Peer group

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For other uses, see Peer (disambiguation).

Early childhood peers engaged in parallel play

A peer group is a social group consisting of people who are equal in such respects as age, education or social class. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people 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 aggregate¹ 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.

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.³

Bonding and functions of peer groups

-serve as a source of info.
-teaches sex roles.
-serves as a practicing venue to adulthood.
-teaches unity & collective behaviour
-discouraging discrimination.^{citation needed}

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.

References

^ N.A, . (2009). Peer group definition . Encarta online. Retrieved (2009, November 8) from http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861724592/peer_group.html
^ Wolf, Sun. (2008). Peer groups: expanding our study of small group communication. Thousand oaks,CA: Sage publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4129-2686-7
^ Siegler, Robert (2006). How Children Develop, Exploring Child Develop Student Media Tool Kit & Scientific American Reader to Accompany How Children Develop. New York: Worth Publishers. ISBN 0716761130

Peer group

Contents

Developmental psychology

Bonding and functions of peer groups

Peer pressure

See also

References

Further reading