peer pressure
pressure to behave like other group members
TRANSLATION
peer pressure = der Gruppenzwang (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX peer pressure: approximately 2,600,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Early exposure to alcohol and the PEER PRESSURE to try it are common in Uganda, where drinking is often a cultural symbol of male virility.
(The Guardian)
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Ms. Thomas argues that everyone should learn how to swim, no matter how old they are. She encourages students to stay with group lessons because they foster support and positive PEER PRESSURE.
(CNN)
(The Guardian)
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Ms. Thomas argues that everyone should learn how to swim, no matter how old they are. She encourages students to stay with group lessons because they foster support and positive PEER PRESSURE.
(CNN)
Did you
know?
peer pressure
noun
- the strong influence of a group, especially of children, on members of that group to behave as everyone else does
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
Peer is a noun that means a person of equal social standing, rank, age, etc…Thus peer pressure describes the influence of a peer group in encouraging a person to change their attitude, behaviour and/or morals to conform to those of the group.
Peer pressure can be negative if it involves unhealthy or illegal activities. It can also be positive if it results in improvement of someone's personal behaviour or development.
Humans are apparently not the only species susceptible to peer pressure. According to two researchers in Ontario, Canada, rats respond to peer pressure too. They claim brown rats have a tendency to disregard personal experiences and copy the behaviour of their peers. Rats were conditioned by feeding them cinnamon-flavoured pellets followed immediately with injections to make them feel sick. They learned not to eat cinnamon pellets. But as soon as they were placed among other rats that had been eating cinnamon pellets, they suddenly found them tasty again.
One possible explanation, according to the researchers, is that instinct tells animals what others are doing must be safe.
So why do lemmings follow each other off cliffs in a demonstration of large-scale peer pressure? The most commonly accepted explanation is that because lemmings experience massive population growths, they often search for new habitats. The search can bring them to the edge of a cliff in countries like Norway. But rather than purposely committing suicide, the pressure from lemmings in the back of the group - who have no idea what lies ahead - simply forces those in the front off the edge.
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Peer pressure can lead to better teamwork if the group has a positive attitude."
noun
- the strong influence of a group, especially of children, on members of that group to behave as everyone else does
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Peer is a noun that means a person of equal social standing, rank, age, etc…Thus peer pressure describes the influence of a peer group in encouraging a person to change their attitude, behaviour and/or morals to conform to those of the group.
Peer pressure can be negative if it involves unhealthy or illegal activities. It can also be positive if it results in improvement of someone's personal behaviour or development.
Humans are apparently not the only species susceptible to peer pressure. According to two researchers in Ontario, Canada, rats respond to peer pressure too. They claim brown rats have a tendency to disregard personal experiences and copy the behaviour of their peers. Rats were conditioned by feeding them cinnamon-flavoured pellets followed immediately with injections to make them feel sick. They learned not to eat cinnamon pellets. But as soon as they were placed among other rats that had been eating cinnamon pellets, they suddenly found them tasty again.
One possible explanation, according to the researchers, is that instinct tells animals what others are doing must be safe.
So why do lemmings follow each other off cliffs in a demonstration of large-scale peer pressure? The most commonly accepted explanation is that because lemmings experience massive population growths, they often search for new habitats. The search can bring them to the edge of a cliff in countries like Norway. But rather than purposely committing suicide, the pressure from lemmings in the back of the group - who have no idea what lies ahead - simply forces those in the front off the edge.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Peer pressure can lead to better teamwork if the group has a positive attitude."
