Proposal of a double diamond model of social response

Models of social response concern the identification and delineation of possible responses to social pressure. Previous efforts toward a unified model have been limited to conceptualizations that define conformity and its alternatives based on discrete categories (e.g., Montgomery, 1992; Nail et al., 2000). Social response in many settings, however, is more a matter of degree, requiring continuous-response formats. The authors propose a new unified model, the double diamond, which was derived from a synthesis of 11 existing models. To our knowledge, it includes for the first time in a continuous-response model: two types of conformity, three types of anticonformity, independence, compromise, contagion, and numerous other possibilities. The model provides a needed theoretical foundation for a relatively new influence technique: strategic self-anticonformity (MacDonald et al., 2011). The broader integrative power of the model is illustrated by its links with the true self (Rogers, 1951), self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2008), and two therapeutic techniques—paradoxical intention (Frankl, 1967) and motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002).