Eric,+Jessica

How often do individuals bow to peer pressure? what percent of males and females in each school (UHS vs KIS) would agree with the incorrect answer?

Hypothesis
We hypothesize that about 60% of males will agree with the incorrect answer, while 80% of females will agree with the incorrect answer. We base this hypothesis on the idea that in order for people to adjust into a society, they have to follow a social pressure. Also, through research we found that females tend to give into social pressure more often than males.This is so because most female students feel the need to fit in with a group and deal with gossip more often than male students. Since most research shows that it is harder for female students than male students, to stand up with disapproval of a topic we want to test to see if this research is correct.

Objective
Our main objective is to find out how much peer pressure impacts teenagers’ lives. We also wanted to test whether teenagers are willing to disagree with nonsense in order to adjust into a group. Another objective of this experiment is to find out whether male students or female students are influenced more by the peer pressure.

Method
In the experiment we are going to fill a 8 oz jar with jelly beans and will ask participants to guess how many jelly beans are in the jar. Before we ask participants we will recruit 3 students to act as the conspirators. These conspirators will know to guess that there are about 1,000 jelly beans in (depending on how many jelly beans fit in the jar; we just want the number they guess to be obviously too high). We will ask the participant (grade 9-12) how many jelly beans they think are in the jar and then have the conspirators guess. After the conspirators and participant have guessed we will ask if anyone wants to change their answer. We will record their first guess and whether the changed their answer at the end, and compare the results to see which gender gives into peer pressure more often. This process will be repeated 50 times for each gender (100 total for each student).

Potential Error
The response of a person might vary depending on the size of group. The bigger the group is, the less likely that a person would disagree with the general statement. Also, the question was asking about males and females in schools, however we would not be able to survey every guy and girl in the school; therefore, the result from these subjects might not be enough to reflect males and females in the school. The biggest error could be the popularity or the personality of person that is being tested. If we survey students who tend to be popular and are filled with self confidence, they may be more likely to disapprove with answer the rest of the group is giving. However, if we survey students who tend to be shy, they might not disapprove the general statement. Therefore, we basically have to account that peer pressure would not be only factor that stops them from disapproving others answers: personalities of people might play even bigger role in this experiment. In addition, the conspirators we choose may play a role in the experiment because through research we found that the more trustworthy a person is the more others will be influenced by them.

Eric - I sent you an email yesterday about method and stuff I changed. If you like the method let me know and then we can start conducting the experiment. = = =**Jessica Woodall -** **Lit Review**=

Many teens would argue that they do not give into peer pressure, but their argument is false. Teens are affected by peer pressure every day without even knowing it. Our peers affect the way we behave and the decisions we make each day. In my experiment, we asked the question of how often teens bow down to peer pressure. With this question the main purpose of the experiment is to see what percent of females (UHS vs KIS) will agree with a unanimous incorrect answer to a made up question. By exploring other sources I found that there are many factors that are a part of peer pressure, such as human behavior and social influence.

In his article, //Explaining Human Behavior//, Ronald J. Glossop discusses how actions can be explained teleologically or mechanistically. Behavior can be explained mechanistically if it is movements or processes, such as the process of eating and digesting food. While behavior such as actions or activities, that a have purpose, can be explained teleologically. For example, when students study for an exam, the purpose of their behavior is to receive a good grade. The problem of explaining behavior lies in the disagreements of which behaviors are teleological and which behaviors are mechanistic. In the article Glossop cites R. S. Peters, author of //The Concept of Motivation//, who says that normal behavior can be explained teleologically, which most researchers agree with. But many researchers disagree with Peter’s belief that normal behavior cannot be explained mechanistically. One example Glossop gives is Charles Taylor, author of //The Explanation of Behavior//, who believes that behaviors can be described teleologically and mechanistically. Taylor also states in his article that there is a relation between intention and behavior. As human beings we have an intention or purpose behind every decision or choice we make. Finally, Glossop discusses how ideals affect human behavior. He states that even when a behavior can be explained mechanistically, ideals also affect our actions and decisions. This article can be connected to my research question pertaining to social influence and behavior because there are many ways to explain why we behave the way we do. From the information in the article, //Explain Human Behavior,// I am able to conclude that in a social situation individuals may choose to agree with a common answer because their purpose is to sound intelligent (teleologically). When performing the experiment I need to keep this mind because most individuals want sound intelligent and will not disagree with the common answer.

In her article, //Culture and Human Behavior,// Clellan S. Ford, discusses how our environment and culture affect our behavior. According to the instinct theory, human beings act based on instinct; their instincts to eat, sleep, drink, and survive. Ford says that culture plays into behavior because as children we learn to become a member of our society, which affects our behavior. For example, children growing up in the United States behave differently than children raised in Africa. Next, Ford discusses how the elements of learning play a role in behavior. The first element is drive, which is the motivation that makes a human act. Cues and responses are the second and third elements of learning. A cue gives direction for an action, while a response is what a human does after the action. The final element is the rewards, which connect the cue and response; if the reward is positive than the behavior is more likely to occur again. The elements of learning are important in the success of my experiment because behavior is motivated by drive. If the participants are not motivated to get the answer to the made up question correct, they will be susceptible to answer incorrectly. In addition, this source supports the idea that culture will affect an individual’s response because humans learn to become a part of their society. This may affect the experiment because one culture may view opposing other’s opinion as acceptable while in another cultures most people follow the crowd.

Peer influence will also be a key component of my experiment. The article, //Youth Poll: The Issues Weighing on Teen’s Minds//, by Raksha Arora, gives statistical evidence that teenagers in the United States are affected by peer pressure. According to the article, peer pressure is the second most important problem teens face. This includes the want to be popular and fit in, and the need to feel accepted in social situations. Arora also compared how peer pressure affects males and females differently. For example, twenty percent of teenage females said they worry about peer pressure and fitting in, as oppose to only fifteen percent of males. Teenage males are mainly concerned with drugs, alcohol, and employment. These facts play an important role in the experiment because if both males and females are asked the question the results will not be as accurate as if only females are asked the questions. By narrowing the audience involved in the experiment, I can be sure the results are reliable and consistent.

Next, authors Maureen T. Hallinan and Richard A. Williams discuss how peer influencing occurs in the article, //Students’ Characteristics and The Peer Influence Process.// Recent studies testing peer influence have set norms, beliefs, and values for students and defined their standards of behavior. By doing this researchers did not specify the components that control the influence process and did not identify what individuals are vulnerable to influence or possess the power to influence. Hallinan and Williams state the Parson theory of influence is the best theory to use to define peer influence. This theory states that people can be influenced when they need information to adapt and interact with others. In addition, according to the Parson theory of influence, individuals who are willing to trust others not to deceive them will likely be influenced. Many times individuals will only accept information from sources that seem trustworthy and credible. Finally, this theory states that often times people trust others of the same gender or race. The Parson theory of influence will help with the outline of my experiment because I now know females are more likely to trust other females; thus be influenced by their answer. Since individuals are mainly influenced when they need information to adapt and interact with others, it may cause them to agree with the conspirators in the experiment even if they know the country is made up. I will have to take this information into account when gathering my results.

The article, //Self-Categorization, Status, and Social Influence,// by Donna Anderson, Margaret Foddy, Julian A. Oldmeadow and Michael J. Platow, relates social influence to an individual’s self-image and status. The authors state that people of high social status, such as while male physicians, have a higher tendency to influence others because they are seen as superior and intelligent. One theory defined in the article is the self-categorization theory, which says that social identities shape our attitude, beliefs, and perception. This occurs because an individual’s self-image is influenced by their social groups. People are often influenced by members of their social group because they feel those people are similar to themselves. Next, the article defines the status characteristic theory, which occurs during the initial interaction within a group where members are motivated to make correct decisions. For example, those people in a social group who are expected to be smart are more likely to influence others in a group than those thought of as dumb. Many times status plays an important part of social influence because humans naturally trust those in power. This article will help me determine who my conspirators are in the experiment because they will be the ones influencing the participants. In addition, this article brings up the question of whether social status will affect the accuracy of the results. This will also affect what clothing the conspirators and I will be wearing and what participants we will ask the question to.

The articles I read not only helped me gain knowledge about peer influencing but helped me plan my experiment. In addition, these articles answered my questions of why humans behave the way they do and how they are influenced. When performing my experiment I will keep in mind the information I found to get the most reliable and accurate results.

Works Cited Arora, Raksha. "Youth Poll: The Issues Weighing on Teens' Minds." Youth Poll: The Issues Weighing on Teens’ Minds. Gallup, 4 May 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. Ford, Cellan S. "Culture and Human Behavior." The Scientific Monthly. 6th ed. Vol. 55. 1942. 546-57. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. Glossop, Ronald J. "Explaining Human Behavior." International Phenomenological Society. 3rd ed. Vol. 30. International Phenomenological Society, 1970. 444-49. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. Platow, Michael J., Margaret Foddy, and Donna Anderson. "Self-Categorization, Status, and Social Influence." Social Psychology Quarterly. By Julian A. Oldmeadow. 2nd ed. Vol. 66. American Sociological Association, 2003. 138-52. JSTOR. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. Williams, Richard A. "Students' Characteristics and the Peer-Influence Process." Sociology of Education. By Maureen T. Hallinan. 2nd ed. Vol. 63. American Sociological Association, 1990. 122-32. JSTOR. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

=**Eric Lit Review**=

1.Why would teenagers act individually an why would they try to imitate what others are doing? In her article, Common Causes of Peer Pressure in Teen, Alice Langhold discusses about the causes of peer pressure. Peer pressure often occurs when a person in placed in the group. Often a person will follow the group’s certain beliefs or behaviors because if a person goes against those actions, a person would be rejected and disapproved by the group. Generally the leaders in groups would decide general plan and behavior, and individuals in group are highly likely to disagree with them since consequences such as cursing or rejection will follow and they are afraid to lose their friendships. These traits give an important information on our experiment: the type of people in group will make the person in the experiment differently. If the group is filled with quite and unknown students, the person might speak out his or her opinion. However, if the group is filled with popular and “superior” students, a person might not speak out to get disapproved by the group. Also, if a person who is being tested was a leader in his or her group, he or she might speak out opinions. Thus, it would be important to account for the type of students we use in the experiment.

http://www.life123.com/parenting/tweens-teens/peer-pressure/causes-of-peer-pressure.shtml

2.Even though, kids who were seen as known as polite, well mannered and good, they still make bad decisions when they are with friends. In her article, Teenagers, Friends and Bad Decisions, Tara Parker discussed about how brain signals are altered when a person is placed in peer pressure. To test how the the presence of peers influences risk taking, Laurence Steinberg set up an experiment. Teenagers were asked to either drive alone or drive with a partner using video simulation to get to a certain spot as quickest to get a certain prize.. Surprisingly more than 60 % had car crash when they were watched by friends. The regions of the brain associated with reward showed more reactivity when they were watched by peers; thus, people who were watched started to drive faster, ignoring signals and dangers. Thus the doctor drew out conclusion that peer pressure would affect teenagers more because brain changes occur shortly after puberty in order to make them more popular and attractive and they start to care about their images on others. Therefore, in our experiment, it was a good idea to choose teenagers as our subjects to test peer pressure because high school is the point when peer pressure occurs the most and how people care about their looks and popularity the most in school. Thus, our experiment will definitely witness how people will not going to answer or talk differently from the peer.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/teenagers-friends-and-bad-decisions/

3.Teenage pregnancy is an ongoing problem in the U.S.. In his articled, Peer Pressure and Teen Sex, Colin Allen chooses peer pressure as the key factor that led teens to have unprotected sex when they are not necessarily ready. When specific amount of boys were asked about whether they feel pressure to have sex before they are not ready, surprisingly 27 percent of male teens said they are pressured. This reflects that one in three boys ages 15-17 say they are pressured to have sex, often from their male friends. Then, teen girls fell into 23 percent who said they are pressured to have sex. As the result, peer pressure had led to shocking results: 20% of teens reported to have sex before age of 15. This article emphasizes our experiment to show the strength of peer pressure in high school. If peer pressure was still powerful on a sensitive topic like this, our experiment would witness only little number of people who are being tested in our experiment to speak out for themselves.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200305/peer-pressure-and-teen-sex

4. Peer pressure is the main theme of our experiment. Therefore, the research on what types of peer pressures are out there had to be conducted. First, there is direct negative peer pressure. Teenage pregnancy, illegal drugs, and troubles come mostly from this pressure. This is when peers pressure one to do something that are illegal or unethical directly for an entertainment. Second, there is positive peer pressure. This is when peer pressure is beneficial and helpful for the person. For instance, the person might join soccer team since his or her friends are doing it: as the result, by doing soccer, the person might get healthier and more fit. Third, there is unspoken, indirect peer pressure, its when a person feels and sees that everyone else is doing in a certain specific way. A person would try to imitate those actions in order to fit in to the group. This is why trends are created; people see other people dressing up in a certain way, and more people follow it since continuously more people were dressing up that way.Thus, our experiment would be dealing with indirect peer pressure. We will place a person in a group where the others will discuss about topics that are completely ludicrous. However, if a person would want to fit in group well, it would be hard to witness a disapproval from that person.

http://www.life123.com/parenting/tweens-teens/peer-pressure/types-of-peer-pressure.shtml

=Jessica's Results=

Overall– 31% of the participants changed their answer Females – 38% of females changed their answer Males – 26% of males changed their answer
 * __Peer influence Males vs. Females__**

I conducted the experiment in the library and lounge at U-High. Each participant had to guess how many jelly beans were in a clear glass jar. I had three conspirators with me who knew what number to guess. (there were actually 293 jellybeans in the jar but the conspirators guessed around 400) I would start the experiment by isolating the participant by either bring them into the teacher’s lounge or the silent room in the library (it is just a separate room in the library). I would ask the participant how many jelly beans they thought were in the jar and then have the conspirators guess (I recorded each answer every time). Then, I asked if anyone wanted to change their answer and would record if the participant changed their answer, which measured if they gave into peer pressure. I also recorded whether the participant was male or female.
 * __How the experiment was conducted__**

The pictures would not paste but I sent you a copy of them in an email along with this information**

__**Formal Report**__
Jessica Woodall – Normal, IL (UHS) Eric – Seoul, South Korea (KIS) April 2, 2012

**Topic**: Peer Influence in South Korea vs. United States **Question**: When faced with a unanimous incorrect answer to question, what percent of males and females in each school (UHS vs KIS) would agree with the incorrect answer?

We hypothesized that in each school (KIS and UHS) that 60% of males would agree with the incorrect answer, while 80% of females would agree with the incorrect answer. We based this hypothesis on the idea that in order for people to adjust into a society, they have to follow a social pressure. Also, through research we found that females tend to give into social pressure more often than males. We came to this conclusion because we found that most female students feel the need to fit in with a group and deal with gossip more often than male students. Since most research shows that it is harder for female students than male students to stand up with disapproval of a topic we wanted to test to see if this research is correct. We also wanted to test whether culture affects how individuals are influence peers. Some research we found said that culture plays an important key in social influences.
 * __Hypothesis__**:

We chose to use the research method of an experiment because it allowed us to manipulate the environment and have control over what was happening. Also, this method allowed us to perform the experiment in a real world setting, so we could have a diverse group of participants. Another advantage of the experiment method is that it is easy to repeat. We conducted the experiment in various locations around KIS and UHS. Each participant had to guess how many jelly beans were in a clear glass 8oz. jar. We had three conspirators with us who knew what number to guess. (there were actually 200/293 jellybeans in the jar but the conspirators guessed around 1000/400) We would start the experiment by isolating the participant. We would ask the participant how many jelly beans they thought were in the jar and then have the conspirators guess (we recorded each answer every time). Then, we asked conspirators and the subject come up with a consensus. Next, we recorded if the participant changed his or her answer, which measured if they gave into peer pressure. We also recorded whether the participant was male or female. **__Data__**
 * __Research Method:__**

Figure 1. - This graph shows that in our experiment 65.2% of participants from KIS changed their answer while only 31% of the participants from UHS changed their answer. Therefore, more participants from KIS gave into peer pressure than from UHS.



Figure 2. - This graph compares peer pressure between males and females from both KIS and UHS. 57% of females changed their answer while 38% of males changed their answer; therefore more females gave into peer pressure.



Figure 3. - This graph compares what percent of females from each school changed their answer. 75% of KIS females changed their answer while only 38% of UHS females changed their answer. Therefore, more KIS females gave into peer pressure than UHS females.



Figure 4. - This graph compares what percent of males from each school changed their answer. 50% of KIS males changed their answer while only 26% of UHS males changed their answer. Therefore, more KIS males gave into peer pressure than UHS females.

When asked what the most common challenge they face, many teens would say peer pressure or peer influence. Our peers cannot only influence the way we dress or talk but they can influence how we answer a question. In our experiment, we tested how peers can pressure others into changing their original answer to an incorrect answer. Not only did we want to compare peer influence between cultures, but between genders as well. If participants changed their answer because of the guess the conspirators gave, we concluded that the conspirators influenced their answer. As shown in figure one, we found that 65.2% of the KIS participants changed their answer, while only 31% of the participants from UHS changed their answer. Therefore, there was a difference of peer influence between cultures because more participants gave into peer pressure at KIS. We also found that females were more affected by peer influence than males. As shown in figure two 57% of females changed their answer while only 38% of males changed their answer. Next, figure three compares the difference between the female students from KIS and females students from UHS. As shown more KIS females gave into peer pressure because 75% of KIS female participants changed their answer while only 38% of UHS female participants changed their answer. In addition, figure four compares what percent of males from each school gave into peer pressure. More male participants from KIS changed their answer than male participants from UHS (50% vs. 26%). Overall, we concluded that participants from KIS are more susceptible to give into peer influence than participants from UHS and that females are more likely to be affected by peer influence than males. Our hypothesis that 60% of males in each culture would change their answer and 80% of females would change their answer, was correct because females were more affected by peer influence. But our hypothesis was incorrect because the students in each culture were affected different by peer influence. Next, most of the research we found did support the results we got from the experiment. For example, the article //Culture and Human Behavior,// by Clellan S. Ford said that most people have a drive to sound intelligent, which is why 65.2% of the KIS participants and 31% of the UHS participants changed their answer. Some of these participants even said that they thought the conspirators were guessing to high, but still changed their answer because they did not want sound unintelligent. Also, the article, //Culture and Human Behavior//, by Clellan S. Ford supports are results because he said culture affects how individuals will respond to peer influence. This explains why more participants in KIS changed their answer than the participants from UHS because the cultures are different. In addition, our results are supported by the article, //Youth Poll: The Issues Weighing on Teen’s Minds//, by Raksha Arora, because it said that 23% of female teenagers agree they are affected by peer pressure, whereas only 15% male teenagers agree they are affected. Finally, the article, //Students’ Characteristics and The Peer Influence Process,// refuted are results because it said that females are more likely to be influenced by other females and males by other males. But, our results show that gender relation does not matter because many participates still changed their answer, thus they gave into peer pressure. When any researcher does an experiment there is always a chance for potential flaws or errors to occur. In our experiment, one error was that I did not match the gender of the conspirators to the participants, whereas my partner in South Korea did match the gender of the two. This could have caused the participants to be influenced in a different way. Another flaw was that sometimes the participants knew the conspirators, which may have affected if they decided to change their answer. In some of our research we found that students are more likely to be influenced by people they know than by strangers. The next error was the number of jelly beans put in each jar. For example, there were actually 293 jelly beans in my jar and the conspirators guessed around 450; my partner put 200 jelly beans in his jar and had the conspirators guessed around 1000. This may have affected how much the participants were influenced because 1000 jelly beans in an 8oz. jar does not seem very reasonable whereas 450 jelly beans in an 8oz. could be reasonable. Overall our results from the experiment are pretty accurate, despite the potential flaws and errors. The results we got are supported through the research we found, but could have been more accurate if we would have fixed the errors that occurred. By doing this experiment I learned that before beginning the experiment a research must think of the potential flaws or errors that could occur to make the results accurate. In our experiment, I found it interesting to see how many participants would change their answer even if they knew the number ended up guessing was way too high. If I were to do this experiment over again, I would give prize or reward to the participant who guessed the right answer, to test whether motivation affects peer influence too.
 * __Analysis__**

= **Presentation** =