A recent study by Geoff Cohen found that students from different peer groups had 'gross misperceptions' of the others' behaviors.
Teens overestimate how often their peers participate in risky sexual and drug-related behaviors, and those misperceptions may cause them to adjust their own behaviors, adapting to social norms that don't actually exist, a new study found.
It's a conclusion that has all kinds of potential implications for school climate and prevention efforts.
In the study, researchers from the University of North Carolina, Stanford University, and Tilburg University used peer interviews to cluster a group of participating high school students into five peer groups—socially oriented "populars," athletically oriented jocks, deviant-oriented "burnouts," academically oriented brains, and students who were not strongly affiliated with any specific crowd. In surveys, students ranked jocks and populars as more likeable, so researchers characterized them as higher status groups.
Students confidentially answered questions about their own behaviors related to sex, drug use, and criminal behaviors. They also answered questions about frequency of the adaptive behaviors of studying and exercise. Students also estimated how often peers in the other groups participated in each of the other behaviors.
Read the full story in Education Week.
Geoffrey Cohen is the James G. March Professor of Organizational Studies in Education and Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, a professor of Psychology, and a professor of Organizational Behavior Stanford Graduate School of Business.
