"Brain mechanisms of social conformity"
by: Cell Press, e! Science News
Date published: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Date accessed: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Why do people do what they do? This article is about how and why people tend go with majority’s choice. A sited source says that individuals are inclined to perceive the behavior of others and make their own decisions based the actions of others. Through an experiment it has been found out that these judgments change the behavior of a person to fit the social norm. Two areas in the brain, the rostral cingulate zone and the nucleus accumbens, were observed throughout the experiment. Whenever there was a difference in opinion, “prediction error signals” were present in those areas, which lead “long-term conforming adjustment” in the brain. Nobody wants to be too different as they think it is a mistake, and try to follow the crowd.
This article is relates to the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as the men in the hospital feel the need to change to fit into society. The Combine acts on them, making them feel insecure and frightened. Through experience and brainwash, the men in the ward know that they are different in some way or the other. The flashbacks of Chief Bromden’s past also show how individuals that do not follow certain regulations will be dealt with until they do agree. This can be related to McMurphy’s fate as well, as he ends up being lobotomized. In the end, McMurphy shows the men that being different is not a bad thing. With that influence Bromden breaks free from the conformity and runaways from the hospital. Even though society may lead the path for the brain to follow, eventually, it is up to the brain to choose where to go.
Normative:
a. ”We often change our decisions and judgments to conform with normative group behavior," says lead study author Dr. Vasily Klucharev from the F.C. Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging in The Netherlands.
b. Normative: adj. establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behavior
Origin: late 19th century: French word normative,-ive, Latin norma ‘carpenter’s square’; norm
c. Most schools establish rules and regulations to enforce normative behavior on children.
Cognitive:
a.”We often change our decisions and judgments to conform with normative group behavior," says lead study author Dr. Vasily Klucharev from the F.C. Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging in The Netherlands.
b. Cognitive: adj. the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses
Origin: congitivus, Latin word from the late 16th century; cognit – ‘known’
c. The student was motivated to use the cognitive process to study for the test.
Elicited:
a. The study authors found that a conflict with the group opinion triggered a long-term conforming adjustment of an individual's own rating and that conflict with the group elicited a neuronal response in the RCZ and NAc similar to a prediction error signal.
b. Elicited: v. evoke or draw out (a reaction, answer, or fact) from someone
Origin: mid-17th century: Latin elicit- ‘drawn out by trickery or magic’, from the verb elicere, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out’ + lacere ‘entice, deceive’
c. The student\s unorthodox speech elicited a negative response from the teachers.
