The upside of peer pressure on adolescent behavior

Pages: 845-847
Rajesh G. Meshram (Department of Psychology, Jijamata College, Nandurbar, Maharashtra)

Peer pressure is influence on a peer group or an individual that encourages others to change their attitudes, values, or behaviors to conform to those of the influencing group or individual. The need to follow the crowd and do what majority of us are doing forces us to do things or take up activities which we wouldn’t otherwise. This is especially true for teenagers who are easily influenced by their surroundings or people they socialize with. However, recent studies have shown that peer pressure might have an upside to it; that in certain environments peer pressure can inspire an individual to be a more focused and determined individual (Tejaswini & Romate 2015).Peer pressure has become a big part of the adolescent lives. Whether they are at school or work, peer pressure can affect their output and even impact their general outlook on life. All of us, at some point in our lives, have had to deal with peer pressure. The need to follow the crowd and do what majority of us are doing forces us to do things or take up activities which we wouldn’t otherwise. This is especially true for adolescents who are easily influenced by their surroundings or people they socialize with. Parenting styles can also affect peer influence. Authoritative parenting encourages adolescents to be less susceptible to peer influence specifically in domains in which peers are engaging in unacceptable behaviors, but more susceptible to peer influence in domains that are approved by adults (Mounts and Steinberg 1995). However, recent studies have shown that peer pressure might have an upside to it; that in certain environments peer pressure can inspire an individual to be a more focused and determined individual.