Effects of Confederate and Subject Gender on Conformity in a Color Classification Task

Abstract

Thirty-four college students were asked to classify ambiguous colors (e.g., blue-green) into their components (e.g., blue or green). They did this first while alone and later with confederates who opposed their previous answers. It was found that most subjects conformed to some degree, with results matching those of classic conformity studies. An ANOVA indicated that female subjects conformed more than males, but that there were no differences based on the gender of the confederates. An interpretation based on superior female emotional sensitivity is offered as an alternative to past explanations of this recurring gender difference.

Influence of primed social roles on gender differences in conformity

“…These results highlight the importance of examining gender roles in future conformity research. Overall, the results support recent research that indicates a subtle change in women's gender roles (Diekman & Eagly, 2000;Diekman & Goodfriend, 2006 A review of the literature on gender differences in conformity reveals a series of inconsistent results across studies (e.g., Collin, Di Sano, & Malik, 1994;Eagly, Wood, & Fishbaugh, 1981;Endler, 1966;Follingstad, 1979;Maslach, Santee, & Wade, 1987;Maupin & Fisher, 1989;Reysen & Reysen, 2004;Santee & Jackson, 1982;Sistrunk & McDavid, 1971) and meta-analyses (Cooper, 1979;Eagly, 1978;Eagly & Carli, 1981). While most researchers argue that there is little evidence to suggest that women always conform more than men, most researchers find at least some evidence to support the idea that women conform more than men sometimes or in some situations.…”

“…Given the changes in social roles and the subtle changes in gender stereotypes, it seems plausible that gender differences in conformity may be waning. Furthermore, gender differences that have been reported recently in the literature (Collin et al, 1994;Ellis, Nel, & Van Rooyen, 1991;Larsen, 1990;Lee, 2006;Griskevicius et al, 2006;Reysen & Reysen, 2004) may have been caused by variables other than social role differences.…”

“…In addition to these meta-analyses, more recent studies have continued to show gender differences in conformity (Collin et al, 1994;Ellis, Nel, & Van Rooyen, 1991;Larsen, 1990;Lee, 2006;Griskevicius, Goldstein, Mortensen, Cialdini, & Kenrick, 2006;Reysen & Reysen, 2004). However, there continues to be inconsistency in the examination and reporting of gender differences.…”

Hot Sauce, toy guns, and graffiti: A critical account of current laboratory aggression paradigms

“…It is therefore questionable whether this paradigm really assesses destructive behaviour, which is usually attributed to men [Goldstein, 1996]. As women tend to be more conforming in general [Collin et al, 1994;Eagly and Chrvala, 1986], it suggests that this procedure might in fact induce conformist behaviour.…”