Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social Referencing and Conformity

  • Chapter
Social Referencing and the Social Construction of Reality in Infancy

Abstract

About 30 years ago, university students in Oslo and Paris participated in a study of conformity (Milgram, 1961), in which they were asked to determine which of two acoustic tones was the longer one. To answer this relatively simple question—the two tones were of obviously different lengths—the student sat in a booth and responded only after hearing what appeared to be the judgments of five other students who communicated via intercom from adjacent booths. In truth, the “voices” actually were tape recordings of answers to the tone length judgment question. In the critical trials when the “other students” gave the obviously wrong answer, the French students went along with the others’ judgment 50% of the time, and the Norwegian students 62% of the time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, C. N., Zucker, L. G., & Brody, C. L. (1970). Experimental expectations and autokinetic experiences: Consistency theories and judgmental convergence. Sociometry, 33, 108–122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, V. L. (1965).Situational factors in conformity. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 133–175). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allport, F. H. (1934). The J-curve hypothesis of conforming behavior. Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 141–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amir, T. (1984). The Asch conformity effect: A study in Kuwait. Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 187–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aronson, E. (1984).The social animal (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aronson, E., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1963). Effect of the severity of threat on the devaluation of forbidden behavior. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 584–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1952).Social psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70 (9), 177–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1963). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men (pp. 177–190). New York: Russell & Russell. (Original work published 1951)

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, K. C. (1985).Infants’ use of conflicting emotion signals. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Denver, 1984). Dissertation Abstracts international, 46, 321B–322B.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, H. S. (1953). Becoming a marijuana user. American Journal of Sociology, 59, 235–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, L. L., Birch, D., Marlin, D., & Kramer, L. (1982). Effects of instrumental eating on children’s food preferences. Appetite, 3, 125–134.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, L. L., Marlin, D., & Rotter, J. (1984). Eating as the “means” activity in a contingency: Effects on young children’s food preference. Child Development, 55, 431–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boccia, M. L., & Campos, J. J. (1983, April). Maternal emotional signals and infants’ reactions to strangers. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Detroit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, D. L., Campos, J. J., & Klinnert, M. D. (1986, April). Emotional expressions as determinants of infants’ immediate and delayed responses to prohibitions. Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Infant Studies, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, D. L., Goldsmith, H. H., & Campos, J. J. (1987). Attachment, temperament, and social referencing: Interrelationships among three domains of infant affective behavior. Infant Behavior and Development, 10, 223–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bretherton, I. (1984). Social referencing and the interfacing of minds: A commentary on the views of Feinman and Campos. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 30, 419–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bretherton, I., O’Connell, B., Shore, C., & Bates, E. (1984). The effect of contextual variation on symbolic play: Development from 20 to 28 months. In I. Bretherton (Ed.), Symbolic play: The development of social understanding (pp. 271–298). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. D., Tesser, A., & Fairey, P. J. (1986). Conformity and attention to the stimulus: Some temporal and contextual dynamics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 315–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campos, J. J. (1983). The importance of affective communication in social referencing: A commentary on Feinman. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 29, 83–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campos, J. J., & Stenberg, C. (1981). Perception, appraisal, and emotion: The onset of social referencing. In M. Lamb & L. Sherrod (Eds.), Infant social cognition (pp. 273–314). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. K. (1964).Deviance and control Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, C. H. (1964).Human nature and the social order (rev. ed.). New York: Schocken. (Original work published 1922)

    Google Scholar 

  • Crano, W. D. (1970). Effects of sex, response order, and expertise in conformity: A dispositional approach. Sociometry, 33, 239–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cromwell, R. E., & Olson, D. H. (Eds.). (1975). Power in families. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutchfîeld, R. S. (1955). Conformity and character. American Psychologist, 10, 191–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, L. L. (1984). Judgement ambiguity, self-consciousness, and conformity in judgements of fashionability. Psychological Reports, 54, 671–675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgement. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 629–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickstein, S., & Parke, R. D. (1988). Social referencing in infancy: A glance at fathers and marriage. Child Development, 59, 506–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dickstein, S., Thompson, R. A., Estes, D., Malkin, C., & Lamb, M. E. (1984). Social referencing and the security of attachment. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 507–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H., & Chrvala, C. (1986). Sex differences in conformity: Status and gender role interpretations. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10, 203–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, P. (1985). Telling lies: Clues to deceit in the marketplace, politics and marriage. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S. (1982). Social referencing in infancy. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 28, 445–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S. (1983).How does baby socially refer? Two views of social referencing: A reply to Campos. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 29, 467–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S. (1985). Emotional expression, social referencing, and preparedness for learning in infancy—Mother knows best, but sometimes I know better. In G. Zivin (Ed.), The development of expressive behavior: Biology-environment interactions (pp. 291–318). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S. (1991). Bringing babies back into the social world. In M. Lewis & S. Feinman (Eds.), Social influences and socialization in infancy (pp. 281–325). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S., & Lewis, M. (1983). Social referencing at ten months: A second-order effect on infants’ responses to strangers. Child Development, 54, 878–887.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S., & Lewis, M. (1984). Is there social life beyond the dyad? A social-psychological view of social connections in infancy. In M. Lewis (Ed.), Beyond the dyad (pp. 13–41). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S., Roberts, D., & Hsieh, K. (1988, April). Social referencing within the context of the infant-sibling-mother triad. Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Infant Studies, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinman, S., Roberts, D., & Morissette, P. L. (1986, April). The effect of social referencing on 12-month-olds’ responses to a stranger’s attempts to “make friends.” Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Infant Studies, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1950). Informal social communication. Psychological Review, 57, 271–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1953). An analysis of compliant behavior. In M. Sherif & O. Wilson (Eds.), Group relations as the crossroads (pp. 232–256). New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freedman, J. L. (1965). Long-term behavioral effects of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1, 145–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frijda, N. H. (1969).Recognition of emotion. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 167–223). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, D. (1962). Experimental studies of social influence in simple judgement situations. Journal of Social Psychology, 56, 245–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnar, M. R., & Stone, C. (1984). The effects of positive maternal affect on infant responses to pleasant, ambiguous, and fear-provoking toys. Child Development, 55, 1231–1236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P. R. (1985). Asch’s data and the “Asch effect” A critical note. British Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 229–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, D. F., Nash, A., & Pedersen, J. (1981). Responses of six-month-olds to the distress of their peers. Child Development, 52, 1071–1075.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirshberg, L. (1990). When infants look to their parents: II. Twelve-month-olds’ response to conflicting parental emotional signals. Child Development, 61, 1187–1191.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hirshberg, L. M., & Svejda, M. (1990). When infants look to their parents: I. Infants’ social referencing of mothers compared to fathers. Child Development, 61, 1175–1186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hollander, E. P., & Willis, R. H. (1967). Some current issues in the psychology of conformity and nonconformity. Psychological Bulletin, 68, 62–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, W. R., & Sherif, M. (1962). Verbal report and judgement of an unstructured stimulus. Journal of Psychology, 54, 121–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper, M. (1983). The motivational basis of political behavior: A new concept and measurement procedure. Public Opinion Quarterly, 47, 497–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hornik, R., & Gunnar, M. (1988). A descriptive analysis of infant social referencing. Child Development, 59, 626–634.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hornik, R., Risenhoover, N., & Gunnar, M. (1987). The effects of maternal positive, neutral, and negative affective communications on infant responses to new toys. Child Development, 58, 937–944.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Insko, C. A., Drenan, S., Solomon, M. R., Smith, R., & Wade, T. J. (1983). Conformity as a function of the consistency of positive self-evaluation with being liked and being right. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 341–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J. M., & Saltzstein, H. D. (1958). The effect of person-group relationships on conformity processes. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 57, 17–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahoda, M. (1959). Conformity and independence. Human Relations, 12, 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelman, H. C. (1961). Processes of opinion change. Public Opinion Quarterly, 25, 57–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiesler, C. A. (1969). Group pressure and conformity. In J. Mills (Ed.), Experimental social psychology (pp. 235–306). New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiesler, C. A., & Kiesler, S. B. (1969). Conformity. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klinnert, M. D. (1984). The regulation of infant behavior by maternal facial expression. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 447–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klinnert, M. D., Campos, J. J., Sorce, J. F., Emde, R. N., & Svejda, M. (1983).Emotions as behavior regulators: Social referencing in infancy. In R. Plutchik & H. Kellerman (Eds.), The emotions (Vol. 2, pp. 57–86). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klinnert, M. D., Emde, R. N., Butterfield, P., & Campos, J. J. (1986). Social referencing: The infant’s use of emotional signals from a friendly adult with mother present. Developmental Psychology, 22, 427–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krech, D., Crutchfield, R. S., & Ballachey, E. L. (1962). Individual in society. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langhorst, B. H. (1983, April). Early antecedents of affect referencing. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Detroit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1968).Emotions and adaptation: Conceptual and empirical relations. In W. J. Arnold (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation (Vol. 16, pp. 175–270). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung, E. H. L., & Rheingold, H. L. (1981). Development of pointing as a social gesture. Developmental Psychology, 17, 215–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liska, J. (1978). Situational and topical variations in credibility criteria. Communication Monographs, 45, 85–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lofland, J. (1969).Deviance and identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lott, A. J., & Lott, B. E. (1961). Group cohesiveness, communication level, and conformity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 408–412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luchins, A. S. (1945). Social influences on perceptions of complex drawings. Journal of Social Psychology, 11, 257–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mausner, B. (1954). The effect of one partner’s success in a relevant task on the interaction of observer pairs. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 49, 557–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKelvey, W., & Kerr, N. H. (1988). Differences in conformity among friends and strangers. Psychological Reports, 62, 759–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milgram, S. (1961).Nationality and conformity. Scientific American, 205(6), 45–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milgram, S. (1974).Obedience to authority. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, C. M., & Messer, D. J. (1977). Mothers, infants and pointing: A study of a gesture. In H. R. Schaffer (Ed.), Studies in mother-infant interaction (pp. 325–354). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth, C., & Chiles, C. (1988). Modelling courage: The role of dissent in fostering independence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 275–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981).Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1984). The effects of involvement on responses to argument quantity and quality: Central and peripheral routes to persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 69–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petty, E. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 847–855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollis, N. P., & Montgomery, R. L. (1966). Conformity and resistance to compliance. Journal of Psychology, 63, 35–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pollis, N. P., Montgomery, R. L., & Smith, T. G. (1975). Autokinetic paradigms: A reply to Alexander, Zucker and Brody. Sociometry, 38, 358–373.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sakurai, M. M. (1975). Small group cohesiveness and detrimental conformity. Sociometry, 38, 340–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherif, M. (1958). Group influences upon the formation of norms and attitudes. In E. Maccoby, T. Newcomb, & E. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in social psychology (pp. 219–232). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorce, J. F., Emde, R. N., Campos, J. J., & Klinnert, M. D. (1985).Maternal emotional signaling: Its effect on the visual cliff behavior of 1-year-olds. Developmental Psychology, 21,195–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorrels, J. P., & Kelly, J. (1984). Conformity by omission. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10, 302–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stang, D. J. (1981).Introduction to social psychology. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stayton, D. J., Hogan, R., & Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1971). Infant obedience and maternal behavior: The origins of socialization reconsidered. Child Development, 42, 1057–1069.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Svejda, M. J., & Campos, J. J. (1982, March). Mother’s vocal expression of emotion as a behavior regulator. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Infant Studies, Austin, TX.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thibaut, J. W., & Strickland, L. H. (1956). Psychological set and social conformity. Journal of Personality, 25, 115–129.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Valsiner, J. (1984). Two alternative epistemological frameworks in psychology: The typological and variational modes of thinking. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 5, 449–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waiden, T. A., & Baxter, A. (1989). The effect of context and age on social referencing. Child Development, 60, 1511–1518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waiden, T. A., & Ogan, T. A. (1988). The development of social referencing. Child Development, 59, 1230–1240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M. (1975). Actions and actors: Principles of social psychology. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, R. H. (1963).Two dimensions of conformity-nonconformity, Sociometry, 26, 499–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, R. H. (1965a). Conformity, independence, and anticonformity. Human Relations, 18, 373–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, R. H. (1965b, September). Descriptive models of social response. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, R. H., & Hollander, E. P. (1964). An experimental study of three response modes in social influence situations. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 150–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zarbatany, L., & Lamb, M. E. (1985). Social referencing as a function of information source: Mothers versus strangers. Infant Behavior and Development, 8, 25–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Family Studies, Department of Home Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, 82071, USA

    Saul Feinman

Authors
  1. Saul Feinman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Family Studies, Department of Home Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, 82071, USA

    Saul Feinman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Feinman, S. (1992). Social Referencing and Conformity. In: Feinman, S. (eds) Social Referencing and the Social Construction of Reality in Infancy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2462-9_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2462-9_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2464-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2462-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation