Fortunately, there are also positive forms of peer pressure that can lead to better outcomes. Learning how to cope with peer pressure matters as it can help us stand by our values. Peer pressure is the influence, whether direct or indirect, that is placed on individuals within the same social group that impacts their behavior. This can affect all sorts of different groups, but perhaps some of the most susceptible to peer pressure are the groups formed in adolescence.
When a teen overhears a friend gossiping about another person and then reacts to the gossip, that is indirect peer pressure. Or if a middle schooler learns that the popular kids’ parties include alcohol or drugs, that indirect pressure may prompt them to experiment as a way to gain acceptance. It is also the most common age for kids to start experimenting with alcohol, drugs, sexual activity and other risky behaviors.
Take Your Time
This pressure resides in a one-on-one interaction; the one being influenced has more opportunity to confront his or her decision against his or her set of beliefs and values. Role modeling good emotional self-regulation may also help your child stick to their own values which of the following is a type of indirect peer pressure? when it comes to peer pressure. Self-regulation involves the ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in order to manage current behavior and achieve long-term goals. In turn, your friend might reconsider criticizing people based on their appearance.
- Evidence of genetic predispositions for substance use exists[26] and some have begun to examine gene x environment interactions for peer influence.
- A 2020 study used a number of personality and peer influence measures to identify characteristics of adolescents who are more susceptible to peer pressure.
- Teens may feel pressure to do things in a romantic relationship that they are not ready for, just to prove that they care about the other person.
- Drinking alcohol to conform to belong to a group is an example of unspoken peer pressure.
- The second dataset represents the second phase of a longitudinal study about how Brazilian farmers adopted the use of hybrid seed corns, examining personal factors influencing farmers’ innovative behavior in agriculture.
Some researchers did a social experiment where they asked a group of people to identify which line out of the three was the same as the one given. However, when peer pressure was added, meaning they heard the answers of those who went before them, 38% of them changed their answer to line A after some people in front of them purposely answered A. It’s easy to conform to social influence, but you also have to trust yourself when you know that you’re right. Go for the answer you’re sure of, and don’t answer line A when you know it’s C.
How to Deal with Peer Pressure
The most common type of negative pressure is risk-taking behaviors like drug use. Nonetheless, this type of pressure doesn’t have much effect on young people with a strong sense of themselves, beliefs, and morals, because it goes against their principles and simply cannot be accepted. Nonetheless, the unspoken peer pressure that happens in schools can be a cause of depression in teens, and that’s why we are going to discuss how parents can help reduce pressure in teens.
More importantly, the levels of PP determine the leaders who can achieve full control of their social groups. PP can overcome barriers imposed upon a consensus by the existence of tightly connected communities with local leaders or the existence of leaders with poor cohesiveness of opinions. A moderate level of PP is also necessary to explain the rate at which innovations diffuse through a variety of social groups. A group dynamic can be a positive peer influence if the behaviors are healthy, age-appropriate and socially acceptable. For instance, if a peer group wants to make good grades, a young teen can be positively influenced to study.