2. Lesson Objectives
To outline Jenness’ (1932) research on conformity.
To outline and evaluate Asch’s (1951) research on conformity.
Specification: Explanations for conformity: informational social influence and normative
social influence
3. Jenness Recap
1. Outline the procedure of Jenness’ study? [What are the three
steps/stages in Jenness’ study?]
2. Outline the results of Jenness’ study?
3. Do Jenness’ results demonstrate ISI or NSI?
4. Do Jenness’ results demonstrate compliance, identification and
internalisation? Why?
4. Evaluating Asch (1951)
Task: Read the summary
of Asch’s experiment.
As a group, come up with
3-4 evaluation points
that could be used to
evaluate Asch’s study.
Hint: Consider method,
ethics and application to
everyday life…
5 Minutes
5. Evaluating Asch (1951)
Lacks ecological validity – uses an artificial task that does not represent everyday
examples (e.g. smoking/drinking) of conformity; this task had no real consequences.
Lacks population validity – the all male sample (gender bias) may not demonstrate
how females conform; the all American sample (culture bias) may not show us how
other cultures conform (e.g. individualistic/collectivist).
Lacks temporal validity – the study took place in 1951 and levels of conformity may
have changed in the last 60-70 years.
Highly controlled laboratory procedure – reduction in EVs; easier to replicate to test
for reliability; provides an interesting starting point for conformity research.
Possible ethical issues – the study deceived participants and placed them in a
potentially stressful environment.
6. Evaluating Asch
Task: Now select one of the points bullet-pointed and write one ‘perfect’
burger paragraph.
5 Minutes
We will hear two
evaluation
paragraphs in 5
minutes time.
7. TopBun
Point
Meat
EvidenceorExample
DoubleWhopper
Counter-ArgumentorI&D
BottomBun
Explain One issue with Asch’s study is that it lacks ecological validity.
This scenario would not happen in a real life example of
conformity. The participant was asked to choose the line
that was the same length as the model line after the
confederates had answered incorrectly.
This example is very artificial and does not represent everyday
examples, like smoking and drinking. Furthermore, this scenario
does not have any real consequences, whereas smoking and
drinking do. Therefore, another experiment is required related
to real-life examples of conformity to improve validity.
8. TopBun
Point
Meat
EvidenceorExample
DoubleWhopper
Counter-ArgumentorI&D
BottomBun
Explain Asch’ study lacks temporal validity.
This is shown by how the study is carried out in 1951.
This is therefore a dated study that occurred after a
major war. Therefore, due to the nature of this event
more people are likely to conform.
This is because war demanded an inclusive and coherent sense
of belonging to one group and belief. This is important because
it doesn’t allow generalisation to other cultures or attitudes
today. Therefore, further research is required to assess how the
population would conform dependent on the type of society.
9. TopBun
Point
Meat
EvidenceorExample
DoubleWhopper
Counter-ArgumentorI&D
BottomBun
Explain
One issue with the study is that it lacks population validity as it
consists of 123 all male, all American students.
Therefore, it is an example of gender bias, specifically alpha
bias as Asch assumed that women are equally likely to
conform. Additionally, culture bias is present and America is
known as being an individualistic culture, whereas other
cultures, such as Asia, maybe more likely to conform as they
are not as individualistic.
Therefore, we cannot be certain that the result of this
experiment can be applied to other cultures and genders,
so further research is required to determine how females
and non-American cultures would conform.
10. Application Essays
Joseph and Kate are two newly qualified teachers who recently joined
Christ the King College. Their colleagues are going on a one-day strike
due to pay and conditions. When Kate was asked why she went on
strike, she said, “After sitting in the staff room and hearing the
arguments from my colleagues, I realised they were right, and the
conditions are definitely getting worse for teachers”. When Joseph was
asked, he said, “I just fancied a day off and didn’t want to be the only
one sitting in the office alone, so I thought I would join everyone else”.
Discuss explanations of conformity. Refer to Joseph and Kate in your
answer. (16 marks)
Question: How do the two explanations of conformity apply to this
scenario?
11. Application Essay
Tasks: Read the essay and
highlight the AO1
(knowledge), AO2
(application) and AO3
(evaluation) in three
different colours.
Then, turn this essay into a
bullet point point/diagram
outlining the structure of
this essay.
Tasks:
Read the essay below and highlight the AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (application) and AO3 (evaluation) in
three different colours.
Then, turn this essay into a bullet point point/diagram outlining the structure of this essay.
Joseph and Kate are two newly qualified teachers who recently joined Christ the King College. Their
colleagues are going on a one-day strike due to pay and conditions. When Kate was asked why she
went on strike, she said, “After sitting in the staff room and hearing the arguments from my colleagues,
I realised they were right, and the conditions are definitely getting worse for teachers”. When Joseph
was asked, he said, “I just fancied a day off and didn’t want to be the only one sitting in the office
alone, so I thought I would join everyone else”.
Discuss explanations of conformity. Refer to Joseph and Kate in your answer.
(16 marks)
There are two key explanations of conformity: informational social influence
and normative social influence. Normative social influence (NSI) is when a
person conforms to be accepted and to feel like they belong to a group. Here a
person conforms because it is socially rewarding, or to avoid social rejection;
for example, feeling like they don’t ‘fit in’.
Asch’s (1956) study into conformity provides research support for NSI. He
found that many of the participants went along with the majority and
provided an obviously incorrect answer on a line judgement task. When
questioned by Asch in post-experimental interviews, participants said that
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group
which clearly shows that NSI had occurred, as the participants conformed to
fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when the pressure to publicly
conform is removed, by asking participants to write down their answers on a
piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the conformity rates fell to 12.5%.
This provides further evidence for NSI because the reduction in public
pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
Joseph is demonstrating NSI because he is conforming so that he isn’t alone
and so as to join in with everyone else. The extract doesn’t suggest that he
believes the strike is right, which would be linked to informational social
influence, and therefore he is conforming to be accepted and belong to the
group. Furthermore, Joseph is also demonstrating compliance, where he is
only changing his public behaviour, but not his private believes in the short-
term.
However, NSI is not the only reason that people conform and some people
12. AO1, AO2, AO3
There are two key explanations of conformity: informational social influence
and normative social influence. Normative social influence (NSI) is when a
person conforms to be accepted and to feel like they belong to a group. Here
a person conforms because it is socially rewarding, or to avoid social
rejection; for example, feeling like they don’t ‘fit in’.
Asch’s (1956) study into conformity provides research support for NSI. He
found that many of the participants went along with the majority and
provided an obviously incorrect answer on a line judgement task. When
questioned by Asch in post-experimental interviews, participants said that
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group
which clearly shows that NSI had occurred, as the participants conformed to
fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when the pressure to publicly
conform is removed, by asking participants to write down their answers on a
piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the conformity rates fell to 12.5%.
This provides further evidence for NSI because the reduction in public
pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
13. AO1, AO2, AO3
There are two key explanations of conformity: informational social influence
and normative social influence. Normative social influence (NSI) is when a
person conforms to be accepted and to feel like they belong to a group. Here
a person conforms because it is socially rewarding, or to avoid social
rejection; for example, feeling like they don’t ‘fit in’.
Asch’s (1956) study into conformity provides research support for NSI. He
found that many of the participants went along with the majority and
provided an obviously incorrect answer on a line judgement task. When
questioned by Asch in post-experimental interviews, participants said that
they changed their answer to avoid disapproval from the rest of the group
which clearly shows that NSI had occurred, as the participants conformed to
fit in. Furthermore, Asch demonstrated that when the pressure to publicly
conform is removed, by asking participants to write down their answers on a
piece of paper rather than say them aloud, the conformity rates fell to 12.5%.
This provides further evidence for NSI because the reduction in public
pressure reduced the rate of conformity.
14. AO1, AO2, AO3
Joseph is demonstrating NSI because he is conforming so that he isn’t alone
and so as to join in with everyone else. The extract doesn’t suggest that he
believes the strike is right, which would be linked to informational social
influence, and therefore he is conforming to be accepted and belong to the
group. Furthermore, Joseph is also demonstrating compliance, where he is
only changing his public behaviour, but not his private believes in the short-
term.
However, NSI is not the only reason that people conform and some people
conform for informational reasons. Informational Social Influence (ISI) is when
a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone
else is ‘right’. ISI is usually associated with internalisation, where a person
changes both their public behaviour and their private beliefs, on a long-term
basis. This semi-permanent change in behaviour and belief is the result of a
person adopting a new belief system, because they genuinely believe that
their new beliefs are ‘right’ or that the majority are ‘experts’.
15. AO1, AO2, AO3
Joseph is demonstrating NSI because he is conforming so that he isn’t alone
and so as to join in with everyone else. The extract doesn’t suggest that he
believes the strike is right, which would be linked to informational social
influence, and therefore he is conforming to be accepted and belong to the
group. Furthermore, Joseph is also demonstrating compliance, where he is
only changing his public behaviour, but not his private believes in the short-
term.
However, NSI is not the only reason that people conform and some people
conform for informational reasons. Informational Social Influence (ISI) is when
a person conforms to gain knowledge, or because they believe that someone
else is ‘right’. ISI is usually associated with internalisation, where a person
changes both their public behaviour and their private beliefs, on a long-term
basis. This semi-permanent change in behaviour and belief is the result of a
person adopting a new belief system, because they genuinely believe that
their new beliefs are ‘right’ or that the majority are ‘experts’.
16. AO1, AO2, AO3
Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were
asked to initially make independent judgements about the number of jelly
beans contained in a jar and then discuss their estimates in a group. Following
the discussion, participants then made another individual private estimate.
Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group
estimate and that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will
occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous situations as the participants believe that they
gain knowledge from the group and are now more likely to be right.
Kate is demonstrating ISI because she is conforming because she believes
someone else (her colleagues) are right. The extract states: “I realised they
were right, and the conditions are definitely getting worse for teachers”.
Furthermore, Kate is also demonstrating internalisation as she has changed
her public behaviour (by going on strike) and her private beliefs (‘I believe
they are right’) which is likely to result in a long-term semi-permanent change
in behaviour.
17. AO1, AO2, AO3
Jenness (1932) provides research support for the role of ISI. Participants were
asked to initially make independent judgements about the number of jelly
beans contained in a jar and then discuss their estimates in a group. Following
the discussion, participants then made another individual private estimate.
Jenness found that this second private estimate moved closer to the group
estimate and that females typically conformed more. This shows that ISI will
occur in unfamiliar, ambiguous situations as the participants believe that they
gain knowledge from the group and are now more likely to be right.
Kate is demonstrating ISI because she is conforming because she believes
someone else (her colleagues) are right. The extract states: “I realised they
were right, and the conditions are definitely getting worse for teachers”.
Furthermore, Kate is also demonstrating internalisation as she has changed
her public behaviour (by going on strike) and her private beliefs (‘I believe
they are right’) which is likely to result in a long-term semi-permanent change
in behaviour.
18. Link to compliance
Joseph ‘didn’t want
to be the only
one…’
AO1: Normative Social
Influence
Asch (1951)
Unambiguous task
Compliance
AO3: Research
Support
Discuss explanations for conformity. Refer to Joseph and Kate as part of your discussion.
[16]
Link to
internalisation
Kate ‘realised they
were right’
AO1: Informational
Social Influence
Jenness (1932)
Ambiguous task
Internalisation
AO3: Research
Support
NSI
Results support
Joseph’s reasons
AO2: Application to
Joseph
ISI
Results support
Kate’s decision.
AO2: Application to
Kate
19. Quick Fire Questions
1. Outline the procedure of Jenness’ study? [What are the three
steps/stages in Jenness’ study?]
2. Outline the results of Jenness’ study?
3. Do Jenness’ results demonstrate ISI or NSI?
4. Do Jenness’ results demonstrate compliance, identification and
internalisation? Why?
5. How many participants took part in Asch’s experiment?
6. Outline Asch’s procedure?
7. Why did Asch deceive his participants?
8. How many critical trials were there in Asch’s experiment?
9. What was the average conformity rate in Asch’s experiment?
10. What percentage of participants conformed at least once?
11. What percentage of participants never conform?
12. Do Asch’s results demonstrate ISI or NSI? Why?
