What you'll learn
This topic examines how people change their behaviour to fit in with others. You'll explore the different types of conformity, understand why people conform through normative and informational social influence, and analyse Asch's classic research. You'll also evaluate factors that affect conformity rates and apply these concepts to everyday situations.
Key terms and definitions
Conformity — changing your behaviour or opinions to match those of other people in a group, due to real or imagined group pressure.
Compliance — a type of conformity where a person publicly changes their behaviour to fit in with the group, while privately disagreeing. This is a temporary and superficial change.
Identification — conforming to the behaviour of a group because membership of that group is desirable, even when the group is not present. The person values group membership.
Internalisation — a deep type of conformity where a person genuinely accepts the group's beliefs as their own, both publicly and privately. This change is permanent.
Normative social influence (NSI) — conforming to be liked, accepted or to avoid rejection by the group. People conform to fit in socially, even when they know the group may be wrong.
Informational social influence (ISI) — conforming because you believe others know better than you, especially in ambiguous or unfamiliar situations. People conform to be right.
Social norms — unwritten rules about how to behave in particular social situations. These guide behaviour and create pressure to conform.
Group size — the number of people in a group, which affects conformity rates; larger groups generally increase conformity up to a certain point.
Core concepts
Types of conformity
There are three main types of conformity that differ in depth and permanence:
Compliance is the most superficial form. A person goes along with the group publicly but maintains their own private views. For example, a student might laugh at a joke they don't find funny because everyone else is laughing. The conformity stops when the group pressure is removed. This type is temporary and doesn't involve any real change in beliefs.
Identification occurs when someone conforms because they value membership of the group and want to be part of it. They adopt the group's attitudes and behaviours while they're a member, even when not in the group's presence. For instance, a teenager might adopt the dress style of their friendship group because they identify with them. This is stronger than compliance but may change if the person leaves the group.
Internalisation is the deepest type of conformity. The person genuinely accepts the group view as correct and changes both their public behaviour and private beliefs permanently. If someone is unsure about climate change but conforms to their family's environmentally conscious lifestyle, they might genuinely internalise these values and maintain them even when away from family. This type persists even without group pressure.
Explanations for conformity
Two key theories explain why people conform:
Normative Social Influence (NSI) is driven by the fundamental human need to be liked and accepted. People conform to gain social approval or avoid rejection, embarrassment or ridicule. This explanation works on an emotional level—the fear of standing out or being different.
NSI is more likely when:
- The person is with friends or people they want to impress
- The group is unanimous (everyone agrees)
- The person must respond publicly rather than privately
- The situation involves strangers who may judge the person
NSI typically leads to compliance rather than internalisation because the person doesn't actually change their mind—they just change their public behaviour to fit in. A student might pretend to like a popular musician to avoid being mocked, even though they privately dislike that music.
Informational Social Influence (ISI) is based on the desire to be correct. People look to others for information about how to think or behave, especially in ambiguous situations where the right answer isn't clear. This explanation works on a cognitive level—people assume others have better information.
ISI is more likely when:
- The situation is ambiguous or unclear
- The person is in an unfamiliar situation
- There is a crisis requiring quick decisions
- Other people are perceived as experts
ISI typically leads to internalisation because the person genuinely believes the group is correct and changes their actual opinion. A new student might observe which door everyone uses to enter the canteen and follow them, genuinely believing that's the correct entrance.
Asch's research into conformity
Solomon Asch (1951, 1956) conducted groundbreaking research that demonstrated the power of conformity in unambiguous situations.
The procedure: Asch used a line judgement task where participants had to match a standard line to one of three comparison lines. The correct answer was always obvious. Participants were tested in groups of 7-9, but only one was a genuine participant—the others were confederates (actors instructed by Asch). Participants answered out loud in a predetermined order, with the real participant answering second-to-last. On 12 out of 18 trials (critical trials), confederates gave identical wrong answers to test if the real participant would conform.
The findings:
- On critical trials, participants conformed to the wrong answer 36.8% of the time
- 75% of participants conformed at least once
- 25% never conformed
- In control trials with no confederates, error rates were less than 1%
When interviewed afterwards, most participants who conformed said they knew the group answer was wrong but went along to avoid standing out—demonstrating compliance driven by NSI.
Evaluation strengths:
- Laboratory experiment with high control over variables, allowing clear cause-and-effect conclusions about group pressure
- Standardised procedure that could be replicated to test reliability
- Unambiguous task meant any conformity couldn't be explained by uncertainty about the correct answer
Evaluation limitations:
- Artificial task lacking ecological validity—line judgement doesn't reflect real-world conformity situations where consequences are more significant
- Sample bias—used only American male students during the 1950s, limiting generalisability to women, other cultures, and modern populations
- Ethical issues—participants were deceived about the true purpose and experienced stress when their perceptions conflicted with the group
- Temporal validity concerns—conducted in 1950s America, a conformist era; rates may differ in modern individualist society
Factors affecting conformity
Research has identified several variables that increase or decrease conformity rates:
Group size: Asch found conformity increased with group size, but only up to a point. With one confederate, conformity was 3%. With two confederates, it rose to 13%. With three confederates, it reached 32%. Beyond three, adding more confederates made little difference. This suggests a small majority is sufficient to create pressure to conform, but very large groups don't increase pressure proportionally.
Unanimity: When the group's answer is unanimous (everyone agrees), conformity is highest. Asch found that breaking unanimity dramatically reduced conformity. When one confederate gave a different wrong answer or the correct answer, conformity dropped to 5.5%. This shows that having an ally—even one who disagrees differently—gives people confidence to resist group pressure. The single dissenter breaks the group's power.
Task difficulty: When Asch made line differences smaller and judgements harder, conformity increased. This is because ambiguous situations trigger ISI—people genuinely doubt their own judgement and look to others for information. In unclear situations, we're more likely to think others know better than we do.
Cultural differences: Research comparing conformity across cultures shows variations. Collectivist cultures (emphasising group harmony, e.g., China, Japan) show higher conformity rates than individualist cultures (emphasising independence, e.g., UK, USA). Smith and Bond's (1996) meta-analysis found conformity averaged 25% in individualist cultures versus 37% in collectivist cultures, suggesting cultural norms shape how much pressure people feel to conform.
Individual differences: Personal characteristics affect conformity:
- Self-esteem: People with lower self-esteem conform more
- Gender: Early research suggested women conform more, but this reflected topics chosen; modern research shows minimal gender differences when topic familiarity is controlled
- Expertise: People with greater knowledge or confidence in an area conform less
Worked examples
Example 1: Describe one type of conformity. (3 marks)
Model answer: Internalisation is when a person genuinely accepts the group's opinion as correct (1 mark). They change both their public behaviour and their private beliefs to match the group (1 mark). This is a permanent change that continues even when the group is no longer present, because the person truly believes the group view is right (1 mark).
Examiner guidance: For 3-mark "describe" questions, provide three distinct points. Include the definition, key characteristics, and an elaboration showing depth of understanding.
Example 2: Explain the difference between normative social influence and informational social influence. (4 marks)
Model answer: Normative social influence (NSI) is when people conform to be liked and accepted by the group (1 mark), whereas informational social influence (ISI) is when people conform because they believe others are correct (1 mark). NSI is driven by emotional concerns about social approval and typically leads to compliance without changing private opinions (1 mark), while ISI is driven by cognitive uncertainty and typically leads to internalisation because the person genuinely accepts the group view (1 mark).
Examiner guidance: "Explain the difference" requires explicit comparison. Use "whereas" or "while" to show contrast. Aim for two points about each concept that highlight their differences.
Example 3: Evaluate Asch's research into conformity. (6 marks)
Model answer: One strength is that Asch used a controlled laboratory experiment, which allowed him to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship between group pressure and conformity (1 mark). By keeping all variables constant except the confederates' answers, he could confidently conclude that group pressure caused conformity (1 mark).
However, a limitation is low ecological validity because the line judgement task was artificial and doesn't reflect real-world conformity situations (1 mark). In real life, conformity decisions often have more significant consequences than getting a line judgement wrong, so we cannot generalise these findings to everyday situations (1 mark).
Another limitation is sample bias, as Asch only used American male students from the 1950s (1 mark). This means the findings may not apply to women, other cultures, or people in modern society, particularly as conformity rates may have changed over time and vary between individualist and collectivist cultures (1 mark).
Examiner guidance: For 6-mark evaluation questions, provide three well-developed points (strength or limitation). Each point needs: (1) identify the issue clearly, and (2) explain why it matters or its implications. Use appropriate terminology like "ecological validity," "generalisability," and "temporal validity."
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Confusing compliance with internalisation: Remember compliance is superficial and public only (like pretending to agree), while internalisation involves genuine belief change. Use clear examples to distinguish them.
Mixing up NSI and ISI: NSI = conforming to be liked (emotional/social motivation); ISI = conforming to be right (cognitive/informational motivation). Link NSI to compliance and ISI to internalisation to remember the connection.
Describing Asch's study without evaluation: If a question asks you to evaluate, don't just describe the procedure and findings. Focus on strengths (control, replication) and limitations (ecological validity, sample bias, ethics, temporal validity).
Not explaining why factors affect conformity: Don't just state "group size increases conformity." Explain why: larger groups create more social pressure, but beyond 3-4 people, the effect plateaus because additional people don't add meaningful extra pressure.
Using vague evaluation points: Avoid "the study isn't realistic." Instead, use precise terminology: "The study has low ecological validity because the artificial line task doesn't reflect conformity decisions in everyday life where stakes are higher."
Forgetting to apply knowledge: When questions ask you to apply conformity concepts to scenarios, explicitly link the scenario details to specific concepts (e.g., "This shows NSI because the person wants to avoid rejection by their friends").
Exam technique for "Social Influence: Conformity"
Know your command words: "Describe" = provide characteristics/features without evaluation. "Explain" = provide reasons/causes showing how/why. "Evaluate" = strengths and limitations with elaboration. "Outline" = brief description without detail. "Discuss" = description plus evaluation.
Structure extended answers clearly: For 6-mark questions, use three well-developed paragraphs (each making one point). Start each paragraph with a clear point identifier: "One strength is..." or "However, a limitation is..." Follow with explanation of why it matters.
Use examples effectively: Generic examples ("someone might conform") are acceptable, but specific, contextual examples show better understanding. Link examples explicitly to the concept: "This demonstrates compliance because..."
Match detail to marks: 1-mark questions need brief, focused answers. 3-4 mark questions need elaboration. 6-mark questions need detailed explanation with appropriate terminology. Don't waste time over-explaining low-mark questions.
Quick revision summary
Conformity involves changing behaviour to match others. Three types exist: compliance (public change only), identification (conforming to valued groups), and internalisation (genuine belief change). People conform due to normative social influence (to be liked) or informational social influence (to be correct). Asch's line studies demonstrated that 36.8% of responses conformed to obviously wrong answers, showing the power of group pressure. Conformity increases with group size (up to 3-4 people), unanimity, and task difficulty, and varies across cultures and individuals.