The power of the peer Group. 

 The Growing importance of peers

   A peer group is not important early in a child's life. Very young children do not worry about fitting in with a group of friends. What others young children say or do has Little influence. Instead, parents are the biggest influence early in life. What parents say and how they act have a big effect on their children. That is why being a parent is such an important responsibility. 

 The closer view of  peer pressure

   Even though peer groups can be positive, problems sometimes arise between peer groups and individuals. Sometimes, a person may no longer feel comfortable with the same friends as before.

   Not connecting with a certain group can be disappointing. 

 For example.

   Andy, wanted to make the basket ball team at his school. He and several of his best friends tried out together. But when the list of boys who made  the team was posted, Andy's name was not on it. However, his friends had all made the team. Andy, felt terrible. Not only did he not make the team, but he also felt like an outsider among his friends. They tried to make him feel better, but it did not work. Finally, Andy, decided to be apart from the group, which makes him quite comfortable. 

   Another problem common in peer groups is conformity, or the need to be the same as one another. In a strong peer group, conformity among the members is not uncommon. That happens even with younger children, whose groups are sometimes made up of all boys or all girls. It is common to see a group of young boys reject a girl who wants to play with them. Even if she is a good athlete, the boys might be reluctant to play with her.

   Among adolescents, similarity within their peer group is more important than ever. The peer groups at this age are not based on being girl or boy. Sometimes members of a group have shared interests. Such as playing on a team together. 

   To be part of a group, an individual might try to act like everyone else. Adolescence is a time for branching out.

 Being an Individual

   Being an individual is more important. Many young people complain that adults do not understand them. They say that parents and teachers do not realize how strong peer pressure can be.

Psychologist know that peer pressure is very strong. After all, it can often make people ignore common scene. But how strong a force is peer pressure? A Psychologist did an experiment to see if a peer group could force someone to doubt what he or she actually saw or heard. The psychologist were surprised by the results.

In the experiment, the psychologist brought five fourth-graders into a room. They told the kids they were going to play a game. The kids were shown twelve cards, each with two lines printed on them. They were supposed to look at the lines, and say which they thought was longer, line A or B.

The game sounded easy, but there was a trick. The psychologist had secretly talked to four of the five students ahead of time. The four were told to say the wrong answer on purpose. The fifth was not told of the trick. The fifth was placed at the end of the row and always answered last.

   Time after time the experiment was done. And each time, the results were almost the same. The first four students answered one at a time. They each said the wrong answer. The fifth looked confused. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the other students in disbelief. He seemed almost frightened. Although at first the child had seemed eager to answer, he now stalled.

   Finally, when the testers asked for the student's answer, he gave the same wrong answer as his peers had. The same experiment was repeated in 90 different schools. Almost always, the results were the same. Of 90 children's, only 14 said the right answer. The other changed their answers to conform to the peer group's answer.

   But children and adolescents are not the only ones who feel peer pressure. Adults feel it too, even though they may not admit it.    

Different ways to manage peer pressure

* Should always be strong enough to stay with their point.

* Talking to a trusted adult is a great way to keep peer pressure under control.

* Choosing a positive peer group can make the difficulty of adolescence easier to cope with.

* Learning to handle pressure from friends to self-confidence.

* Make changes.

* Make choices by yourself.

* Do what you think