Effect of social pressure on concept identification.

Abstract

One major program of the Wisconsin R and D Center for Cognitive Learning is Program 1 which is concerned with fundamental conditions and processes of learning. This Program consists of laboratory-type research projects, each independently concentrating on certain basic organismic or situational determinants of cognitive learning, but all united in the task of providing knowledge which can be effectively utilized in the construction of instructional systems for tomorrow's schools. Any complete study of the variables which influence human learningwhether in or out of the classroommust ultimately consider social influences. Professor Allen and his associates are actively engaged in a research project directed toward the analysis of social determinants in the acquisition and retention of basic cognitive skills. In this experiment Professor Allen examined the effect of unanimously correct versus unanimously incorrect manipulated feedback from an aggregate of college peers presumably attempting to solve the same concept identification problem. The results not only clearly indicated the facilitative effect of veridical feedback and the deleterious effect of nonveridical feedback, but transfer data revealed a persistent reliance upon the initial accuracy of the social group.