Social Learning of Conformity: Children and Adults’ Evaluations of Conformists Versus Non-Conformists Across Different Contexts

• In Event: Observing, Conforming, and Internalizing: How Does Social Learning Occur Across Different Contexts and Cultures?

Abstract

As social beings, humans from a young age conform to other individuals, changing their own beliefs and behaviors to match group norms shared by other group members (Haun & Tomasello, 2011). Yet, the specific circumstances under which conformity occurs remains relatively under-investigated. We hypothesized that preferences for conformists over non-conformists appear in early childhood and persist into adulthood, and its strength depends on the contexts in which conformity occurs. That is, group members’ preference for conformists, especially in contexts emphasizing uniformity, may further enforce group norms and motivate individuals’ conforming behaviors from an early age.

We recruited 262 children (aged 4 to 7 years) and 202 adults in China for three studies (see Table 1 for demographic information). In all three studies, participants were shown five individuals playing a game in which they had to choose between two objects. The first three group members always selected the same object, forming a group norm. In Study 1, the other two members privately liked the different object; however, when making a public selection, one of them always conformed to the norm (i.e., the conformist), whereas the other always deviated (i.e., the non-conformist). In Study 2, the conformist and the non-conformist’s private preferences were not mentioned. In Study 3, participants were also told that selecting the same objects as the majority of the group members would help their group win the game before they were told about the conformist and non-conformist’s selections. In all these studies, participants evaluated the competence and warmth of the conformist versus the non-conformist, and indicated socializing and trust preferences toward them. Table 1 presents the descriptive information of children’s and adults’ responses to these tasks across the three studies.

The results suggest that Chinese individuals’ preferences between conformists and non-conformists vary by age and depend on the specific context. Across all the tasks (see Table 2), children preferred neither conformist nor non-conformist when conformity conflicted with private preferences without reason (Study 1); however, children consistently preferred the conformist when conformity was consistent with individuals’ interests (Study 2) and when conformity helped the group win, even if conforming conflicted with one’s private preferences (Study 3). By contrast, adults evaluated the non-conformist as more competent when the purposes of conformity were unknown (Studies 1 and 2) and preferred to trust the non-conformist if the purpose of conformity was both unknown and in conflict with individuals’ interests (Study 1). Nevertheless, adults evaluated the conformist as more competent and preferred to socialize with the conformist if the conformity helped the group win (Study 3). Regardless of the contexts, adults always evaluated the conformist as being warmer (Studies 1 to 3).

Our research reveals that preferences for conformists over non-conformists emerged early but depended on the context in which conformity occurred. With age, these preferences for conformists generally declined in strength, remaining only when there was a clear benefit for the group. Our findings shed light on understanding how conformity may be enforced within groups from the early years and develop over time.

Authors

• Shaocong Ma, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  Presenting Author

• Eva E. Chen, National Tsing Hua University