Imagine that you walk into a classroom and everyone is looking at the ceiling.
You look around. You have no idea why.
You might initially think they are all doing something strange but after a few seconds, you may find yourself looking up too.
Why?
Perhaps you assume that everyone else knows something you don't. Perhaps you don't want to be the only person doing something different.
Or perhaps you simply think:
“If everyone else is doing it, there must be a reason.”
This simple situation introduces one of the most fascinating areas of Psychology: social influence.
Human beings are social creatures. We interact with friends, family, teachers, classmates, colleagues and strangers every day. Other people's behaviour can influence what we say, what we do and even what we believe.
Sometimes this influence is obvious.
At other times, we may change our behaviour without even realising how much other people have influenced us.
Two important forms of social influence are conformity and obedience.
But why do people conform?
Why would someone give an answer they know is wrong simply because everyone else gave that answer?
And why would ordinary people follow instructions from an authority figure, even when those instructions make them uncomfortable?
Psychologists have conducted some famous (and sometimes controversial) experiments to investigate these questions.
What is social influence?
Social influence refers to the ways in which the presence, behaviour or expectations of other people can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
Think about some of the decisions you make every day.
You might:
I. change the way you dress because of your friends;
II. use certain words because people around you use them;
III. change your opinion during a group discussion;
IV. follow a school rule because a teacher tells you to;
IV. queue because everyone else is queuing;
V. laugh because everyone around you is laughing.
None of these situations necessarily involves someone physically forcing you to do something.
Yet other people can still influence your behaviour.
Social influence can take several forms, but two particularly important concepts are conformity and obedience.
What is conformity?
Conformity occurs when a person changes their behaviour or beliefs because of real or imagined group pressure.
In simple terms, conformity is about fitting in with a group.
Imagine that you are sitting with five friends.
Someone asks:
“Which answer do you think is correct?”
You think the answer is B.
However, every other person in the group confidently says C.
Suddenly, you might begin questioning yourself.
“Maybe I misunderstood the question.”
“Maybe everyone else knows something I don't.”
“Perhaps C actually is correct.”
You might eventually say C, even though you originally believed the answer was B. This is conformity.
But why would someone do this?
Psychologists have identified different reasons why people conform.
Why do people conform?
Two important explanations are informational social influence and normative social influence.
Informational social influence
Sometimes we conform because we believe that other people have information that we don't have. This is particularly likely when a situation is unclear or confusing.
Imagine you are visiting a new school for the first time. The bell rings.
You don't know whether students are supposed to leave the classroom.
You look around and everyone else starts packing their bags and then you follow them.
Why?
You are using other people's behaviour as information about what you are supposed to do. This is termed informational social influence.
You conform because you believe that the group may be correct.
This type of conformity can therefore involve a genuine change in our beliefs.
Normative social influence
Normative social influence is different. Here, we conform because we want to fit in, be accepted or avoid rejection.
Imagine that your friends all say they love a particular song.
You actually dislike it.
But when they ask:
“Do you like this song?”
you say:
“Yeah, it's alright.”
You may not actually have changed your opinion. You simply don't want to stand out. This is normative social influence. It is the desire to belong to a group and can be extremely powerful.
Humans generally want to feel accepted, and rejection can be uncomfortable. This is one reason why teenagers may sometimes behave differently around their friends than they would when they are alone.
Asch's conformity experiment
One of the most famous studies of conformity was conducted by Polish-American psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s. Asch wanted to investigate a simple but important question:
Would people give an obviously incorrect answer simply because other people in a group gave that answer?
To investigate this, he designed a surprisingly simple experiment. Participants were shown a standard line and three comparison lines. Their task was to identify which comparison line was the same length as the standard line.
The correct answer was deliberately obvious. There was very little ambiguity.
However, the participant sat with several other people who were actually confederates working with the researcher.
The confederates were instructed to give the same incorrect answer on certain trials.
The real participant had to answer after hearing everyone else.
What happened?
Imagine seeing something like this:
Standard line: ─────────
A: ────
B: ─────────
C: ────────
The correct answer is clearly B.
But the other people in the room all confidently say:
“C.”
Now it is your turn. What would you say?
You know B appears to be correct. But everyone else has just chosen C.
Would you stick with your answer? Or would you conform?
Asch found that many participants did conform to the incorrect majority on at least some trials.
In the original study, participants conformed to the incorrect majority on about one-third of the critical trials.
This was remarkable because the task was deliberately straightforward.
The participants could see the answer. There was no complicated mathematical calculation. There was no difficult piece of information to understand. Yet the presence of a unanimous group was enough to make many people give an answer they knew, or at least suspected, was incorrect.
What does Asch's study tell us?
Asch's research demonstrated that group pressure can influence people's behaviour even when the correct answer is obvious.
This provides evidence for the power of conformity.
However, it does not mean that everyone conforms.
Some participants consistently gave the correct answer despite the group's incorrect responses.
This is important.
Psychology is rarely as simple as: “People always follow the group.”
Instead, psychologists investigate the factors that make conformity more or less likely.
What factors affect conformity?
Asch carried out variations of his original experiment to investigate what happened when the situation changed.
Three particularly important factors are:
I. group size;
II. unanimity;
III. task difficulty.
Group size
The size of the majority can affect conformity. A person may feel less pressure when only one other person disagrees with them.
However, when several people give the same answer, the pressure can become stronger. Interestingly, conformity does not simply increase endlessly as more people are added. Once the group reaches a certain size, adding additional people may have relatively little effect.
The important factor may therefore be the presence of a clear majority, rather than having an enormous number of people.
Unanimity
One of the most important factors is whether the group is unanimous.
Imagine that everyone in the group gives the same incorrect answer. That can create considerable pressure.But now imagine that one other person gives the correct answer. Suddenly, you are no longer completely alone. Asch found that the presence of a dissenter could significantly reduce conformity.
This is an important psychological insight.
Sometimes people don't need the whole group to agree with them. They simply need one person to break the consensus. This can help explain why having someone willing to question a group decision can be important.
Task difficulty
Conformity can also be affected by how difficult a task appears. If the answer is extremely obvious, a person may feel confident enough to disagree with the group.But if the task becomes more difficult, uncertainty increases.
You might begin thinking:
“Maybe they're right and I'm wrong.”
This creates an opportunity for informational social influence. If you are uncertain, you may look to other people for guidance.
Is conformity always bad?
The anwer is No.
This is an important distinction.
Conformity is often presented negatively, particularly when we discuss peer pressure. But conformity can sometimes be useful.
Imagine entering a restaurant where everyone is sitting quietly. You may naturally lower your voice. You have learned something about the social expectations of the environment by observing other people.
Or imagine arriving at a formal event where everyone is dressed in a particular way. You may adapt your behaviour because you want to follow the accepted social norms.
Conformity can therefore help groups function smoothly. The problem occurs when group pressure causes people to behave in ways that conflict with their own values or put themselves or others at risk.
Conformity and teenagers
Conformity is particularly interesting when thinking about adolescence. Teenagers spend a significant amount of time interacting with peers.
Friends can influence: clothing choices, music, language, hobbies, social media behaviour, attitudes, risk-taking, decisions about school and many other aspects of everyday life.
This does not mean that teenagers are incapable of making independent decisions. Rather, it demonstrates that social context matters. A person may behave one way when alone and differently when surrounded by friends.
The psychological question is not simply:
“Do teenagers conform?”
It is:
“Under what circumstances does social influence become stronger or weaker?”
Conformity vs obedience
Conformity and obedience are related, but they are not the same thing.
This distinction is essential in Psychology.
Conformity
Conformity involves changing behaviour or beliefs because of group pressure.
For example:
Everyone in your friendship group says a particular opinion is correct, so you agree with them.
Obedience
Obedience involves following a direct instruction or command from an authority figure.
For example:
A teacher tells you to leave the classroom, and you do so.
A useful way to remember the difference is:
Conformity = group pressure.
Obedience = authority.
Milgram's obedience experiment
One of the most famous studies in social psychology was conducted by Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s.
Milgram wanted to investigate a disturbing question: How far will ordinary people go when an authority figure instructs them to do something?
His research was partly inspired by attempts to understand how people could participate in harmful actions under authoritarian regimes.
Milgram designed an experiment involving a supposed “teacher” and “learner.”
The participant was assigned the role of teacher.
The learner was actually part of the research team and was informed that the experiment was investigating the relationship between punishment and learning.
Whenever the learner gave an incorrect answer, the teacher was instructed to administer an electric shock. The apparent shocks increased in voltage as the experiment continued.
However, the learner was not actually receiving electric shocks. The sounds of distress were part of the experimental setup. The participant did not know this.
The moment things became uncomfortable
As the experiment progressed, the learner began showing signs of distress.
Eventually, the learner protested and asked to stop.
The participant could therefore face a conflict:
“I don't want to continue.”
But the experimenter, wearing the appearance of authority, instructed the participant to continue. The experimenter used a series of standardised verbal prompts when participants hesitated.
The important question was: Would the participant obey?
What did Milgram find?
The results shocked many people.
In Milgram's original study, 26 out of 40 participants continued all the way to the highest level of the shock generator.
That was 65%.
Importantly, this does not mean that 65% of people are naturally cruel or that they wanted to hurt another person.
The experimental situation was designed to investigate obedience to authority, and participants displayed considerable conflict and distress during the procedure.
Some participants protested. Some questioned what they were doing while some showed signs of anxiety. Yet many continued when instructed by the experimenter.
This raised important questions about the power of authority and the circumstances in which ordinary people may obey instructions.
Why did people obey?
Milgram's findings suggest that obedience can be influenced by the situation.
Several factors can affect obedience.
Authority
People are often taught from childhood to respect legitimate authority figures.
Parents tell children what to do.
Teachers give instructions.
Police officers enforce laws.
Doctors provide medical advice.
Managers give workplace instructions.
In many situations, following authority is useful.
The problem arises when authority gives an instruction that conflicts with our personal values.
Location
The environment in which an instruction is given can affect how legitimate the authority appears.
A prestigious institution may create an impression of expertise and authority.
This can increase obedience.
Responsibility
Another important idea is responsibility.
A person may feel that the authority figure is responsible for what happens.
They may think:
“I'm only following instructions.”
This can make it easier to continue with behaviour that the person might not have chosen independently.
What is an agentic state?
Milgram proposed the idea of an agentic state.
In an agentic state, a person sees themselves as acting on behalf of an authority figure rather than as personally responsible for their actions.
They effectively become an agent carrying out someone else's instructions.
This can be contrasted with an autonomous state, where a person sees themselves as responsible for their own actions.
Imagine a manager tells an employee to perform a task.
The employee might think:
“I'm responsible for what I choose to do.”
That is closer to an autonomous state.
Alternatively, they might think:
“I'm just carrying out my manager's instructions.”
That is closer to an agentic state.
Milgram suggested that moving into an agentic state can make obedience easier.
Why do people find it difficult to resist authority?
Another explanation involves the legitimacy of authority.
People are generally socialised to recognise that some individuals have authority over them.
Children learn that parents and teachers can give instructions.
Adults recognise the authority of police officers, judges and other officials in particular situations.
This can create a social hierarchy in which obeying certain people is considered normal.
The challenge occurs when a legitimate authority gives an instruction that conflicts with our own moral judgement.
What can Asch and Milgram teach us together?
Asch and Milgram investigated different forms of social influence.
But there is an important connection.
Asch investigated conformity to a group.
Milgram investigated obedience to authority.
Both demonstrated that behaviour can be strongly influenced by social situations. This is one of the most important lessons of social psychology: Our behaviour is not determined only by our personality or individual beliefs. The situation we are in can also have a powerful influence.
A person who behaves confidently and independently in one situation may behave differently when surrounded by a unanimous group. Likewise, someone who normally considers themselves independent may find it difficult to resist an authority figure under particular circumstances.
Does social influence mean we have no free will?
Not necessarily.
The research of Asch and Milgram should not be interpreted as proof that people are powerless to resist social pressure.
People do resist.
Some Asch participants refused to follow the majority.
Some Milgram participants refused to continue.
The research instead demonstrates that social circumstances can create pressures that make certain behaviours more likely.
This distinction is important.
Psychology is not saying:
“People have no control over their behaviour.”
It is asking:
“What factors make particular behaviours more or less likely?”
Real-life examples of conformity and obedience
The concepts studied by Asch and Milgram are not restricted to psychology laboratories.
Consider a classroom.
A student might know the answer to a question but stay quiet because nobody else raises their hand.
That could involve normative social influence.
Now consider a teacher instructing the class to begin an exercise.
Students follow the instruction because the teacher is an authority figure.
That is obedience.
At work, an employee may follow a manager's instructions.
In a sports team, players may adapt their behaviour to fit the team's expectations.
Online, people may adopt opinions because they see thousands of other people expressing the same view.
These situations can be very different from psychological experiments, but they illustrate the broader concept of social influence.
The role of social media
Social media provides another interesting environment for thinking about conformity.
Imagine opening a post and seeing thousands of people agreeing with a particular opinion.
You might initially have no strong view.
But after seeing hundreds of comments supporting one side, you may begin to think:
“Maybe everyone else knows something I don't.”
That could involve informational social influence.
Alternatively, you might disagree but decide not to comment because you don't want people to attack or reject your opinion.
That could involve normative social influence.
However, we should be careful not to assume that every online behaviour is conformity.
People use social media for many different reasons, and psychological behaviour depends on the particular situation.
The important point is that online environments can create powerful perceptions of group opinion.
Strengths of Asch's research
Asch's study has several strengths.
I. It was carefully controlled
The line-judgement task was simple and objective.
This meant that researchers could clearly identify whether participants gave the correct answer or conformed to the group.
I. It demonstrated the influence of a majority
The study provided experimental evidence that group pressure can affect behaviour.
II. It has been replicated
Later researchers have conducted variations of Asch's experiment, allowing psychologists to investigate whether the effect changes under different circumstances.
Limitations of Asch's research
However, Asch's study also has limitations.
I. Artificial task
Judging line lengths is very different from making important real-life decisions.A participant might conform in a laboratory experiment without behaving in exactly the same way in everyday life.
II. Historical context
Asch conducted his original research in the 1950s. Social attitudes and cultural expectations have changed since then. This means researchers need to consider whether findings from one historical period apply equally to people today.
Cultural differences
The strength of conformity may vary between cultures.
For example, societies that place greater emphasis on individual independence may show different patterns from societies that place greater emphasis on group harmony.
Strengths and limitations of Milgram's research
Milgram's experiment was highly influential, but it also raises important methodological and ethical questions.
I. A controlled procedure
The experiment followed a structured procedure, making it possible to compare participants' behaviour under similar conditions.
II. Important real-world implications
The research helped psychologists think more deeply about authority and obedience.
However, there are significant ethical concerns.
Participants experienced considerable stress and believed they might be harming another person.
This raises questions about whether the psychological knowledge gained justified the level of distress experienced by participants.
Modern psychological research operates under much stronger ethical safeguards.
What you should remember?
There are several key ideas you should be able to explain rather than simply memorise.
Social influence
The effect that other people can have on our behaviour, thoughts and feelings.
Conformity
Changing behaviour or beliefs because of real or imagined group pressure.
Informational social influence
Conforming because we believe other people have information that we do not have.
Normative social influence
Conforming because we want to fit in, gain acceptance or avoid rejection.
Obedience
Following a direct instruction from an authority figure.
Asch
Investigated conformity using a line-judgement task.
Milgram
Investigated obedience to authority using a simulated electric-shock procedure.
Agentic state
A state in which a person sees themselves as carrying out the wishes of an authority figure rather than feeling personally responsible for their actions.
Legitimacy of authority
The belief that another person has the right to give instructions.
A simple way to remember the difference
If you are revising this topic, think about these two situations.
Situation 1
Five of your friends say that a particular answer is correct.
You think they are wrong, but you change your answer because you don't want to stand out.
That's conformity.
Situation 2
Your teacher tells you to complete a particular task.
You follow the instruction because the teacher is an authority figure.
That's obedience.
The difference is simple:
Conformity → group pressure
Obedience → authority
The psychology behind “following the crowd”
So why do humans follow other people?
There isn't one single answer.
Sometimes we genuinely believe the group is correct.
Sometimes we want to be accepted.
Sometimes we trust an authority figure.
Sometimes we feel uncertain.
Sometimes we believe someone else is responsible for the consequences.
And sometimes several of these factors operate at the same time.
The work of Asch and Milgram demonstrates that social situations can influence behaviour in powerful ways.
But their research also shows that people are capable of resisting social pressure.
You don't have to follow the crowd simply because everyone else is doing something.
You don't have to obey an instruction simply because someone has authority.
Understanding social influence gives us something valuable: the ability to recognise when other people may be influencing our decisions.
Final thought
The next time you find yourself agreeing with a group, ask yourself:
“Do I actually believe this, or am I agreeing because everyone else does?”
And when someone in authority tells you to do something, ask:
“Why am I following this instruction?”
You might discover that your behaviour is being influenced by factors you had never consciously considered.
That is what makes social psychology so fascinating.
We like to think of ourselves as independent thinkers.
But sometimes, the people around us have more influence over our behaviour than we realise.
And understanding that influence is the first step towards making more conscious decisions about when to follow the crowd — and when to stand apart from it.
Quick GCSE Revision Checklist
Before your exam, make sure you can explain:
☐ What social influence means
☐ What conformity means
☐ Informational social influence
☐ Normative social influence
☐ Asch's line study
☐ Factors affecting conformity
☐ Group size
☐ Unanimity
☐ Task difficulty
☐ What obedience means
☐ Milgram's obedience study
☐ Agentic state
☐ Legitimacy of authority
☐ Situational explanations of obedience
☐ Ethical issues in Milgram's research
☐ Strengths and limitations of Asch's research
☐ Strengths and limitations of Milgram's research
☐ The difference between conformity and obedience