2-060 - Social Learning, Conformity and Non-conformity in Young Children

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

We know much about social learning in children, yet major questions remain unanswered. Notable among these is the extent to which children are subject to the phenomenon of conformity, extensively addressed in the spheres of adult social and evolutionary psychology, but only now explored in developmental psychology. Broadly, conformity is the disposition to adopt a course of action because this is what a majority of others are doing. The papers in this symposium are among the first to explore the extent to which this is a major and/or adaptive learning strategy among young children, and what principal factors moderate it. Are children blanket conformers, or are they selective? If selective, what principal factors shape conformity and which explain non-conformity? The four complementary papers in this symposium provide consistent evidence of both conformist and non-conformist dispositions in children, but results also identify a range of moderating influences that together begin to delineate children’s developing strategies in relation to what sources of information to trust when selectively acquiring cultural repertoires. These include childrens’ personal uncertainty versus confidence in regard to the options at stake (Morgan et al., Hu et al., Claidiere et al.), whether conformity is in respect of socially constructed norms versus (‘informational’) physical realities (Hu et al., Claidiere et al., Burdett et al.), and conflicting choices such as trusting the competence of oneself or known models (Morgan et al., Burdett et al). Several results of the four papers are convergent but others are interestingly divergent and beg informed discussion.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chair

• Andrew Whiten, University of St. Andrews

Individual Presentations

• The Development of Adaptive Conformity - Presenting Author: Thomas Morgan, Univ of California, Berkeley; Kevin Laland, University of St Andrews; Paul Harris, Harvard University

• When Does the Majority Rule? Preschoolers’ Trust in Majority Informants Varies by Task Domain - Presenting Author: Jane Hu, University of California, Berkeley; Daphna Buchsbaum, University of Toronto

• Effects of Conformity on Social Learning in Young Children - Presenting Author: Nicolas Claidiere, Marist College; Emily J. E. Messer, Saarland University; Isabella Lancaster, University of St Andrews; Mia Lunkka, Heriott Watt University; Nicola McGuigan, Heriot Watt University; Andrew Whiten, University of St. Andrews

• Copy the Expert or the Crowd? Children’s Selective Trust in Learning Instrumental and Normative Skills - Presenting Author: Emily R Burdett, University of St. Andrews; Amanda Jayne Lucas, University of St. Andrews; Daphna Buchsbaum, University of Toronto; Nicola McGuigan, 10Charge; Andrew Whiten, University of St. Andrews