Welcome to Social Psychology!

Ever wondered why you suddenly start liking a song just because all your friends are listening to it? Or why you might follow instructions from a teacher that you’d never follow from a younger sibling? That is what Social Psychology is all about! It’s the study of how the people around us influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Don’t worry if some of these terms seem a bit heavy at first. We’re going to break them down into bite-sized pieces so you can master them in no time!


1. Conformity: Going Along with the Crowd

Conformity is a type of social influence where we change our behavior or beliefs to fit in with a group. Psychologists have found that there are different "levels" of how much we actually change.

Types of Conformity

Think of these as "shallow" versus "deep" changes:

  • Compliance: This is the most superficial type. You go along with the group in public but privately disagree.
    Example: You agree that a movie was "great" because your friends loved it, even though you actually thought it was boring.
  • Internalisation: This is the deepest type. You change your behavior because you genuinely believe the group is right. This change stays with you even when the group isn't there.
    Example: You move in with flatmates who are vegans. You start as a vegan to fit in, but then you read about it, agree with it, and remain a vegan for the rest of your life.

Why do we conform? (Explanations)

There are two main reasons why we feel the pressure to fit in:

  1. Normative Social Influence (NSI): This is about the desire to be liked. We go along with the group because we want to avoid being rejected or "the odd one out." This usually leads to compliance.
  2. Informational Social Influence (ISI): This is about the desire to be right. In a confusing situation, we look to others because we assume they know more than we do. This usually leads to internalisation.

Quick Review Box:
NSI = Want to be Liked (Normal behavior)
ISI = Want to be Right (Information seeking)


2. Factors Affecting Conformity (Asch’s Research)

A famous psychologist named Solomon Asch did a study where participants had to match the length of lines. Even when the answer was obvious, people often gave the wrong answer just because the rest of the group (who were in on the experiment) did!

Asch found three main things that changed how likely people were to conform:

  • Group Size: Conformity increases as the group gets bigger, but only up to a point. With 3 people, conformity jumped to about 32%, but adding more people after that didn't make much difference.
  • Unanimity: If just one other person in the group disagreed with the majority (an "ally"), conformity dropped significantly. It’s much easier to stand your ground if you aren't alone!
  • Task Difficulty: When the lines were made more similar in length (making the task harder), conformity increased. This is because we become less sure of ourselves and look to others for the "right" answer (Informational Social Influence).

Key Takeaway: We are most likely to conform when we are in a group of at least three, when everyone else agrees, and when the task is difficult.


3. Obedience: Following Orders

Obedience is different from conformity. Conformity is about following your peers (equals); obedience is about following orders from someone in a position of authority.

Why do we obey? (Explanations)

  1. Agentic State: This is a mental state where we feel we are no longer responsible for our actions. Instead, we see ourselves as an "agent" carrying out someone else's wishes.
    Analogy: You feel like a puppet, and the person in charge is pulling the strings. If something goes wrong, you think, "It’s not my fault; I was just doing what I was told."
  2. Legitimacy of Authority: We are more likely to obey people who we perceive as having a "right" to tell us what to do because of their position in a social hierarchy (like a doctor, policeman, or teacher).

Milgram’s Situational Variables

Stanley Milgram conducted famous (and controversial!) experiments where participants were told to give electric shocks to a learner. He found that two "situational" factors really changed obedience levels:

  • Proximity: This refers to physical closeness. When the teacher (participant) was in the same room as the learner, obedience dropped. When the authority figure gave orders over the phone, obedience dropped even more. The closer you are to the consequences, the harder it is to obey cruel orders.
  • Location: When the study was moved from a prestigious university (Yale) to a run-down office building, obedience dropped. The "prestigious" location gave the experimenter more legitimacy.

Did you know? In Milgram's original study, 65% of participants went all the way to the maximum (and lethal) 450 volts, even though they were visibly distressed!


4. Resistance to Social Influence

The good news is that we don't always follow the crowd or the leader! Psychology looks at why some people are "rebels."

Social Support

It is much easier to resist pressure if you have an ally. In Asch’s study, having one person disagree with the group helped others do the same. This is because the "ally" breaks the unanimity of the group, making us feel more confident in our own view.

Locus of Control (LOC)

This is a personality theory about how much control you think you have over your life. Imagine you fail a test:

  • Internal LOC: You believe you are responsible. "I didn't study hard enough." People with a high Internal LOC are more likely to resist social influence because they take personal responsibility for their actions.
  • External LOC: You believe outside forces (luck, fate) are responsible. "The test was too hard" or "The teacher hates me." People with a high External LOC are more likely to conform or obey because they feel they have less personal control.

Mnemonic to remember LOC:
Internal = I am in control.
External = Everything else is in control.


Summary Checklist

Before you move on, make sure you can explain:

✓ The difference between Compliance and Internalisation.
✓ Why NSI makes us want to be liked and ISI makes us want to be right.
✓ How Group Size, Unanimity, and Task Difficulty changed Asch's results.
✓ What it means to be in an Agentic State.
✓ How Proximity and Location affected Milgram's obedience rates.
✓ Why someone with an Internal Locus of Control is less likely to follow the crowd.

Don't worry if this seems like a lot of names and terms! Just keep relating them back to your own life—think about times you've followed a trend or listened to a boss—and the concepts will start to stick.