Adolescents’ status-dependent public and private conformity to prosocial and antisocial decisions in a public goods game

Abstract

Abstract Peer influence is a central yet contested issue in adolescence, a developmental period marked by heightened social sensitivity. The present study examined how adolescents conform to prosocial and antisocial decisions of peers with different knowledge-based statuses in public or private contexts, while also considering gender and dispositional social conformity and prosocial tendencies. A total of 271 adolescents (132 boys, 139 girls; M  = 17, SD  = 1.495) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions. After completing dispositional conformity and prosocial tendencies questionnaires, they underwent a status manipulation task and then played a modified Public Goods Game. In general, adolescents conformed more strongly to high-status peers. Prosocial peer decisions prompted greater conformity in public contexts, whereas antisocial decisions primarily led to private conformity. These effects were further shaped by individual differences in emotional prosociality, compliance, and dispositional conformity. Higher emotional prosociality attenuated status-related differences in conformity and was associated with lower conformity among boys than girls. Greater compliance amplified girls’ conformity, particularly toward high-status and prosocial peers, whereas higher dispositional conformity widened the prosocial–antisocial conformity gap, especially in private contexts. These findings highlight the influential role of high-status peers and suggest that leveraging such influence may help promote prosocial behavior and reduce free riding.