Social influence overview: how to study the AQA GCSE Psychology social influence topic

This overview maps the AQA GCSE Psychology social influence topic (3.5), examined in Paper 2, Social context and behaviour. Social influence is rich in famous named studies (Asch and Milgram) and clear explanations (agency theory, deindividuation, diffusion of responsibility) that examiners love to test.

What the social influence topic covers

AQA breaks social influence into four connected areas, each with its own answer page on this site.

• Conformity. Asch's study of majority influence, the factors affecting conformity (group size, anonymity, task difficulty) and why people conform.
• Obedience. Milgram's agency theory, the situational factors (proximity, location, uniform) and the authoritarian personality.
• Prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Defining each, the role of deindividuation, and how social factors affect helping and harming.
• Bystander behaviour. The bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility, and the situational and personal factors that affect helping.

The facts examiners reward

Social influence questions reward named studies and named explanations.

1. Asch's findings. About a third of responses conformed, and the three factors that change conformity.
2. Milgram's agency theory. The agentic and autonomous states, and the situational factors.
3. Deindividuation. Loss of identity in a crowd leading to antisocial behaviour.
4. The bystander effect. Diffusion of responsibility as the key explanation.

How to study social influence

Social influence rewards clear definitions and confident use of studies.

1. Learn the named studies. Asch and Milgram are guaranteed material; know what they found.
2. Sort the factors. Keep the conformity factors and the obedience factors separate.
3. Distinguish similar terms. Conformity versus obedience, deindividuation versus diffusion of responsibility.
4. Apply to scenarios. Be ready to explain why someone did or did not help, conform or obey in a given situation.

The dot points in this topic

Each area has a dot-point answer page and a quiz. Browse the full set at /gcse-aqa/psychology/syllabus.

For the official specification

AQA publishes the full specification (8182), past papers and mark schemes at aqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and AQA's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.