The Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Informational Social Conformity: The Moderating Role of Gender

The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation on social-informational conformity, considering the moderating role of gender.

Two groups (male and female), each group consisting of 24 people aged 18-30, were selected from Tabriz University students' society with a non-random and available sampling method. The current research design was a semi-experimental type with a pre-test and a post-test. In the pre-test stage, the social-informational conformity computerized task was implemented. Then, two sessions (each, 20 minutes) of transcranial direct current stimulation were applied. In the post-test phase, the same social-informational conformity task was performed. Finally, the findings were analyzed with repeated measures variance analysis and covariance analysis in SPSS version 24 software.

The amount of social-informational conformity increased in both groups after applying transcranial direct current stimulation, and gender did not moderate the effect of this stimulation.

Transcranial direct current stimulation has the same effect on conformity in both men and women. Also, cathodal stimulation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex significantly increases the tendency for social-informational conformity in women and men when the participants' initial decision is different from the majority. Since cathodal stimulation reduces neuronal firing, cortical excitability, and motor-evoked potentials, it is reasoned that the reduction of vmPFC stimulation enhances the conformity behavior in people.