Detailed Revision Notes of the Memory topic of AQA A-Level Psychology produced by me using both the textbook and class notes. Has both the AO1 and AO3 needed to gain top marks.
Includes: TYPES AND EXPLANATIONS OF CONFORMITY, CONFORMITY: ASCH’S RESEARCH, CONFORMITY: ZIMBARDO’S RESEARCH, OBEDIEN...
AQA Psychology a level summary notes- Research Methods
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Psychology
Social Influence
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Social Influence
TYPES AND EXPLANATIONS OF CONFORMITY
TYPES OF CONFORMITY
Conformity: When we adjust our behaviours & beliefs to match with the majority.
Compliance: When people alter their public behaviour but privately do not agree.
Identification: When you temporarily change your opinion (lasts as long as you’re a member of group)
Internalisation: When you go along with a behaviour as believe it is correct: public and private change
in public opinion.
EXPLANATIONS FOR CONFORMITY
Normative Social Influence (NSI)When people change behaviour publicly in order to be accepted or
liked, but privately do not (emotional process)
AO3 PARAGRAPHS (NSI)
P- A strength of NSI as an explanation for conformity is that there is supporting research.
E- For example, Schultz et al in 2008 found that they were able to change the behaviour of hotel
guests by using printed messages encouraging them to save energy. The messages suggesting other
guests were using fewer towels were most successful
E-This suggests that NSI influenced the behaviour of guests as they want to go along with the
behaviour as it is accepted. This also shows, that people do not have to be in the presence of people
carrying out a behaviour but simply be told they are doing it and they will be influenced.
L- Therefore, proving that NSI can be used to an advantage, in this case to help the environment.
P- A limitation of NSI was shown in the research by McGhee and Teevan in 1967
E- They found that students who were Affiliators (have a greater need for social relationships) were
more likely to conform. This shows that the desire to be liked underlies conformity for some people
more than others.
E- This is a limitation because Affiliators are more likely to look for guidance and follow those they
want to be liked by rather than the majority.
L- Therefore, proving that NSI does not explain conformity in every situation.
P- A strength of NSI is that there have been real life examples.
E- For example, in the Nanking massacre in 1937, the Japanese went along with the group majority to
fit in with the social norm showing NSI.
E- This suggests that people change their opinions even if it is something which is harmful to others.
L- Therefore, proving that NSI can influence people to conform on an extreme level and shows that it
occurs in real life, not just in a lab.
Informational Social Influence (ISI)When the minority group would look towards the majority group
when they are unsure of how to behave as they believe that the majority is right (behaviour is
internalised as believe majority is right so their private opinion changes)
AO3 PARAGRAPHS (ISI)
P- A strength of ISI is that there is supporting research
E- For example, Sheriff in 1935 carried out research where pps were asked to estimate how far the
dot of light in a dark room moved. He found that the Columbia University students changed their
responses in the presence of others.
E- This shows that when a task is ambiguous, people look to the rest of the group for guidance and
believe that the majority is right, and their private opinion will change as well as their public.
L- Therefore, proving that ISI has an impact on decision making specifically for ambiguous tasks.
, P- Another supporting study of ISI was conducted by Lucas et al. (2006).
E- They found that when students were given harder maths questions to answer they conformed
more.
E- This suggests that when people are unsure in themselves of their decision and what is right/wrong
they look to other members of the group and assume they are right.
L- Therefore, showing ISI causes people to take other people’s answers over their own because they
assume, they are right.
P- A further supporting study of ISI is Asch’s.
E- He found that conformity increased when the difficulty of the task increased.
E- This shows that people look to others for guidance and are influenced more when the task is more
difficult because they are less sure in themselves and their answer.
L- Therefore, this shows people are less independent and look to others for help when they are not
certain themselves.
CONFORMITY: ASCH’S RESEARCH
AIM: To investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to
conform
PROCEDURES:
123 male students (1951)
Naïve participant in a room with 7 actors thinking they were other participants
Shown a standard line and then asked to choose which line (A B or C) was the same length
Each person stated aloud which line was the correct size with the actors choosing a particular wrong
one
FINDINGS:
Pps conformed 36.8%
75% conformed at least once
o 25% never conformed
CONCLUSIONS:
They were interviewed after and said they conformed due to the fear of being ridiculed and rejected
(NSI)
FACTORS AFFECTING CONFORMITY:
Group size:
the larger the group (majority), the more influence it will have (up to three confederates).
The unanimity of the majority:
If the majority is not in agreement, conformity decreases (Asch found it decreased by 25%)
The difficulty of the task:
When the task is more difficult, conformity increases
AO3 PARAGRAPHS
P- A strength of Asch’s research is that there is supporting evidence
E- For example Schultz et al in 2008 found that they were able to change the behaviour of hotel guests
by using printed messages suggesting other hotel guests were being environmentally friendly by
using less towels and caused the guests to do the same.
E- This suggests that due to being told that other hotel guests were being environmentally friendly,
the guests conformed as to not be different.
L- This supports Asch’s study because both experiments tested if people were influenced by other
people who were in the same situation, in both cases they were.
P- One limitation of Asch’s study is that it may lack temporal validity.
E- This is an issue because the study was carried out in conformist times where people were more
likely to conform, and nowadays it’s a more equal society so people aren’t afraid to be different.
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