Module 7
Friends and Peers
Chapter 8 Readings
Pages 228 to 231 (sections 8.1 to 8.3)
Page 140 (section 8.10)
and
Pages 247 to 248 (section 8.15)
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Learning Objectives – we are only covering
a small number of sections in this chapter
8.1 Summarize the shift in adolescence in the balance between friendships and
family relationships in developed countries.
8.2 Explain how the balance between friendships and family relationships is
distinctive in developing countries.
8.3 Explain why friends are the sources of more intense emotions than parents
are.
8.10 Distinguish between cliques and crowds and describe their separate
functions.
8.15 Explain how popularity in adolescence is measured, and identify the main
characteristics that are sources of popularity.
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A Shift from Family to Friends
From Family to Friends in Developed Countries
– Experience Sampling Method (ESM) studies
§ Time with family decreases
§ Time with same-sex friends remains stable
§ Time with other-sex friends increases
– Prefer friends over family
§ Same-gender friends during adolescence
§ Romantic partners during emerging adulthood
Diego Cervo/Shutterstock
Friends are especially important during adolescence
and emerging adulthood.
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Figure 8.1 Percentage of adolescents preferring to
discuss topics with friends or parents.
Youniss & Smollar (1985), p. 294
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A Shift from Family to Friends
Family and Friends in Traditional Cultures
– Gender differences
§ Involvement with peers and friends greater for boys
§ Involvement with same-sex adults greater for girls
– More time with families than in West
In traditional cultures, adolescent boys
spend more time with friends than
adolescent girls do. Here, boys on the
island of Mauritania play together.
Megapress/Alamy
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A Shift from Family to Friends
Time with Friends: Higher Highs, Lower Lows
– Positive emotions
§ Friends mirror their emotions
§ Feel free and open with friends
– Negative emotions
§ Emotionally vulnerable
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Figure 8.2 This graph of mood changes among 9th- to
12th-grade American adolescents shows that their moods
are most positive on the weekends, when they are most
likely to be spending leisure time with friends.
Larson & Richards (1998)
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Adolescents’ Social Groups
Cliques and Crowds
– Cliques – Small groups of friends who know each other well, do
things together, and form a regular social group.
– Crowds – Large, reputation-based groups of adolescents.
§ Elites
§ Athletes
§ Academics
§ Deviants
§ Others
– Crowds help adolescents locate themselves within social structure
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Popularity and Unpopularity
What Make Some Adolescents Popular?
– Sociometry
§ A method for assessing popularity and unpopularity that involves
having students rate the social status of other students.
§ Popularity
• Physical attractiveness
• Social skills
• High intelligence
§ Unpopularity
• Rejected adolescents - actively disliked by their peers
• Neglected adolescents - have few or no friends and are largely
unnoticed by their peers
§ Controversial adolescents - aggressive but who also possess social
skills, so that they evoke strong emotions both positive and negative
from their peers.
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Neglected Adolescents
Monkey Business/Fotolia
Neglected adolescents lack the social
skills necessary for making friends.
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Copyright
Some slides in this deck are copyright to Dr. M. Drysdale and
others are copyright to Pearson Education (noted at the
bottom of a slide and in the following statement)
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