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Social infleunce
infoWhy this? Social Influence introduces powerful real-world psychology, including obedience, conformity, and minority influence. It highlights how behaviour is shaped by social context, making psychology feel relevant, contemporary, and applied.
scheduleWhy now? This topic is positioned mid–Year 11 when students are confident with psychological concepts and evaluative writing, enabling them to analyse socially complex research and apply ideas to real‑world contexts with increasing sophistication.
neurologyYou need to know
- Asch's study of conformity
- Social factors (group size, anonymity and task difficulty) and dispositional factors (personality, expertise) affect conformity to majority influence
- Milgram's agency theory of social factors affecting obedience
- Explanation of dispositional factors affecting obedience including Adorno's theory of Authoritarian personality
- Bystander behaviour and how social and dispositional factors affect bystander intervention
- Piliavin's "Subway study"
- Prosocial and antisocial behaviour in crowds – how social factors (social loafing, deindividuation and culture) and dispositional factors (personality and morality) affect collective behaviour
rocket_launchYou must be able to
- Demonstrate knowledge of key studies and theories related to social influence, including conformity and obedience
- Apply theories of social influence to real-life scenarios, explaining how social and dispositional factors influence behaviour
- Analyse and evaluate research studies in social influence, discussing strengths and limitations, as well as implications for understanding human behaviour
- Compare and contrast different explanations of conformity and obedience, considering the role of situational vs. dispositional factors.
Revision Quiz
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