Peer pressure

From Wikinfo

Peer pressure comprises a set of group dynamics whereby a group in which one feels comfortable may override personal habits, individual moral inhibitions or idiosyncratic desires to impose a group norm of attitudes and/or behaviors.

Popular usage associates the term peer pressure particularly with young people or teenagers. The concept can provide an easy, superficial explanation of what occurs when people "go off the rails" or "get in with a bad crowd". But the term can explain much more in the realms of the drive for social acceptance, the spread of fashion and the operations of crowd behavior.

Peer pressure can also be positive. In a University peer pressure encourages critical thinking. In a work environment peer pressure may encourage individual workers to accept the corporate identity and work effectively. The term is more often used in the negative way.

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Peer_pressure" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_pressure, used under the GNU Free Documentation License