A partial test of a social learning theory of children's conformity

Conformity as a Function of Age in Preadolescents

“…It is, however, difficult to see how this explanation could account for the observed increase in conformity after age 11 in the present study and the similar increase found after grade seven in the Allen and Newstan study. The stage conception explanation offered by Costanzo and Shaw (1966) also does not fit with the present data nor with the results of several other investigations (Berenda, 1950;Bishop and Beckman, 1971;Coon & Odum, 1968;Hamm, 1970;Janney et al, 1969;Query, 1968). Their explanation, based on Piaget's stage theory of moral development, would predict a peak in conformity at precisely the point where the present investigation, as well as that of Allen and Newstan, found conformity to be at its lowest point.…”

“…Berenda (1950) found that conformity decreased with age between 7 and 13. This same inverse relationship was subsequently found by several other investigators (Bishop and Beckman, 1971;Coon & Odum, 1968;Hamm, 1970;Janney et al, 1969;Query, 1968). Costanzo and Shaw (1966), and others (Costanza 1970;Iscoe, Williams, and Harvey, 1963), however, have found conformity to increase with age up to age 13.…”

“…Costanzo and Shaw (1966) found conformity to increase with age though an unambiguous task was used. In addition, Hamm (1970) found conformity to decrease with age when both an ambiguous and an unambiguous task were used.…”

“…Iscoe et al (1963) found that with initial ability controlled, conformity increased with age in preadolescents. Hamm (1970) and Allen & Newstan (1972), however, found conformity to decrease with age during preadolescence when initial ability was controlled.…”

Majority influence in children and other animals

“…Given the limited amount of available data, however, the picture emerging from studies on conformity in children is quite unkempt. In general, it seems fair to say that conformity in children appears to follow the same structure found in adult studies: similar to adults, children seem to conform more if the amount of noise relative to the signal in the stimulus is increased, resulting in a decrease of subjects' confidence in their own judgements (Hamm, 1970;Hoving et al, 1969), although not all studies find this effect . Also similar to adults, girls seem to conform more than boys (Costanzo and Shaw, 1966;Iscoe et al, 1964), which may already be true for children as young as 4 years of age (Haun and Tomasello, 2011).…”