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Updated: May 28, 2026
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Measuring Neural and Behavioral Activity During Ongoing Computerized Social Interactions: An Examination of Event-Related Brain Potentials
Published on: November 15, 2014
Social deviance activates the brain's error-monitoring system
Bo-Rin Kim1, Alison Liss, Monica Rao
1Department of Psychology, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041, USA.
Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|November 1, 2011
Summary
Deviating from social norms triggers a brain signal similar to errors or losses. This suggests the brain processes social norm violations as mistakes, impacting conformity behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Human behavior often conforms to social group norms.
- Neural signals associated with errors and losses are well-documented.
- The brain's response to social norm deviance is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if deviating from social norms elicits a specific neural signal.
- To determine if the brain processes social norm violations similarly to errors or losses.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were used to record brain activity in 30 participants.
- Participants rated the attractiveness of faces and received manipulated peer feedback.
- Feedback indicated either agreement or deviation (1-3 points) from the group norm.
Main Results:
- Feedback indicating deviance from the group norm elicited a feedback-related negativity (FRN).
- The FRN is a brainwave signal typically associated with objective performance errors and monetary losses.
Conclusions:
- The brain appears to treat deviance from social norms as an error.
- This neural response may underlie the tendency for individuals to conform to group norms.
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