The Effects of Peer Pressure

What is peer pressure?
Peer pressure is the influence of peers or colleagues in the same social group. In detail, peer pressure refers to the effect on an individual that causes a person to take a particular action because he or she wants to be recognized by his or her group or feel a sense of belonging. It exists in various groups that are accessible to society. For example, teenagers are easily affected by peer pressure in school. The effects of peer pressure on adolescents are often seen as negative because there have been actual cases. However, the influence of peer pressure is not only negative. It can encourage children to be more active in school activities and provide a reason for them to study or train harder.

Peer pressure exists everywhere because humans live based on social activities. For adolescents, peers can be school friends, neighborhood friends, or family members. For adults, peers can be co-workers, spouses, spouse’s friends, or members of certain clubs. Peer pressure exists in groups where social activities take place regardless of age.

Types of peer pressure
Peer pressure can be classified into several types, depending on how it is transmitted. It may have a direct and powerful effect on the individual, but sometimes, it may have an indirect and weak effect. There are six types of peer pressure:

1. Spoken peer pressure – Spoken peer pressure refers to an individual or a group asking, suggesting, or persuading a person to participate in or perform a specific action. In particular, because the peer pressure made by the group is large in number, the affecting pressure may be much stronger.
2. Unspoken peer pressure – Unspoken peer pressure refers to influencing a person’s specific behavior, trend, or choice by exposing a person to the influence of groups. In other words, a person is exposed to group trends, and they get to select whether to follow those group trends or not.
3. Direct peer pressure – This type can be spoken or unspoken. Its influence can be the strongest of the peer pressure types. Usually, direct peer pressure is action-oriented. For example, if you participate in a party, you are very likely to have a bottle of beer in your hands regardless of your will. Faced with this type of peer pressure, it can cause stress because the situation requires an immediate decision. Usually, when people are placed under direct peer pressure, they ignore their own opinions when deciding something.
4. Indirect peer pressure – This type of approach is similar to unspoken peer pressure. For example, indirect peer pressure includes overhearing friends gossiping about others and accepting and responding to such content. This pressure approach may seem subtle, but it can have a powerful effect on teenagers.
5. Positive peer pressure – This type of peer pressure literally refers to things that have positive consequences. If peer pressure from groups leads to healthy behaviors suitable for age without causing social problems, it is positive peer pressure. For example, a study group formed by friends to get good grades can have a positive effect on teenagers.
6. Negative peer pressure – Negative peer pressure includes immoral behavior and behaviors that may cause social problems. For example, teenagers can copy such behaviors, such as when many friends smoke and drink alcohol in a group they want to socialize with, regardless of their own will. Many people think that teenagers easily respond to negative peer pressure because they lack the skills to control their behavior, but that is not applicable to all.

What age group is most affected by peer pressure?
Most people think that only teenagers are easily exposed to and affected by peer pressure. However, peer pressure can be experienced by anyone at any age. Many adults can experience peer pressure by interacting with coworkers at work. In addition, adults of all ages are not immune to peer pressure. So, why do people think peer pressure is only for teenagers?

It is not because adolescents lack rational judgment skills compared to adults, but because young people’s brains feel more pleasure from social acceptance or a sense of belonging than adults’ brains do. In addition, scientists argue that peer pressure affecting teenagers plays an important role in the process of becoming independent-thinking adults (Wang, 2013).

Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University, studied when adolescents are most affected by peer pressure. His studies found that adolescents are most affected by peer pressure around the age of 15, and they become more mature in setting boundaries with their peers at the age of 18.

As a result, the reason why adolescents seem to be more easily affected by peer pressure is that they get more pleasure from being recognized in the group they belong to, rather than because they are more immature in making decisions than adults are.

Conclusion
Peer pressure exists regardless of age. Anyone can be affected either positively or negatively. It is helpful to be familiar with how to cope effectively during this process. To cope with peer pressure, it is very important to first get used to observing and checking emotions. In other words, when faced with peer pressure, it should be a priority to recognize how you feel about your situation. If that’s possible, you can avoid getting involved in situations in which you are forced to do things you don’t want to or shouldn’t do under peer pressure.

References
Wang, S.S. (2013). Peer Pressure for Teens Paves the Path to Adulthood. Wall Street Journal. [online] 17 Jun. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324520904578551462766909232#:~:text=Peer%20influence%20during%20adolescence%20is [Accessed 12 September 2022].

Morin, A. (2022). Negative and Positive Peer Pressure Differences. [online] Verywell Family. Available at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/negative-and-positive-peer-pressure-differences-2606643 [Accessed 11 September 2022].

Saxena, S. (2020). Peer Pressure: Types, Examples, & How to Respond. [online] Choosing Therapy. Available at: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/peer-pressure/  [Accessed 12 September 2022].