An ever changing civilisation

The most curious thing that humanity possesses from the perspective of psychology is our ability to conform to societal needs and the social stigma that surrounds us. However, with each passing decade and each creeping era, we unconsciously begin to abide by the new format of society. One day it could be bell bottoms, the next day: skinny jeans.

But what aspect causes the change in human nature? Our fellow Stone-Agers prided themselves in their barbaric nature (going around killing indiscriminately for survival) that to the current human era would be deemed socially unnaceptable. So is it the evolution of a particular section of the brain dedicated to social conformity that has caused this change? A study outline by Rick Nauert PhD explains that:

"Although differences in individuals’ tendencies to conform to social pressures are commonly observed, no anatomical measure has previously been linked to the likelihood of someone conforming under the influence of their peers" (explaining that there is no actual evidence for the human brain to be influencing our conformity to society) Rick Nauert PhD

The study (which is reported on in CURRENT BIOLOGY) measured the grey matter in a specific area of the brain using neuro-imaging technology to see the link between an individual's likelihood of abiding or changing their "habits" to that of those causing social peer pressure.

Each of the 28 participants had their brain volumes measured. After this, each participant had their responses to social influence measured by seeing how their musical preference was altered after being told what an advanced and dependable "authoritative music critic"{2} believed about the piece.

A week before the test the participants had listed 20 songs that they enjoyed but do not own. The day of the testing each participant rated their choices out of 10. They were then told that music critics had also listened to the participants choices and rated them out of 10.

The participants then performed a task comparing their choices with music not known to them. They then re-rated their choices having listened to these new songs and in light of hearing the opinions of the critics the ratings changed. This change served as a "measure of conformity under social influence".{3}

The investigation discovered that grey matter volume was only affected in one precise brain region: the lateral orbitofrontal cortex when the participants were 'affected' by social influence

Now, obviously, there is always discrepancies to these psychological studies with belief that there may be ecological validity in the production of the experiment, having not been entirely accurate to life. But this experiment has been commended for leading to further research that discovered that this region of the brain is particularly tuned to recognising cues of social conflict" {4}

The unanswered question: why do we change our opinions due to the influence of someone who is presented as a superior? Is this a form of evolution, our natural selection due to our biology assuming that those with this 'superiority' are the ones to be followed for new age 'survival'? Tune into my next chapter of the human conformity to see my attempt to loosely answer this question...

Got any ideas? Would like to start a civil

debate? Just comment down below!

https://psychcentral.com/news/2012/02/21/brain-region-linked-to-social-conformity/35087.html

Chandini :)