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Smart Conformists: Children and Adolescents Associate Conformity With Intelligence Across Cultures
Author(s) -
Wen Nicole J.,
Clegg Jennifer M.,
Legare Cristine H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12935
Subject(s) - conformity , psychology , trait , developmental psychology , contrast (vision) , ethnography , social psychology , sociology , artificial intelligence , computer science , anthropology , programming language
The current study used a novel methodology based on multivocal ethnography to assess the relations between conformity and evaluations of intelligence and good behavior among Western (U.S.) and non‐Western (Ni‐Vanuatu) children (6‐ to 11‐year‐olds) and adolescents (13‐ to 17‐year‐olds; N = 256). Previous research has shown that U.S. adults were less likely to endorse high‐conformity children as intelligent than Ni‐Vanuatu adults. The current data demonstrate that in contrast to prior studies documenting cultural differences between adults' evaluations of conformity, children and adolescents in the United States and Vanuatu have a conformity bias when evaluating peers' intelligence and behavior. Conformity bias for good behavior increases with age. The results have implications for understanding the interplay of conformity bias and trait psychology across cultures and development.