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Exploring Gender Conformity in a South African Tertiary Institution: A Field Experiment

¹ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
² School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
³ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁴ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁵ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁶ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁷ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁸ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
⁹ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
¹⁰ School of Psychosocial Health, Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Psychology·Volume 13 (2022)·Pages 1823–1834·Published 5 December 2022·DOI10.4236/psych.2022.1313113

Abstract

This field experiment aimed to answer the following research question: Is there a significant association between gender and conformity in a South African context ? The methodological foundations for our research question (within a South African context) were laid by the United States of America field experiment of Carter et al. (2019) and accordingly unobtrusive observation was used to observe male and female conformity. The setting for the field experiment was a cafeteria on campus at a tertiary institution in South Africa. Statistical data analysis revealed a significant association between gender and conformity, with males less conforming and more non-conforming than expected, and females more conforming and less non-conforming than expected. Moreover, a content analysis of observed verbal behavior revealed the following five categories: females expressed anger, females critically questioned gender signs, males expressed amusement at the experience, males casually inquired about gender signs, and finally that groups influence vocal expression. In contrast to international studies, our results show high rates of non-conformity and amusement amongst males and high rates of conformity and anger amongst females.

KeywordsConformityGender NormsObservationPsychologyField ExperimentSouth Africa

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Exploring Gender Conformity in a South African Tertiary Institution: A Field Experiment

Abstract

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