{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T18:14:39Z","timestamp":1788200079476,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002648","name":"Catholic University of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002648","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Conformity is often understood as a socially motivated process; however, individuals increasingly conform not only to humans but also to artificial intelligence (AI). It remains unclear whether the same motivational and task-related mechanisms underlie conformity across these sources. To examine whether conformity to AI reflects task- and motivation- dependent processes similar to those underlying conformity to humans, we conducted an online conformity experiment in which we manipulated opinion source (AI vs. human) and task type (objective vs. subjective), while measuring participants\u2019 self-reported experiences of social exclusion as a potential moderator. Participants (N\u2009=\u2009354) were randomly assigned to either an AI or human opinion-source condition and completed a series of judgment tasks. The results showed that social exclusion reduced conformity to AI-generated opinions, but not to human opinions. In contrast, task type did not significantly moderate the effect of opinion source. These findings suggest that conformity to AI may be shaped by mechanisms that differ from those underlying traditional interpersonal conformity, particularly under conditions of social disconnection. More broadly, the findings indicate that responses to AI- generated opinions may depend not only on social-affiliative motives but also on informational or epistemic evaluations of the source.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0355478","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T17:25:09Z","timestamp":1788197109000},"page":"e0355478","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Conforming to AI vs. humans: The moderating effects of social exclusion and task type"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-7299-5064","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"HeeJun","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8416-0564","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hyeontaek","family":"Oh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3725-1834","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yoonkyung","family":"Jeong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0355478.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.5334\/irsp.874","article-title":"A systematic review of research on conformity","volume":"37","author":"C Capuano","year":"2024","journal-title":"International Rev Social Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"591","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.55.090902.142015","article-title":"Social influence: compliance and conformity","volume":"55","author":"RB Cialdini","year":"2004","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actpsy.2022.103681","article-title":"Social influences in the digital era: When do people conform more to a human being or an artificial intelligence?","volume":"229","author":"P Riva","year":"2022","journal-title":"Acta Psychol (Amst)"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"553","DOI":"10.1177\/0093650210368258","article-title":"The influences of message and source factors on advice outcomes","volume":"37","author":"B Feng","year":"2010","journal-title":"Communic Res"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355478.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"691","DOI":"10.1002\/for.2464","article-title":"Understanding algorithm aversion: When is advice from automation discounted?","volume":"36","author":"A Prahl","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Forecasting"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0355478.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1325","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1559-1816.2010.00620.x","article-title":"The Effects of Source Credibility in the Presence or Absence of Prior Attitudes: Implications for the Design of Persuasive Communication Campaigns","volume":"40","author":"GT Kumkale","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Appl Soc Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1038\/scientificamerican1155-31","article-title":"Opinions and social pressure","volume":"193","author":"SE Asch","year":"1955","journal-title":"Sci Am"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355478.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1111\/0022-4537.00153","article-title":"Machines and mindlessness: social responses to computers","volume":"56","author":"C Nass","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Social Issues"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref009","first-page":"187","author":"N Salomons","year":"2018"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355478.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0000033","article-title":"Algorithm aversion: people erroneously avoid algorithms after seeing them err","volume":"144","author":"BJ Dietvorst","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Gen"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2018.08.003","article-title":"People are averse to machines making moral decisions","volume":"181","author":"YE Bigman","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1016\/j.obhdp.2018.12.005","article-title":"Algorithm appreciation: People prefer algorithmic to human judgment","volume":"151","author":"JM Logg","year":"2019","journal-title":"Organ Behav Hum Decis Process"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355478.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1092","DOI":"10.1080\/07421222.2018.1523534","article-title":"The Persuasive Power of Algorithmic and Crowdsourced Advice","volume":"35","author":"J Gunaratne","year":"2018","journal-title":"Journal of Management Information Systems"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0355478.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"809","DOI":"10.1177\/0022243719851788","article-title":"Task-Dependent Algorithm Aversion","volume":"56","author":"N Castelo","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Marketing Res"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0355478.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1207","DOI":"10.1177\/0018720818788473","article-title":"Under Pressure: Examining Social Conformity With Computer and Robot Groups","volume":"60","author":"N Hertz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Hum Factors"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref016","article-title":"Loneliness and social conformity: A predictive processing perspective","author":"N Haihambo","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ann N Y Acad Sci"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"816","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2008.02162.x","article-title":"I Am Too Just Like You","volume":"19","author":"JL Lakin","year":"2008","journal-title":"Psychological Science"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355478.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.92.1.42","article-title":"Does social exclusion motivate interpersonal reconnection? Resolving the \u201cporcupine problem\u201d","volume":"92","author":"JK Maner","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355478.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1037\/a0015250","article-title":"Reactions to discrimination, stigmatization, ostracism, and other forms of interpersonal rejection: a multimotive model","volume":"116","author":"L Smart Richman","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychol Rev"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvp.2022.101951","article-title":"The influence of social exclusion on adolescents\u2019 social withdrawal behavior: The moderating role of connectedness to nature","volume":"87","author":"L Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Environ Psychol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355478.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"232","DOI":"10.1002\/ab.20347","article-title":"Adding injury to insult: unexpected rejection leads to more aggressive responses","volume":"36","author":"ED Wesselmann","year":"2010","journal-title":"Aggress Behav"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0355478.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1037\/a0030913","article-title":"Validation of the ostracism experience scale for adolescents","volume":"25","author":"R Gilman","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychol Assess"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0355478.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.21074\/kjlcap.2019.20.1.127","article-title":"Development and Validation of the Korean Version of the Social Exclusion Experience Scale","volume":"20","author":"B-K Lee","year":"2019","journal-title":"The Korean Journal of Consumer and Advertising Psychology"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1177\/014662168500900307","article-title":"The development of a rasch-type loneliness scale","volume":"9","author":"J de Jong-Gierveld","year":"1985","journal-title":"Appl Psychol Meas"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref025","first-page":"107","article-title":"The validation study of the Korean version of de Jong Gierveld loneliness scale for the elderly","volume":"36","author":"K Joo","year":"2024","journal-title":"The Korean J Counseling and Psychotherapy"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355478.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"864","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.114.4.864","article-title":"On seeing human: a three-factor theory of anthropomorphism","volume":"114","author":"N Epley","year":"2007","journal-title":"Psychol Rev"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140","DOI":"10.1016\/j.obhdp.2010.02.005","article-title":"Social reconnection revisited: The effects of social exclusion risk on reciprocity, trust, and general risk-taking","volume":"112","author":"R Derfler-Rozin","year":"2010","journal-title":"Organ Behav Hum Decis Process"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0355478.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1080\/07421222.1998.11518185","article-title":"Is Anybody out There? Antecedents of Trust in Global Virtual Teams","volume":"14","author":"SL Jarvenpaa","year":"1998","journal-title":"Journal of Management Information Systems"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref029","article-title":"Association of using AI tools for personal conversation with social disconnectedness outcomes","author":"A Hajek","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Public Health (Berl)"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107637","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2022.107637","article-title":"Do lonely people seek robot companionship? A comparative examination of the Loneliness\u2013Robot anthropomorphism link in the United States and China","volume":"141","author":"J Dang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"key":"pone.0355478.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2024.112979","article-title":"To avoid disconnection or approach connection: Loneliness predicts social robot anthropomorphism via different social motivations in the UK and China","volume":"235","author":"Z Feng","year":"2025","journal-title":"Pers Individ Dif"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355478","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T17:25:14Z","timestamp":1788197114000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355478"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Lianshan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0355478","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]}}}