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How conformity can lead to polarised social behaviour
Folco Panizza1,2, Alexander Vostroknutov3, Giorgio Coricelli4,5
1Molecular Mind Laboratory, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy.
Plos Computational Biology
|October 20, 2021
Summary
People adjust their social attitudes based on observing others. This study finds that social learning, particularly conforming to authority (vertical influence) or group norms (horizontal influence), drives attitude polarization.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Computational Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Observing others' social behavior significantly shapes individual social attitudes.
- Existing models offer various explanations for social learning's impact on attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare distinct explanations of social attitude formation through social learning.
- To test computational models' predictions across experimental conditions.
Main Methods:
- Participants repeatedly chose between prosocial (increasing others' earnings) and antisocial (decreasing others' earnings) actions.
- Participants predicted the choices of simulated agents (prosocial/antisocial, computer/human/group).
- Computational modeling was used to analyze behavioral data across four experimental conditions.
Main Results:
- Social attitude polarization was primarily driven by normative expectations.
- Participants conformed to perceived authority demands (vertical influence).
- Participants also aligned with observed human agents' adherence to norms (horizontal influence).
Conclusions:
- Normative expectations, encompassing both vertical and horizontal influences, are key drivers of social attitude polarization.
- Computational modeling provides insights into the mechanisms of social learning and attitude change.
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