Exam Tips
- Conformity types: IIC - Internalisation (deepest), Identification (middle), Compliance (shallowest).
- Asch = conformity (peer pressure). Milgram = obedience (authority). Zimbardo = social roles.
- Dissenting partner reduces conformity dramatically - one person standing up makes it easier for others.
📝 Exam Technique
Psychology Exam Tips:
When evaluating social influence studies, always consider: ecological validity, cultural and historical bias, ethics, and real-world applications.
When evaluating social influence studies, always consider: ecological validity, cultural and historical bias, ethics, and real-world applications.
⚠️ Common Errors
Watch Out!
Students often make mistakes here. Wrong: People conform because they genuinely believe the group is right in every situation. Correct: People conform for different reasons depending on the situation: normative social influence (to fit in - leads to compliance) operates when the answer is obvious; informational social influence (because they believe the group knows better - leads to internalisation) operates when the situation is ambiguous.
✍️ Model Answer
Full-Mark Response
Evaluate whether Milgram's research on obedience still has relevance today.
A grade 9 response will: describe Milgram's findings (65% obeyed to 450V); explain factors affecting obedience; evaluate methodology; discuss modern relevance (Burger 2009 found similar obedience with ethical safeguards; Hofling et al 1966 found real nurses obeyed unrealistic orders); conclude: Milgram's core finding - that ordinary people can obey harmful instructions - remains relevant.
📊 AO Deep Dive
Assessment Objective Focus: Social Influence
AO1 — Knowledge: Demonstrate knowledge of Social Influence including key definitions, research studies and psychological terminology.
AO2 — Application: Apply your understanding of Social Influence to real-world scenarios and given contexts. Use research evidence to support your points.
AO3 — Analysis & Evaluation: Evaluate psychological theories and studies related to Social Influence, considering methodological strengths and weaknesses, and reaching a balanced conclusion.
📝 Exam Questions by Topic
🎬 Video Resources
Detailed Notes
Key Studies and Theories in Social Influence
Social Influence is a core topic in GCSE Psychology that requires understanding of key studies, theories and research methods. The AQA, OCR and Edexcel specifications all require you to know specific studies in detail, evaluate their methodology, and apply psychological concepts to real-life scenarios. When studying social influence, focus on: the aims, methods, results and conclusions of key studies; the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods used; and how psychological understanding of social influence applies to everyday life.
Key studies in this area typically use specific research methods such as experiments, observations, self-report (questionnaires and interviews), or correlational analysis. When evaluating studies, consider: reliability (can the study be replicated?); validity (does it measure what it claims to measure?); ethics (were participants protected from harm?); generalisability (can the findings be applied beyond the study sample?); and usefulness (does the research have practical applications?).
GCSE Psychology emphasises the application of psychological knowledge to real contexts. You must be able to explain how understanding of social influence can be used to improve people’s lives, influence policy, or solve practical problems.
GCSE Example: Key Studies and Theories in Social Influence
When writing about a study related to social influence, use the AMRC format: Aim (what was the study trying to find out?), Method (how was it conducted — design, sample, procedure?), Results (what were the key findings?), Conclusions (what do the results mean?).
Evaluating Research in Social Influence
Evaluation is a crucial skill in GCSE Psychology. When evaluating studies related to social influence, use the GRAVE method: Generalisability (can the findings be applied to the wider population?), Reliability (are the results consistent if the study is repeated?), Applications (how can the findings be used in real life?), Validity (does the study measure what it claims to measure?), and Ethics (were participants treated ethically?).
Research methods commonly used in social influence research include: laboratory experiments (high control but low ecological validity), field experiments (more realistic but less control), natural experiments (no manipulation of variables), case studies (in-depth but not generalisable), questionnaires (large samples but social desirability bias), and observations (natural behaviour but ethical concerns). Each method has strengths and limitations that must be evaluated in context.
Ethical issues in social influence research include: informed consent (participants must agree to take part), debriefing (explaining the true purpose after the study), confidentiality (protecting participants’ identities), protection from harm (no physical or psychological damage), and right to withdraw (participants can leave at any time). The BPS Code of Conduct governs ethical standards in UK psychological research.
GCSE Example: Evaluating Research in Social Influence
When evaluating Milgram’s obedience study, you might note: low generalisability (all male, American sample); high reliability (standardised procedure with 65% obedience rate); useful applications (understanding wartime atrocities); low ecological validity (artificial laboratory setting); and serious ethical concerns (deception, psychological distress).
Applying Social Influence to Real Life
GCSE Psychology requires you to apply psychological understanding of social influence to everyday situations. Consider how the theories and studies you have learned about explain real behaviour: How does social influence affect people in schools, workplaces, families and communities? What interventions or strategies could improve outcomes based on psychological evidence?
When applying social influence to real-life scenarios, use the following structure: identify the relevant psychological concept, explain how it applies to the scenario, support your explanation with evidence from a named study, and evaluate the strength of the application (are there limitations or alternative explanations?).
The most effective GCSE Psychology answers show a clear link between theory, evidence and application. Avoid vague statements like ‘psychology can help’ — instead, specify which psychological concept applies, which study supports it, and exactly how it could be used in the given scenario.
GCSE Example: Applying Social Influence to Real Life
A strong application answer: ‘Understanding of social influence could help in schools by [specific application]. This is supported by [named study] which found that [specific finding]. This means that [specific practical recommendation]. However, a limitation is [specific weakness of applying this research].’
Comparison Table
| Evaluation Criterion | What It Means | How to Assess It |
|---|---|---|
| Generalisability | Can findings apply beyond the sample? | Consider sample size, representativeness, culture |
| Reliability | Are results consistent if repeated? | Standardised procedures, replicability |
| Validity | Does it measure what it claims? | Ecological validity, construct validity |
| Ethics | Were participants protected? | Consent, debriefing, protection from harm |
| Applications | Is the research useful? | Practical implications, real-world relevance |
Additional Practice Questions
Q: Describe one study related to social influence and evaluate its methodology using the GRAVE method.
A: A key study in social influence investigated [aim] using [method] with [sample]. The results showed [key finding], leading to the conclusion that [interpretation]. Evaluation: Generalisability — limited by [sample issue]; Reliability — strengthened by [standardisation]; Applications — useful for [practical application]; Validity — limited by [validity concern]; Ethics — problematic because [ethical issue]. Overall, the study makes a valuable contribution but has limitations that should be considered when applying the findings.
Q: Explain how psychological understanding of social influence could be applied to improve a real-life situation.
A: Understanding of social influence can be applied to improve [specific situation]. Research by [named psychologist] found that [key finding], which suggests that [practical recommendation]. For example, in a school context, this understanding could lead to [specific intervention] which would benefit people by [specific improvement]. However, individual differences mean that not everyone will respond the same way, so a personalised approach may be needed.
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