Cognitive Mechanisms of Social Influence: the Role of Motivation

People often change their behavior and opinions to match behavior of others. Neurocognitive mechanisms of this conformity tendency are not clear and the role of motivation is largely neglected in recent neuroimaging studies of conformity. In the current study we suggest a novel paradigm which induces social influence during perceptual decision-making and manipulates motivation. The design is based on Elaboration likelihood model and Self-determination theory and focuses on the role of intrinsic motivation in conformity. Thirty-five subjects participated in the study. Our results showed that social influence affected perceptual decision-making. Using linear mixed models, we found a significant effect of group size and motivation on conformity. We also suggest further modifications of the experimental design to optimize the paradigm for further studies and modeling.