Peer Influence

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tend to ascribe a passive role to teens, a stance that is reflected methodologically by the absence of their voice. Finally, by exploring the subjective, emotional experiences of teens, greater insight may be gained into why peer influence is so powerful (i.e., the motivational component of conformity).
Human emotions, of course, are many, but Scheff (1990) has argued that shame is critical in regard to social influence. The present study investigated whether shame plays a role in adolescent conformity in the face of perceived peer pressure. Students' responses to semi-structured interviews were examined in order to identify themes that might indicate the presence of shame-related emotions generally, but also specifically regarding the phenomenon of peer influence in adolescent alcohol consumption, a topic of ongoing concern.

1.1 Review of Related Literature

According to Reproductive Health Outlook (2005) peer pressure is defined as “emotional or mental force from people ...

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by their tricks. Each site is prepared in a way suiting the circumstances under which the pressure is being held on the students, but most of them pretty much discussed the same issue. For instance, UCLA’s website discusses ways of avoiding getting trapped by those high-pressured groups (to be informed, ask questions, learn to say no…) while the University of Canberra (Australia) deals more with ways of distinguishing which of the university organizations and clubs use high-pressure methods (those which use guilt, say “everyone else is doing it,” or give vague answers to complex problems…).
Brown University (2005) conducted a study which dealt with peer influence of drug use and ...

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