AQA Psychology A-level Notes

Topic 1: Social Influence

Part 1: Types of Conformity and Explanations for Conformity

• Conformity: Yielding to group pressures, a change in behavior/opinion due to real/imagined pressure.
• Types of Conformity (Kelman):
  • Internalisation: Permanent change in beliefs/behavior (strongest form).
  • Identification: Temporary change in presence of a group.
  • Compliance: Public agreement, private disagreement (weakest form).
• Informational Social Influence (ISI): Conforming to be right; leads to internalization.
• Normative Social Influence (NSI): Conforming to be liked; leads to compliance.
• Evidence:
  • Fein et al.: Voter influence due to ISI.
  • Garandeau & Cillissen: NSI linked to bullying.

Part 2: Variables Affecting Conformity

• Asch's Study:
  • 123 male American undergraduates; influence of majority on conformity.
  • Key findings: 36.8% conformed; task difficulty, group size, and unanimity affected conformity.
• Factors:
  • Group Size: Influence increases with a group of at least three.
  • Unanimity: Conformity reduced with dissenting opinions.
  • Task Difficulty: Increased conformity when tasks are difficult.

Part 3: Conformity to Social Roles (Zimbardo)

• Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment:
  • 24 male students in a simulated prison; roles of guards and prisoners.
  • Rapid adoption of roles; ethical concerns raised.
• Evaluation:
  • Real-life applications (prison reforms).
  • Ethical implications of deception and psychological harm.

Part 4: Explanations for Obedience

• Agentic State: Shifting responsibility to authority, leading to obedience.
• Legitimacy of Authority: Credible authority figures lead to obedience.
• Situational Factors: Influence obedience (appearance, location, proximity).
• Milgram’s Study:
  • Impact of authority on willingness to administer shocks.
  • Factors affecting obedience: proximity, location, and uniform.

Part 5: Variables Affecting Obedience

• Milgram's Variations:
  • Proximity, location, and uniform affect obedience levels.
• Evaluation:
  • Ethical issues of deception and psychological harm.
  • Real-life applications and high internal validity.

Part 6: Dispositional Explanations for Obedience

• Authoritarian Personality (Adorno):
  • Links personality traits to obedience; measured by F-scale.
• Critiques:
  • Methodological issues with F-scale and limited ecological validity.

Part 7: Resistance to Social Influence

• Locus of Control (Rotter):
  • Internal vs. external locus; internal linked to less conformity.
• Social Support:
  • Presence of dissent reduces conformity and obedience.
  • Evidence from variations of Milgram’s study and Gamson et al.

Part 8: Minority Influence

• Moscovici’s Study:
  • Role of consistency, commitment, and flexibility in minority influence.
• Evaluation:
  • Consistency is crucial; real-life applications.
  • Criticisms of ecological validity due to artificial tasks.

Part 9: Social Influence Processes in Social Change

• Mechanisms:
  • Minority influence, internal locus of control,
  • Triggers a snowball effect leading to widespread social change.
• Critiques:
  • Slow process, influenced by societal stereotypes and resistance.
  • Limited effectiveness of minority influence alone.