From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a
person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform
to the group. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the
individual is "formally" a member (for example, political party, trade union),
or a social clique. A person affected by peer pressure may or may not want to
belong to these groups. They may also recognize dissociative groups with which
they would not wish to associate, and thus they behave adversely concerning
that group's behaviors.[citation needed] Peer pressure can cause people to do
things they would not normally do, e.g. take drugs, smoke, etc.
Youth peer pressure is one of the most frequently referred-to forms of negative
peer pressure. It is particularly common because most youths are forced to
spend large amounts of time in fixed groups (schools and subgroups within them)
regardless of their opinion of those groups. In addition to this, they may lack
the maturity to handle it. Also, young people are more willing to behave
negatively towards those who are not members of their own peer groups. However,
youth peer pressure can also have positive effects. For example, if one is
involved with a group of people that are ambitious and working to succeed, one
might feel pressured to follow suit to avoid feeling excluded from the group.
Therefore, the youth would be pressured into improving themselves, bettering
them in the long run. This is most commonly seen in youths that are active in
sports or other extracurricular activities.