Conformity to the opinions of other people lasts for no more than 3 days

• Autores: Yi Huang, Keith M. Kendrick, Rongjun Yu
• Localización: Psychological Science, ISSN-e 1467-9280, Vol. 25, Nº. 7, 2014, págs. 1388-1393
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • When people are faced with opinions different from their own, they often revise their own opinions to match those held by other people. This is known as the social-conformity effect. Although the immediate impact of social influence on people�s decision making is well established, it is unclear whether this reflects a transient capitulation to public opinion or a more enduring change in privately held views. In an experiment using a facial-attractiveness rating task, we asked participants to rate each face; after providing their rating, they were informed of the rating given by a peer group. They then rerated the same faces after 1, 3, or 7 days or 3 months. Results show that individuals� initial judgments are altered by the differing opinions of other people for no more than 3 days. Our findings suggest that because the social-conformity effect lasts several days, it reflects a short-term change in privately held views rather than a transient public compliance.