The authors tested whether apparent social status would affect pedestrians' failure to observe a road-safety rule (crossing the road with a "Don't Walk" signal in effect). The authors expected that in comparison to a control situation, there would be a higher rate of conformity when the original rule offender was high status: conversely, the authors expected this behaviour to be inhibited when the person breaking the rule was of lower status. The experiment took place in a city with heavy automobile and pedestrian traffic. Subjects were 2.883 pedestrians. A confederate dressed to appear to be of high versus low intermediate social status routinely crossed the street against the signal. The authors found that the number of offences committed by pedestrians increased significantly when the confederate was dressed as a high-status person rather than when he was wearing clothes suggesting a low or intermediate status. (A)
Abstract