Влияние социального сравнения на изменение моральных суждений: апробация экспериментального подхода к оценке

Социология: методология, методы, математическое моделирование. 2026. Т. 35. № 3. С. 254–291.

Oganyan A., Deviatko I. F.

When individuals evaluate the moral culpability of others, do they adjust their judgments after learning how a peer has assessed the same situation — and does it matter whether that peer ranks higher or lower in the group’s social hierarchy? This paper presents a novel experimental procedure that integrates four elements previously not combined in a single field design: vignette-based elicitation of third-party moral judgments, sociometric identification of referents within real academic groups, and face-to-face dyadic interaction as the mechanism of referent influence in a three-wave pretest–intervention–posttest experimental design. Across six student groups (N = 35 dyads) we test two hypotheses about moral conformity and its moderation by status asymmetry. The first hypothesis is strongly confirmed: participants’ moral judgments shift systematically toward the referent’s position in proportion to the initial discrepancy between them. A significant negative effect of academic performance suggests that higher-achieving students are less susceptible to referent influence, a finding that warrants dedicated follow-up. The second hypothesis that upward social comparison produces stronger conformity vs. lateral comparison proved beyond the reach of the current design: the study was underpowered for detecting the interaction effect. The paper documents the methodological lessons of this pilot and proposes specific design improvements for subsequent research.

Keywords: статус, социометрия, групповая динамика, sociometry, status, group dynamics, социальное сравнение, social comparison, моральные суждения, Moral judgement, метод виньеток, экспериментальный дизайн, experimental design, moral conformity, expectation states theory, vignette method, normative influence, моральная конформность, теория статусных ожиданий, нормативное влияние

Publication based on the results of: The diversity of forms, effects and barriers to integration of modern Russian society in synchronic and diachronic dimensions (2025)