How Decision-Making Is Affected by Social Conformity |
Photo by camilo jimenez
The rapid growth of digital technologies in the last quarter-century has multiplied the number and types of possible influences on individual values and opinions. Has the digital era changed the level of social conformity in the population? And how can this be measured?
A 2023 meta-analysis of research on conformity suggests that the level of social conformity from January 2004 to December 2022 has remained the same, despite the explosion of social media. But more research is recommended to look at the exact factors involved.
How and why human beings make decisions has always been a topic of interest in science and fiction. In recent years, advanced technology has added another dimension: Scientists have devised methods to create images of how human decisions map onto specific regions of the brain.
Think of the brain of Shakespeare’s Hamlet undergoing an MRI as he recites his famous soliloquy, “To be, or not to be… .” Researchers can now see in real time which parts of the orbitofrontal region of the brain light up as Hamlet speaks or thinks his words.
The difficult part is how to interpret the results. Researchers can map the blips on the brain as they light up, but what does it mean? Devising experiments to tease out the factors that influence a particular decision is tricky. What kind of experimental situations will reveal the subjective emotions that produce the objective result?
How Conformity Is Mapped in the Brain
How and why people follow a perceived leader is an important question relevant for all areas of life, especially politics.
It’s known that the region of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex, or OFC, is involved in decisions relating to value judgments and impulse control, but it’s not easy to design an experiment that maps the perception of social rank on an individual’s decision-making.
A 2012 study by an international team of scientists considered this question and reported finding a direct relationship between the OFC volume and the tendency to change one’s values to align with those of others. The researchers suggested that the tendency to conform may have an “anatomical correlate” in the lower middle front region of the brain, just below the central........