Conformity — a change with no order given
Conformity — a change in behaviour or beliefs from the real or imagined pressure of a majority group, where no direct order is given. Majority influence — the pressure the larger group exerts to act as it does. The change is one not made alone, and the pressure comes from peers, not an authority. That separates conformity from obedience, where a direct order comes from an authority figure.
Normative vs informational influence
Name why the person conformed — two reasons, two depths of change. Normative social influence — conforming to be liked and accepted; produces compliance (public only, reverts). Informational social influence — conforming to be right when the task is hard or ambiguous; produces internalisation (belief changes, persists). Never write 'they conformed' — say which reason, from the scenario's detail.
Factors split into personality and situation
The spec names two families, and a question usually asks for one. Personality (the person): locus of control — an internal locus (own choices) resists, an external locus (luck) conforms more; also confidence and expertise. Situational (the setting): majority size (rises then levels off), unanimity (a dissenter cuts it sharply), task difficulty, public vs private. A brilliant answer about the wrong family scores zero.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Personality vs situational factor swapped
The highest-frequency error on Topic 5. Asked for a personality factor, candidates give size of the majority or unanimity — both situational; asked for a situational factor, they give locus of control (personality). The test: would it follow the person into a different room? Locus of control would; majority size would not.
Well-answered conformity factors were majority size, unanimity and normative social influence (June 2019 P1 Q22), while personality factors including locus of control were much weaker and should be a focus for centres (June 2022 P1 Q25). The straight swap is reported on obedience (June 2023 P1 Q21a/b) and bystander intervention (Nov 2020 P1 Q20 vs Q19).
Conformity written as obedience
Conformity and obedience are the classic definition pair, and answers blur them. Conformity = changing to match a majority group with no order given. Obedience = following a direct order from a figure of authority. 'Conformity is doing what you are told' has defined obedience and scores nothing.
Conformity versus obedience is named as the classic definition trap on this topic, needing connectives (June 2022 P1 Q22).
Describe the difference needs a connective
Asked to describe the difference, most give two definitions side by side, leaving it only implied — one mark. The second mark needs a connective: conformity is matching a majority without being told, whereas obedience is following a direct order from an authority. The connective names the axis, and the axis earns the mark.
Describe-the-difference items are answered with two separate definitions worth one mark, with connectives such as whereas earning the second (June 2019 P1 Q6; June 2022 P1 Q7).
Explain answered by describing
'Explain' demands the mechanism, not just the effect. 'Conformity is higher when everyone agrees' has only described it. Explaining adds the why: when all agree the person is the only one disagreeing, so the normative cost peaks; one dissenter removes it. A sentence with because or so is explaining; one that only names what happens is describing.
Candidates asked to explain a strength or factor are repeatedly told not to only describe (June 2023 and June 2024 P2 Summaries).
Compliance ≠ internalisation
Two outcomes of conforming, easily merged. Compliance — a public change only; the person privately disagrees and reverts once the group is gone. Internalisation — a change of behaviour and belief that persists alone. The test is what happens once the group leaves: reverts = compliance, lasts = internalisation. Most conformity is compliance.
A rehearsed example replaces the psychology
Conformity is the one area students arrive able to talk about, and the examples are rehearsed. That is the trap: the anecdote replaces the psychology. 'My friend wore the same trainers as everyone else' names a behaviour and stops — no factor, no reason, no term. It scores only when the mechanism is added: compliance from normative social influence.
Conformity is well known and answered with rehearsed examples (Nov 2021 P1 Q21).
Conforming does not mean being convinced
Two beliefs that cost marks. 'Conforming means you were convinced' — most conformity is compliance: the person privately disagrees and reverts, so ask whether it was public only and whether it lasted. 'Only weak people conform' — it is a normal process everyone shows in the right situation. AO3: personality and situation interact.
Scenario detail is the only AO2
The scenario detail is the only source of AO2 marks. Naming the person or repeating the stem does not count — tie a specific detail to a factor with a reason. AO3 cannot be awarded unless AO2 is present: apply first, evaluate second.
Reaching the 7-9 band on the Assess
The 9-mark Assess is AO1/AO2/AO3, and AO3 is the ceiling. Define conformity and the factor family, apply the scenario detail, evaluate on validity, generalisability and objectivity, then a balanced conclusion. Continuous prose — no bullet points.
Name the reason, not just the label
Never write 'they conformed'. Say which reason: answering aloud points to normative influence and compliance; a hard task points to informational influence and internalisation. That turns identification into explanation.
Match the command word
Read the command word first. State = name the factor only. Explain = factor plus direction and mechanism. Describe the difference = a comparative sentence with a connective. Assess = the 9-mark essay with balanced AO3 and a conclusion.
Conformity — a change in a person's behaviour or beliefs as a result of real or imagined pressure from a majority group, where no direct order is given.
Majority influence — the pressure the larger group exerts on an individual to think, say or do what the group is thinking, saying or doing.
Compliance — a public change of behaviour only, which reverts once the group is no longer present.
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