When Motivated To Scrutinize: When and How Do People Use Majority Size in Conformity Decisions?.

Résumé du livre

Motivational factors thought to differentially influence the use of majority size as a criterion for conformity were investigated, along with the particular manner in which majority size is used. Specifically, performance goals and individuals' uncertainty about their own judgment were hypothesized to increase the need for valid social information, thereby leading to greater scrutiny of the source itself. In two studies, participants performed a mental rotation task and viewed piecharts representing the ostensible normative judgments of their peers. The apparent competence of the majority was manipulated by associating large majorities with either correct or incorrect judgments, which would have taken multiple trials to detect. I predicted that only with a performance goal (as opposed to an affiliation goal or a learning goal) would participants be motivated to track the validity of the information, and thus show differential conformity to apparently incompetent and competent majorities. In a third study, participants' certainty in their own judgment was manipulated. I predicted that uncertain participants would be more persuaded by a large than small majority, which would contradict previous research findings showing only a majority status effect. None of the hypotheses were straightforwardly supported. However, additional analyses including participants' perceptions of their own performance provided mixed support.