Peer Pressure Papers

The influential role that one’s peers play in major and minor life choices carries significant impact. The desire that most persons feel to be accepted into the fold is one that is innately human. Peer pressure is often manifested in an unspoken code; therefore, the influential reality of it is frequently overlooked or not recognized. While this very term renders a pessimistic connotation, peer pressure can be dual in nature yielding both negative and positive results. The more one educates himself or herself on how his or her peers can unknowingly shape choices that he or she makes, the more likely he or she will gain freedom from this type of social propaganda. The negative impacts that peer pressure brings upon people are undesired and …show more content…
Social rank and hierarchy are the driving forces typically behind the unspoken code of peer pressure. When one finds a social group that is dominated by a strong moral conscientious, the pressure that is manifested may be more positive in nature. An example of this was found in the research outline in the article written by Vedantam. When students placed in a high-performing class were offered an opportunity to better themselves and their future, more students accepted when the choice was public knowledge. However, if the choice had been private, fewer would have agreed to attend an SAT workshop despite the fact that is was free of charge (Vedantam). In this case, the peer pressure was real and actually played a positive role in the lives of particular students. If a teenager chooses to be constantly around peers who drink, do drugs, and behave negatively, he or she is more likely to fall into those habits. Consequently, if the same young person fills his or her life with peers that go to church and uphold a higher moral code, he or she is more apt to apply those better choices to his or her life. As the social structure is outlined in “The Queen Bee and Her Court,” the potential for both positive