3-131 - Examining the Development of Conformity Across Diverse Social Contexts

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

A growing body of evidence suggests that children’s likelihood to conform with the behaviors of others depends on their cultural background, with children from more collectivist cultures displaying higher levels of conformity than children from more individualistic cultures. Little is known, however, about variation in children’s conformity across diverse social learning situations or how children and adults might use others’ conformity to make social judgments. This symposium presents research on both within- and between-cultural variation in young children’s conformity with modeled behaviors (Papers 1 and 2) and how conformity is used to make social judgments about others (Papers 3 and 4). Paper 1 presents evidence that children conform with generous prosocial giving behaviors demonstrated by others. Paper 2 illustrates that children’s cultural background influences whether they conform with modeled behaviors in the domain of tool selection. Paper 3 examines within- and between-cultural variation in children's and adults' use of information about others’ conformity with a modeled behavior when making trait-based judgments. Paper 4 presents evidence that children are also sensitive to whether or not others display conformity with norms, particularly within the domain of food choice, and use this information when making social evaluations. Collectively, these papers draw on diverse behaviors, including prosocial giving (Paper 1), imitation (Papers 2 and 3), and food choice (Paper 4), to present an integrated account of how attention to conformity may guide children’s social behaviors and judgments and possible explanations for how variation in these behaviors and judgments may be linked to differences in socialization.

Sub Unit

• Social Cognition

Chairs

• Jennifer M. Clegg, Texas State University

• Kathleen Helen Corriveau, Boston University

Individual Presentations

• Young Children’s Donating Behavior Conforms with Generous - but not Egalitarian - Majorities - Presenting Author: Emily J.E. Messer, The University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Nicola McGuigan, University of the West of Scotland

• Australian and Malaysian Children’s Conformity with Inefficient Tool Use - Presenting Author: Frankie T.K. Fong, University of Queensland; Non-Presenting Author: Mark Nielsen, The University of Queensland

• Between- and Within-Population Variation in Beliefs about Children’s Competency and Conformity - Presenting Author: Nicole J. Wen, The University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer M. Clegg, Texas State University; Non-Presenting Author: Stephanie Estrera, The University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Cristine H Legare, University of Texas at Austin

• Children Judge Others Based on Their Conformity with Conventional Food Choices - Presenting Author: Jasmine DeJesus, UNC Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Emily Gerdin, Yale University; Non-Presenting Author: Kathleen R. Sullivan, Department of Health and Human Services; Non-Presenting Author: Katherine Kinzler, Cornell University