Psychology paper 1 - 16 marker bank –
Social influence -
Describe and evaluate Asch’s research into conformity –
Plan –
A01 –
Baseline – conformed 38% to the wrong answer
Variables procedure and findings – some conclusions – Group size,
unanimity, task difficulty
A03 –
• Research support – lucas et al – easy or hard maths problems,
conformed more with harder problems. One variable has support.
• Counter – conformity is more complex, high confidence conformed
less. Ignored role of the individual.
• Artificial situation and task – why ? demand characteristics and lack
of resemblance to RL (lack of generalise and unaware of how
conformity works.
• Problems of generalisability continue – participants all white
American men. Problem other research suggests that women are
more conformist, and collectivists where community is more
important saw higher rates.
Asch looked into the extent to which people perform within his baseline
study later expanding on this when looking at variables affecting
conformity rates. These include, unanimity, group size, task difficulty.
Asch’s baseline procedure studied 123 male participants, each tested in a
group of confederates asked to identify the line which matched X, this was
a clear unambiguous task. He found that 36% of participants agreed with
the confederates wrong answer. This suggests that conformity regularly
occurs in order to fit in. He later went on to look at the variables tat could
affect conformity. He studied group size, by varying the group of
confederates from 1-15, he found that conformity increased with group
size, at 3 confederates rose to 31%. This suggests that people are very
sensitive to the views of others. He research into unamity introduced a
confederate who disagreed with the rest of the group, when they agreed
with ana alternate wrong answer conformity dropped to 9%, when agreed
with the correct answer conformity 5%. Suggests that influence relies on
the group being perceived as united. Research into task difficulty saw the
task become more ambiguous due to the changes in lines becoming
smaller. It was found conformity increased as the task became more
difficult, as people looked to other for guidance.
One strength of Asch’s research is that it is supported by other studies,
such as lucas et al. In this study participants were asked to complete
‘easy’ or ‘hard’ maths problems. This research found that people
conformed more often when the problems were harder. This suggests that
Asch was correct in claiming that task difficulty was a variable that affects
, conformity. However, lucas’ study found that conformity was more
complex tan asch assumed. Particpants with high confidence in there
mathematical abilities conformed significantly less on hard tasks than
those with low confidence. This highlights that individual factors can
influence conformity by interacting with situational varibales, which is
something that asch did not take into account and could have confounded
the results.
Furthermore Asch’s results can be deemed as confounded due to there
use of artificial material. Due to participant being aware that they were in
a study they may have simply acted in a way in which there thought was
expected. This is particularly the case as the task of identifying line is
rather trivial, and therefore there was no reason not to conform. Also,
according to other researchers the group of confederates did not
accurately represent the groups seen in society such as friend, family and
college, where the dynamic would be very different. This suggests that
Asch research may not be reflective of how conformity operates in
everyday life, and therefore lessens the generalisability of the research.
The problem of generalisability continues as Aschs research lies in his
sample of 123 white male American participants. This is a very narrow
sample and excludes other people of the population. For example further
research has suggests that women may more vulnerable to conformity as
they are more concerned with social acceptance. This is further evident
when comparing with conformist society such as china, where community
and acceptance of a group is prioritised over the individual. The failure to
consider gender and culture may have resulted in Asch underestimating
how much people conform, making his findings only relevant to white
american males.
Describe and evaluate informational and normative social influence as
explanations for conformity?
A01 –
ISI – cause internalisation
NSI – identification, compliance.
A03 –
Research support – Asch (NSI) Lucas et al(ISI)
Counter – hard to distinguish – Asch unanimity explanation.
Cant predict every case – individual differences (need affiliations)
It has been produced that there is a two process theory to explaining
conformity, through normative social influence(NSI) and informational
social influence (ISI).
NSI, is a cognitive process in which people want to avoid looking foolish or
out of place. It leads to a temporary change (compliance or identification)
in opinions or behaviour. This is most likely to occur in situations with
strangers due to worry over rejection, or with friends and the need for
social approval.
ISI is about who has the better information, this often occurs when we feel
the need to be right. For example, the class give an answer and you follow
Social influence -
Describe and evaluate Asch’s research into conformity –
Plan –
A01 –
Baseline – conformed 38% to the wrong answer
Variables procedure and findings – some conclusions – Group size,
unanimity, task difficulty
A03 –
• Research support – lucas et al – easy or hard maths problems,
conformed more with harder problems. One variable has support.
• Counter – conformity is more complex, high confidence conformed
less. Ignored role of the individual.
• Artificial situation and task – why ? demand characteristics and lack
of resemblance to RL (lack of generalise and unaware of how
conformity works.
• Problems of generalisability continue – participants all white
American men. Problem other research suggests that women are
more conformist, and collectivists where community is more
important saw higher rates.
Asch looked into the extent to which people perform within his baseline
study later expanding on this when looking at variables affecting
conformity rates. These include, unanimity, group size, task difficulty.
Asch’s baseline procedure studied 123 male participants, each tested in a
group of confederates asked to identify the line which matched X, this was
a clear unambiguous task. He found that 36% of participants agreed with
the confederates wrong answer. This suggests that conformity regularly
occurs in order to fit in. He later went on to look at the variables tat could
affect conformity. He studied group size, by varying the group of
confederates from 1-15, he found that conformity increased with group
size, at 3 confederates rose to 31%. This suggests that people are very
sensitive to the views of others. He research into unamity introduced a
confederate who disagreed with the rest of the group, when they agreed
with ana alternate wrong answer conformity dropped to 9%, when agreed
with the correct answer conformity 5%. Suggests that influence relies on
the group being perceived as united. Research into task difficulty saw the
task become more ambiguous due to the changes in lines becoming
smaller. It was found conformity increased as the task became more
difficult, as people looked to other for guidance.
One strength of Asch’s research is that it is supported by other studies,
such as lucas et al. In this study participants were asked to complete
‘easy’ or ‘hard’ maths problems. This research found that people
conformed more often when the problems were harder. This suggests that
Asch was correct in claiming that task difficulty was a variable that affects
, conformity. However, lucas’ study found that conformity was more
complex tan asch assumed. Particpants with high confidence in there
mathematical abilities conformed significantly less on hard tasks than
those with low confidence. This highlights that individual factors can
influence conformity by interacting with situational varibales, which is
something that asch did not take into account and could have confounded
the results.
Furthermore Asch’s results can be deemed as confounded due to there
use of artificial material. Due to participant being aware that they were in
a study they may have simply acted in a way in which there thought was
expected. This is particularly the case as the task of identifying line is
rather trivial, and therefore there was no reason not to conform. Also,
according to other researchers the group of confederates did not
accurately represent the groups seen in society such as friend, family and
college, where the dynamic would be very different. This suggests that
Asch research may not be reflective of how conformity operates in
everyday life, and therefore lessens the generalisability of the research.
The problem of generalisability continues as Aschs research lies in his
sample of 123 white male American participants. This is a very narrow
sample and excludes other people of the population. For example further
research has suggests that women may more vulnerable to conformity as
they are more concerned with social acceptance. This is further evident
when comparing with conformist society such as china, where community
and acceptance of a group is prioritised over the individual. The failure to
consider gender and culture may have resulted in Asch underestimating
how much people conform, making his findings only relevant to white
american males.
Describe and evaluate informational and normative social influence as
explanations for conformity?
A01 –
ISI – cause internalisation
NSI – identification, compliance.
A03 –
Research support – Asch (NSI) Lucas et al(ISI)
Counter – hard to distinguish – Asch unanimity explanation.
Cant predict every case – individual differences (need affiliations)
It has been produced that there is a two process theory to explaining
conformity, through normative social influence(NSI) and informational
social influence (ISI).
NSI, is a cognitive process in which people want to avoid looking foolish or
out of place. It leads to a temporary change (compliance or identification)
in opinions or behaviour. This is most likely to occur in situations with
strangers due to worry over rejection, or with friends and the need for
social approval.
ISI is about who has the better information, this often occurs when we feel
the need to be right. For example, the class give an answer and you follow
