QCE Psychology — Unit 4
Social Influence — Flashcards & Quiz
Social influence is the study of how the presence and actions of others change behaviour. In the QCE Psychology 2025 syllabus it sits in Unit 4 The influence of others, mainly Topic 1 Social psychology, and this subject matter can be assessed in the external examination. You need to describe group influence through compliance, identification and internalisation, explain how obedience, conformity and social norms change behaviour, describe the findings of Asch (1955), Milgram (1963) and Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973), and interpret Latané and Darley's (1969) bystander research from Topic 2.
Key Points
- Group social influence: compliance (public agreement without private acceptance), identification (adopting behaviour to belong to a valued group) and internalisation (genuine acceptance).
- Conformity, Asch (1955): participants agreed with a clearly wrong majority on about one-third of critical trials, and about three-quarters conformed at least once.
- Obedience, Milgram (1963): 26 of 40 participants (65%) continued to the maximum 450 V when instructed by an authority figure.
- Social norms (Cialdini et al., 2006): descriptive norms describe what people do; injunctive norms describe what people approve of.
- Status, roles and power: Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973), the Stanford Prison Experiment, later critiqued for demand characteristics (Le Texier, 2019).
- Bystander intervention, Latané and Darley (1969): help is less likely when others are present, through diffusion of responsibility, audience inhibition and social influence.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing conformity (influence of peers or a group) with obedience (following an authority figure).
- Treating Asch and Milgram as the same kind of study. They test different phenomena.
- Mixing up compliance (public change only) and internalisation (private acceptance).
- Claiming diffusion of responsibility is the only explanation for the bystander effect. Audience inhibition and social influence also contribute.
- Presenting the Stanford Prison Experiment as clear evidence without noting critiques of its procedure and demand characteristics.
Exam Strategy
QCE Psychology's external examination (50%) covers Units 3 and 4, and the Unit 4 social psychology subject matter can be assessed in it. Questions may ask you to describe a study's findings, apply a concept such as compliance or diffusion of responsibility to a scenario, or interpret data. Method: (1) identify the type of influence (conformity, obedience, norms, roles, bystander), (2) define it precisely, (3) describe the relevant study's procedure and findings, (4) apply it to the scenario. Evaluating the ethics and reproducibility of these studies is listed for internal assessment.
Sample Flashcards
Q1: What is social influence?
Process by which individuals change their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behaviors as result of interaction with others.
Q2: What is normative social influence?
Conforming to gain social approval and acceptance, avoid rejection. Motivated by desire to fit in and be liked.
Q3: What is informational social influence?
Conforming because others are seen as source of information about reality. Motivated by desire to be correct.
Q4: How do social media platforms exploit social influence principles?
Like counts create social proof, follower numbers show popularity, trending topics indicate conformity, influencer authority, FOMO pressure.
Q5: What is social identity and social influence?
People conform more to groups they identify with and derive self-esteem from group membership, influencing behavior.
Revision Tip
Classic studies are recall-heavy. Drill a Revizi deck with the researchers, year, procedure, key finding and critique for Asch, Milgram, Haney, Banks and Zimbardo, and Latané and Darley.
Related Concepts
Last updated: 9 October 2026 · 20 sample flashcards