Chapter 6

Adolescent psychology: Peers

The Peer Group

Normal competent social development in adolescence depends on good peer relationships

Peers: near in age, near in behavior, and near in interaction

Peer Group Functions

A source of information and social comparison (reference group)

Opportunities for demonstrating competence and rehearsing roles (trying out new behaviors)

Models for, and reinforcement for, behavior

Hierarchical structure of the peer group Maintains a pecking order (role and

status) Consists of positions of status which are

filled from the top and bottom to the middle

Has a normative structure (norms develop in all groups)

Hierarchical structure of the peer group Promotes frustration and competition

between groups Intergroup competition can foster

hostility between groups Intergroup hostility can be reduced by

superordinate common goals

Group formation can occur over many issues Music, politics, religion, ethnicity, or

sexual preference Groups can be a “crowd” or a “clique”

which we will discuss in detail

The Crowd

Interact because of common interests in activities

Example: people in a crowd at a rock concert

Group interest of the “crowd” is narrow and short-lived

They are a time-limited specific-focus collection of individuals

Cliques

Formed on the basis of wider similarity of interests and social ideals

Selection of a clique often involves conflict

Clique allegiance may overshadow personal identity and membership in formal organizations

Cliques

Are smaller and more intimate than the crowd

Have higher cohesion than the crowd Have longer duration than the crowd

Peer Popularity

Popularity with peers is related to:– being ones’ self– being happy– conforming to peer group norms– being friendly and enthusiastic– indicating concern for others as well as for

ones’ self (but not being conceited or stuck up)

Peer popularity: % of characteristic Males Females conformity 37 55 friendly 40 40 being self 18 20 personality 10 20 attractive 04 10 “cool” 11 08

Peer popularity

Persons who are physically attractive and intelligent are more popular with peers

Peers make good tutors and models Finding groups of importance with peers

of good caliber

Rejected and neglected children

Both are unsuccessful kids in the peer popularity game

Neglected children are just ignored by the peer group

Rejected children are downright attacked and treated differently by possible peer groups

Peer Conformity

Peer pressure: agreeing with expressed opinions of the group

Agreeing with the dress code, habits of expression, and some behaviors of the peer group

Adolescents more likely to follow peer standards than children or adults

Peer conformity

Peer pressure reaches its peak around 14 years of age and then is replaced by conformity to friends (and not the entire group or clique).

Junior high students have less personal freedom than almost any other group as the personal expression is dominated by the peer group.

Conformity in the peer group

Conformist: understands and obeys expectations

Nonconformist: understands expectations and refuses to change personal behaviors; truly independent

Anticonformist: behaves counter to expectations.

Merton’s Anomie Theory of Deviance Goals Means to Goals Conformist yes yes Innovation yes no Ritualism no yes Retreatism no no Rebellion NO!!! NO!!! Rebel without a cause...

Conformity

Conformists are most common Ritualists, Innovators are next most

common Retreatists are next to last and Rebels

are the last in the conformity continuum Increased allegiance to the peer group

marks only superficial value differences with parents values

Values

Conflicts between parents and teens are a matter of degree of agreement with value, usually, and not in the direction of the value itself.

Which school to go to RATHER than the value of going to school at all.

Much overlap in values between parents and teens

Values

In areas where parents lack expressed conviction kids turn to peers for information about what to think

need to conform to peer group value structure varies individually

Quality of family relationships, type of family, can influence values, of course.

Values conflicts

Adults emphasize:– conformity to society– work– achievement

Peer group emphasizes:– conformity to youth culture– fun– self-gratification

Friendships: Importance

Particularly important in adolescence and intimate friendships first emerge at this time

Companionship, stimulation, physical support, ego support, social comparison, intimacy/affection all happen within the bounds of adolescent friendships

Intimacy and similarity in friendships Girls have more intimate friendships

than boys do and rate them more highly than do boys

Friends are usually similar in terms of age, sex, race, and attitudes, aspirations, and interests

Later adolescent friendships more important than early ones

Criteria for friendship

Similarity of social characteristics similarity of sex age school grade SES ethnicity intelligence, educational aspirations

Social intelligence

Develops in early adolescence so that teens can understand what it takes to get along, make friends, and be included

Decoding of social cues, interpretation of cues and hints, response searches, selection of appropriate responses all influence social intelligence

Friendship patterns

Early adolescence: superficiality and someone to have fun with

Middle adolescence: emotional intensity at its peak just prior to dating and sexual activity– emphasis on the quality of the relationship

itself– sharing, openness

Qualities of a good friend

Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent.

Heard these before?

Friendships: Late Adolescence

The intense quality recedes and is replaced by greater independence.

Intimacy: closeness, ease of communication, attachment and affection

Friendship: voluntary involvement in mutual activities with one other person.

Matrix of Intimacy/Friendship

Perception of Friendship High Low High Integrated Intimate

Intimacy Low Friendly Uninvolved

Friendships

College girls are more likely to have integrated and intimate friendships

High school boys are more friendly or uninvolved relationships

Integrated relationships are more likely to happen for either gender in later adolescence than in earlier adolescence

Dating:Functions

Provides a form of recreation

Is a source of status and achievement

Is a part of the socialization process

Serves as a form of mate selection

Dating: Incidence and Age Trends Most adolescents begin dating between

12-16 years of age Girls are more likely than boys to

disclose themselves and to engage in personality exploration with a date

Adolescents claim to choose dates for personality factors but the main factor is physical attraction and chances for sex

Dating

The number one reason for liking someone is that they like you too

Mutual admiration Consensual validation of reality Going “Steady” means a commitment not

to date others (a mini-marriage) Males show higher sexual interest;

females show higher love/romance

Dating

What attracts adolescents to each other?– Consensual validation– similarity of interests– same socioeconomic class– same level of attractiveness– trade offs between chances for sex and

love/romantic involvement; dynamic

Sexual behavior and adolescence

After controlling for demographic variables, adolescent females who had engaged in sexual intercourse reported:– more frequent use of alcohol – more frequent use of cigarettes– higher levels of stress

76% of sexually active teens can be identified with these 3 traits

Sexual activity predictors

For both males and females alcohol consumption is a major predictor of sexual activity

smoking as a predictor stress as a predictor Risks of sexual behavior to teens

– HepC, HepB, Herpes-2, HIV-1

Sexual predictors in adolescent males Frequent use of alcohol higher stress levels less likely to use seatbelts more likely to be in physical fights

Types of love

Storge: life-long friends– rapport, self-revelation, interdependency– mutual need fulfillment– good friends– unquestioned assumption of the

permanency of the relationship– comfortable and relaxing– mutual trust

Types of love

Agapic love– totally “thou” centered– forgiving, putting other first– completely open acceptance no matter

what– will give up the loved one if that seems to

be the better thing for the loved one– always supportive

Types of love

Mania– possessiveness and intense dependency– unable to sleep, eat, or think logically

around the loved one– peaks of excitement, depths of depression– irrational– cannot tolerate absence, loss of loved one– jealousy, low-self-esteem, anxiety

Types of love

Pragma: logical-sensible love– market-value of self and appraisal of other

and a “settling” of what is a best match given the plus/minus of both

– good helper, help to achieve potentials of other

– checks out in-laws, knows the score– pragma thinks ahead

Types of love

Ludus: self-centered game player– plays love affairs as a game like they play

games or puzzles -- to win– shys away from commitment of any sort– avoids long range plans– probably not sexually sophisticated; sex

may be self-centered and exploitative– uses persons and then moves on

Types of love

Eros: Romantic love– falling in love– whole mind-body connectedness– remember the kiss, smell, taste, and feel of

all encounters– extremely powerful; enlivening form of

relationship– lasting practicalities?

End of Chapter 6

Questions?