Why do children disapprove of nonconformity? The unique role of affiliative intentions

• In Event: When it’s okay not to conform: The development of a context-sensitive concern for conformity

Abstract

Humans have a strong tendency to conform, and from an early age, children disapprove of people who do not conform to ingroup norms (e.g., Roberts et al., 2017; 2019; 2020). But why do children disapprove of non-conformity? Across three pre-registered studies, we considered two possibilities: non-conformity makes the ingroup more diverse and not as cohesive (cohesion account), or non-conformity signals non-affiliative intentions to one’s ingroup (affiliation account), to shed light on potential mechanisms underlying children’s social disapproval of nonconformity.

Previous research shows that children disapprove of non-conformity in intergroup contexts (e.g., when nonconforming individuals act like the outgroup), which potentially signals non-affiliative intentions. Study 1 examined whether children also disapprove of nonconformity in the absence of an outgroup. Non-conformity in a single group context threatens ingroup cohesion, but does not necessarily signal non-affiliative intent. Four-6-year-old children (N = 26) were introduced to novel group norms (e.g., the kind of berry the group typically eats) and to target individuals who conformed (conforming condition) or did not conform (non-conforming condition). Children indicated whether the target behavior was ok or not-ok. We found that children disapproved non-conformity more than conformity, but their disapproval for the non-conforming individual was at chance rather than above chance (Figure 1). Therefore, consistent with the affiliation account, young children did not disapprove non-conforming behaviors in the absence of outgroups, when nonconformity did not signal non-affiliative intent.

Study 2 further examined the role affiliative intentions in children’s evaluations of non-conformity in the intergroup context. Using similar stimuli from Study 1, children were introduced to two novel groups with different behaviors. Children were then shown a non-conforming individual, and then heard either that the individual intended to affiliate with the ingroup (affiliative condition, N = 51) or with the outgroup (non-affiliative condition, N = 53). Children indicated whether the target behavior was ok or not-ok. We found children disapproved of non-conforming behaviors less in the affiliative condition. Disapproval was above chance in the non-affiliative condition (p < .001, d = .40) but at chance in the affiliative condition (p = .94, d = .01), Figure 2. The results suggest further that affiliation cues account for children’s disapproval of non-conformity in the intergroup context.

The first two studies provide converging evidence that young children do not disapprove of non-conforming behaviors that do not signal estrangment from the ingroup. Preliminary results from Study 3 (ongoing, preregistered N=25 4-6-year-olds) suggest that when nonconformity is motivated by intentions to affiliate with both ingroups and outgroups (i.e., having an “inclusive” rather than “exclusive” mindset), then nonconforming individuals are evaluated even more positively than conforming individuals who only want to affiliate with the ingroup. Together, our findings reveal affiliative intentions as a crucial factor underlying children’s evaluations of non-conformity, which contributes to a better understanding of when and why nonconformity is disapproved of, and more importantly, when it is good to go against the flow and be ourselves.

Authors

• Fan Yang, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Steven Othello Roberts, Stanford University
  Non-Presenting Author