Peer group

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Early childhood peers engaged in parallel play

A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. A peer group is a primary group of people, typically informal, who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate^[1] Members of a particular peer group often have similar interests and backgrounds, bonded by the premise of sameness.^[2] However, some peer groups are very diverse, crossing social divides such as socioeconomic status, level of education, race, creed, culture, or religion.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets children escape the direct supervision of adults. Among peers, children learn to form relationships on their own. Peer groups also offer the chance to discuss interests that adults may not share with their children (such as clothing and popular music) or permit (such as drugs and sex).^[3]

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychologists, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Harry Stack Sullivan, have all argued that peer relationships provide a unique context for cognitive, social, and emotional development, with equality, reciprocity, cooperation, and intimacy, maturing and enhancing children's reasoning abilities and concern for others. Modern research echoes these sentiments, showing that social and emotional gains are indeed provided by peer interaction.^[4]

JR Harris suggested in The Nurture Assumption that an individual's peer group significantly influences their intellectual and personal development. Several longitudinal studies support the conjecture that peer groups significantly affect scholastic achievement^[5][6][7], but relatively few studies have examined the effect on tests of cognitive ability. There is some evidence that peer groups influence tests of cognitive ability, however.^[8]

Bonding and functions of peer groups

A group of children playing together in Bolivia

• Serve as a source of info.

Peer groups have a significant influence on psychological and social adjustments for group individuals.^[9] Peer groups provide perspective outside of individual’s viewpoints. Members inside peer groups also learn to develop relationships with other in the social system. Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents for ^[10][11] teaching members customs, social norms, and different ideologies.^[12]

• Teaches gender roles.

Peer groups can also serve as a venue for teaching members Gender roles. Through gender-role socialization group members learn about sex differences, social and cultural expectations.^[13] While boys and girls differ greatly there is not a one to one link between sex and gender role with males always being masculine and female always being feminine.^[14] Both genders can contain different levels of masculinity and femininity.^[15][16] Peer groups like gender roles can consist of all males, all females, or both male and female. Peer groups can have great influence or peer pressure on each other’s gender role behavior depending on the amount of pressure. If a peer group holds to a strong social norm, member will behave in ways predicted by their gender roles, but if there is not a unanimous peer agreement gender roles do not correlate with behavior^[17]

• Serves as a practicing venue to adulthood.

Adolescent Peer groups provide support for children, and teens as they assimilate into the adult society decreasing dependence on parents, and increasing feeling of self-sufficiency and connecting with a much larger social network.^[18][19][20] this is “a period in which individuals are expanding their perspective beyond the family how to and learning negotiate relationships with others in the social system. Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents” ^[21][22] Peer groups also have influence on individual member’s attitudes, and behaviors on many cultural, and social issues such as drug use, violence, academic achievement^[23][24][25] and even the development and expression of prejudice.^[26][27][28]

• Teaches unity & collective behavior

Peer Groups “ provide an influential social setting in which group norms are developed, and enforced through socialization processes that promote within-group similarity.^[29] Peer groups cohesion is determined, and maintained by such factors as group Communication, Group consensus, and Group conformity concerning attitude and behavior. As members of peer groups interconnect, and agree, a normative code arises. This Normative code can become very rigid deciding group behavior, and dress.^[30] Peer group individuality is increased by normative codes, and intergroup conflict. Member Deviation from the strict normative code can lead to rejection from the group.^[31]

Peer pressure

The term peer pressure is often used to describe instances where an individual feels indirectly pressured into changing their behavior to match that of their peers. Taking up smoking and underage drinking are two of the best known examples. In spite of the often negative connotations of the term, peer pressure can be used positively.

See also

• Asperger Syndrome
• Group dynamics

References

Further reading

• An evolutionary perspective on children's motivation in the peer group. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 19(1), 53-73. Full text
• Insko, C.A. Et.al. (2009). Reducing intergroup conflict through the consideration of future consequences. European journal of social psychology, 39(5), 831-841.