Neurobiological Aspects of Social Conformity Study

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Questions and Answers

Which area showed significant activity in relation to social conformity?

  • Anterior cingulate cortex
  • Right intraparietal sulcus (correct)
  • Frontal lobe
  • Left intraparietal sulcus

What does the region of interest (ROI) analysis specifically investigate in the right intraparietal sulcus?

  • Visual processing
  • General brain activity
  • Social interaction patterns
  • The effects driving participant responses (correct)

Which criterion was used to determine the best-fitting model in the analysis?

  • Akaike’s Information Criterion (correct)
  • Schwarz Information Criterion
  • Bayesian Information Criterion
  • Likelihood Ratio Test

What interaction was found involving the source of information in the study?

<p>Between source of information and response correctness (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to the results, how did conforming to incorrect information from the Group compare to conforming from Computers?

<p>Group conformance was associated with greater activity (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What anatomical feature is central to the study of mental rotation and external information?

<p>Right intraparietal sulcus (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of effect did the interaction between source of information and correctness indicate?

<p>Conformity effect through a change in perception (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the main findings related to social conformity in the study?

<p>There is a significant effect of group versus computer information (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the main effect exhibited within the most posterior aspects of the baseline mental rotation network?

<p>Conforming to the Group (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which brain region was subjected to a region-of-interest analysis due to its anatomical confluence of different effects?

<p>Right intraparietal sulcus (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How was mental rotation defined in the study?

<p>From stimulus pair presentation to participant's judgment (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the observed effect of external information on the baseline mental rotation network?

<p>Decreased activation in a subset of the network (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of brain imaging results were noted during mental rotation?

<p>Changes in activity levels (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which brain regions were associated with increases in BOLD activity during mental rotation?

<p>Occipital cortex, parietal cortex, and parts of the frontal cortex (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which brain regions showed greater activity when participants conformed to the Group's incorrect judgment compared to the Computers'?

<p>Right amygdala and right caudate (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What characteristic of activations was noted in the presence of external information compared to baseline mental rotation?

<p>Activations were positive but of decreased magnitude (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the focus of the trials with participants receiving no external information?

<p>To establish a baseline mental rotation network (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does increased activity in the visual cortex indicate in this study?

<p>Strong competition between percepts (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which factor appeared to alter the normal functioning of mental rotation tasks according to the findings?

<p>Peer influence (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of this study, what was the effect of external incorrect information on participants' judgments?

<p>It created a virtual percept that conflicted with their own (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What significance level was reached by the peak activations in the right amygdala and right caudate?

<p>p &lt; 0.001 uncorrected (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did participants' mental rotation processing change when going against the Group?

<p>It indicated stronger external influences on their internal processes (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the increase in activity within the intraparietal sulcus suggest about the competing percepts?

<p>The Group's percept was stronger (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of mental rotation is highlighted through these findings regarding social conformity?

<p>It involves both social influences and cognitive processing (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the decreased activation in regions anterior to the central sulcus suggest about participants during the neuroimaging study?

<p>Participants were still mentally rotating the objects. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was a noted limitation in the neuroimaging study's design?

<p>The experimental setup might have induced a demand effect. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of conformity, what role does the group play in the psychological framework discussed?

<p>The group provides normative influence for individuals. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of the amygdala is Amaral et al. (2003) exploring in their study?

<p>Its essential function in social cognition (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon did Asch SE (1951) investigate regarding group dynamics?

<p>The influence of group pressure on personal judgment (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What effect does the 'off-loading' mentioned in the content have on cognitive processing?

<p>It alleviates processing load at the output stage. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a proposed future experimental focus suggested in the content?

<p>The role of automaticity versus volition. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of functional activation, what does the study by Alivisatos and Petrides (1997) look at?

<p>The activation of brain regions during mental rotation tasks (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do the studies involving neuroimaging seek to understand about the amygdala, as indicated by Phelps et al. (2001)?

<p>Its activation in response to cognitive representations of fear (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What psychological phenomenon could influence participants to conform despite having their own opinions?

<p>Normative influence by the group. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is a primary focus of the research conducted by Ress and Heeger (2003)?

<p>Neuronal correlates of perception in early visual cortex (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a stated consequence of the low number of conformity trials in the neuroimaging study?

<p>It might lead to type II statistical errors. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What concept is central to the discussion by Arrow (1963) regarding social choice?

<p>The mechanisms of individual preferences in group settings (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of conformity is less understood compared to behavioral research?

<p>Mechanisms of nonconformity. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What area does the metaphor of the basal ganglia relate to in Redgrave et al. (1999)?

<p>The selection problem in vertebrate behavior (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the study by Rees and Frith (1998) propose regarding perceptions and actions?

<p>They involve complex neural decision-making processes (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which brain structure, alongside the amygdala, is differentially activated by social independence?

<p>Right caudate nucleus (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was a possible reason participants conformed to external information?

<p>They experienced confusion where none existed before. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What did the study find regarding mental rotation when external information was present?

<p>Decreased activation in frontal regions (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best defines social conformity in this context?

<p>The difference between conforming to a group and a computer. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What attribute made information from humans more salient in the study?

<p>The conflicting nature of the information. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What limitation was acknowledged in the conduct of the study?

<p>The original experiment by Asch had to be modified. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What effect did the presence of external information have on participant behavior according to the study?

<p>It may have relieved some cognitive load during tasks. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the nature of the task in Asch’s original experiment used in this study?

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What function is primarily associated with the right caudate nucleus in the context of the study?

<p>Stimulus saliency processing (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which brain region showed decreased activation during mental rotation when external information was present?

<p>Frontal regions (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what way did the presence of external information potentially benefit participants during mental rotation tasks?

<p>It relieved some cognitive load. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How was social conformity defined in this research study?

<p>The difference between conforming to a group and computers (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What potential effect did external information have on participants that could lead to confusion?

<p>It introduced conflicting information. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was a noted limitation of the neuroimaging study compared to Asch's original experiment?

<p>The task was not perceptually unambiguous. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic of the right caudate nucleus is highlighted in the context of independent behavior?

<p>Increased activation when behaving independently (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What mental process was indicated to have decreased activation when participants were influenced by external information?

<p>Mental rotation capabilities (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Mental Rotation Network

A network of brain regions (occipital, parietal, and frontal cortex) showing increased activity during mental rotation tasks.

Baseline Mental Rotation Network

The brain activity pattern that occurs during mental rotation without outside information.

External Information Effect

The presence of external information during mental rotation leads to decreased activity in parts of the baseline mental rotation network.

Occipital Cortex

Brain region associated with processing visual information. It plays a role in mental rotation.

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Parietal Cortex

A brain region involved in spatial reasoning, processing sensory information, and aspects of mental rotation.

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Social Conformity Effect

An effect found in the posterior parts of the baseline mental rotation network. Differs in activation depending on whether participants conform to a group or computer.

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Intraparietal Sulcus

A specific area of the parietal lobe with a critical role in processing multiple types of information, including social conformity.

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Right Intraparietal Sulcus

A brain region active in multiple cognitive processes, including mental rotation and the processing of external information.

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Mental Rotation Network

A brain network that plays a role in mentally rotating objects in space.

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External Information Network

A brain network processing information from the environment.

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Social Conformity

Altering one's beliefs or actions to match those of a group.

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Region-of-Interest (ROI) Analysis

A focused study on a specific brain area to examine which parts are important in a process.

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Main effect of Source

A result that shows a difference in brain activity due to the source of information (e.g., group vs. computer).

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Interaction between Source and Response

A result that shows how the source of information (group vs. computer) affects brain activity differently depending if the response was correct or incorrect.

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Mental Rotation

A mental process of rotating images in the mind to determine if they match.

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Social Conformity

The act of matching attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to group norms.

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Brain Regions (Mental Rotation)

Specific areas of the brain involved in performing mental rotation. These include intraparietal sulcus and visual cortex and potentially amygdala and caudate.

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Group Influence (Mental Rotation)

How judgments made by groups impact brain activity and mental rotation tasks.

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External Information (Mental Rotation)

Information from an outside source, in the case of the study, group or computer judgment.

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Incorrect External Information

External information that is wrong or inaccurate.

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Activation in Amygdala/Caudate

Increased activity in these regions when people disregarded the external source, confirming incorrect answers, relative to an independent answer.

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Visual Cortex Activity

Visual cortex activity shows the level of cognitive conflict created by differing percepts (internal& external).

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Intraparietal Sulcus Activity

Activity levels in the intraparietal sulcus suggest group influence on visual perceptions and judgments. The group's percept became stronger compared to the computer's.

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Virtual Percept

A perceived image that results from external information influencing one's own internal perception.

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Social Independence

Behaving differently from the group or computers.

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Right Caudate Nucleus

Brain structure activated by social independence.

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Stimulus Salience

Importance or prominence of a stimulus.

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Striatum

Brain region involved in selecting behaviors based on stimulus salience.

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External Information's Effect

External information can lead to confusion or mental load reduction.

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Mental Rotation

Cognitive process of mentally manipulating objects.

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Conformity

Agreement with group behavior or ideas.

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Asch's Experiment

Classic psychological study showing how individuals' behavior may be influenced by the opinions of a group.

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Mental Rotation & External Info

External information during mental rotation tasks reduces processing load in brain regions, likely by offloading the output stage of the task.

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Nonconformity Mechanisms

Little is known about the mechanisms behind choosing not to conform.

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Group Influence (Normative)

A influence on an individual. The group's influence can provide information to an unsure individual, or influence an individual with a definite opinion to conform.

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Social Conformity

Social pressure to conform influences brain regions, likely visually-based tasks involving parietal/visual cortex.

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Neuroimaging Study Limitations

Low number of trials and participants in mental rotation studies limit the statistical power, possibly causing type II errors and lacking a sufficient number of valid trials.

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Demand Effect

The experimental setup might lead participants to conform more than usual, due to the presence of other researchers.

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Mental Rotation

Mentally transforming an object's spatial orientation in your mind.

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Brain Regions in Mental Rotation

Occipital, parietal, and frontal cortex are activated during mental rotation tasks.

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Social Conformity

Changing your behavior to match a group's norms.

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External Information Effect

How external factors affect brain activity during mental rotation tasks.

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Intraparietal Sulcus

A region in the parietal lobe associated with spatial information processing, and aspects of social behavior.

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Amygdala

Brain region linked to emotional processing, especially fear.

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Neuroimaging

Techniques like fMRI to study brain activity.

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Study Notes

Neurobiological Correlates of Social Conformity and Independence During Mental Rotation

  • Background: Conformity occurs when individual judgment aligns with a group's judgment. This can happen either through a change in executive decision-making or a shift in the individual's perception of the situation.

  • Methods: Researchers used fMRI during a mental rotation task to investigate neural activity associated with both individualistic and conforming behaviors. Participants were exposed to peer pressure by seeing fabricated input from others or from computer algorithms. This allowed isolation of the effects of social influence without introducing misleading data.

  • Results: Conformity was correlated with changes in the occipital-parietal network, particularly when the misinformation came from other people. Independent thought corresponded to increased activity in the amygdala and caudate, a pattern consistent with social norm theory. Findings suggest perceptual and emotional processes play a role in social conformity.

  • Key Words: fMRI, perception, mental rotation, parietal lobe, social conformity.

  • Participants: 33 normal, right-handed volunteers (14 female, 19 male), mean age of 26.

  • Experimental Task: Participants judged whether three-dimensional objects were identical or mirror images after varying rotations. Tasks included conditions with peer feedback, or computer feedback, allowing comparison of conformity and independence.

  • Imaging: EEG using a 3 Tesla MRI scanner.

  • Debriefing: Participants completed a questionnaire to assess self-perception about the experiment's accuracy and reasons for conforming or not conforming.

  • Image Analysis: Image analysis software (SPM2) used for identifying areas of brain activity associated with different conditions.

  • Brain Responses: Decreased activity during mental rotation in frontal regions in response to external information. Increased activity observed in areas like the right supramarginal gyrus when participants encountered external information, especially when the external information was from the group. 

  • Perception Versus Decision Making: Social conformity may change perception by influencing the regions of the brain that normally accomplish the task.

  • Findings: Group response caused a measurable change in the right intraparietal sulcus. Participants conformed more to the incorrect group response than the incorrect computer response.

  • Limitations: The study utilized a modified version of the Asch paradigm, using a mental rotation task for inducing conformity. This modification reduced the number of conformity trials per participant. Visual nature of the task could limit generalizability to other tasks. The study's setup might have influenced participants to conform more than in a real-world scenario.

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