The relationship between agency, communion, and neural processes associated with conforming to social influence

Abstract

Social influence is ubiquitous in our daily lives, influencing our opinions, beliefs, and behaviors. Individual differences may determine who is most likely to conform to the opinions of others. More specifically, individual differences in interdependent and independent self-construal determine an individual's sensitivity to and focus on their social surroundings. Relatedly, society traditionally ascribes and prescribes different levels of agency (independence) and communion (interdependence) to men and women. Here, we examined how individual differences in self-construal, and their congruence with gender expectations, influence how people process and respond to social feedback. Results from independent behavioral and neuroimaging samples show that a stronger interdependent self-construal was associated with increased likelihood of conformity, whereas an independent self-construal was not. Further, neuroimaging data suggests that the relationship between brain activity and conformity is moderated by the congruence of gender stereotypes and self-construal. Specifically, stereotypically congruent women (with stronger interdependence) and men (with stronger independence) showed increased activity in mentalizing regions (and value regions in men) when conforming. Stereotypically incongruent women (with stronger independence) and men (with stronger interdependence) showed decreased mentalizing activity when conforming. These results shed light on underlying (neuro)psychological mechanisms that are associated with conformity among different groups.