Why do people conform to the behaviour of a group?
Conformity: Asch's study of majority influence, the factors affecting conformity (group size, anonymity and task difficulty), and the reasons people conform.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Psychology 3.5, covering conformity, Asch's study of majority influence, the factors affecting conformity (group size, anonymity and task difficulty) and the reasons people conform.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to define conformity, describe Asch's study of majority influence, explain the factors affecting conformity (group size, anonymity and task difficulty), and explain why people conform. This is part of Social influence in Paper 2, examined with description, explanation and evaluation items, so know Asch's method and findings precisely.
What is conformity and what did Asch find?
In Asch's classic study, participants judged which of three comparison lines matched a standard line, an easy task with a clear answer. Each real participant was tested with several confederates who gave the same wrong answer aloud on certain "critical" trials. Asch found participants conformed to the wrong answer on about 37 percent of critical trials, and about 75 percent conformed at least once, even though the answer was obvious. This demonstrated the strength of majority influence.
Factors affecting conformity
Why people conform
There are two main reasons. Normative social influence is conforming to fit in and be accepted, to avoid standing out or being rejected; this usually produces public agreement without private belief change. Informational social influence is conforming because we believe the group is right, especially in unclear situations; this can change private beliefs. Asch's findings are mostly explained by normative influence (people knew the answer but agreed anyway), while informational influence explains why harder tasks raise conformity.
Try this
Q1. Define conformity. [2 marks]
- Cue. Changing behaviour or opinions due to real or imagined group pressure.
Q2. State roughly what percentage of critical trials Asch's participants conformed on. [1 mark]
- Cue. About one third (around 37 percent).
Q3. Explain how task difficulty affects conformity. [2 marks]
- Cue. Harder, more ambiguous tasks raise conformity because people are unsure and look to others (informational influence).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20184 marksDescribe Asch's study of conformity and what it found. (Paper 2, Section A)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Describe item rewards the method and the key findings.
Asch asked participants to judge which of three comparison lines matched a standard line, a task with an obvious correct answer. Each real participant sat with several confederates (actors) who, on certain trials, all gave the same wrong answer out loud before the participant responded. Asch found that participants conformed to the wrong majority answer on about a third (around 37 percent) of the critical trials, and that about three quarters conformed at least once, even though the correct answer was clear. This showed the power of majority influence (normative social influence) to make people agree with a group.
Markers reward the method (line-judging task with confederates giving wrong answers), the finding (about one third conformity on critical trials), and the conclusion about majority influence.
AQA 20214 marksExplain how group size and task difficulty affect conformity. (Paper 2, Section A)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Explain item rewards a developed point on each factor.
Group size: conformity rises as the majority grows from one to about three, then levels off, so a small unanimous majority is enough and adding more people makes little extra difference. Task difficulty: when the task is harder or more ambiguous (the correct answer is less obvious), conformity increases, because people are less sure of their own judgement and look to others for the right answer (informational social influence).
Markers reward the group-size pattern (rises then plateaus around three) and the task-difficulty effect (harder task, more conformity), each explained rather than just stated.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Psychology (8182) specification — AQA (2017)