A recent study published in Scientific Reports highlighted how teenagers actively consult members of their social networks to obtain information, contradicting previous research that considered younger people to be passively influenced by peer pressure. Results from two experiments show that adolescents prefer friends over non-friends as sources of information, but evidence on the importance of popularity is mixed.
The influence of peer groups on adolescent behavior and decision-making has been the focus of a growing body of research. Social influence can have negative effects (such as substance use), but it can also be used to promote healthy and positive behaviors.
Designing beneficial and effective interventions for adolescents requires an understanding of how they process social cues in novel situations and are influenced by the choices of others in their peer groups. Gaining such an understanding involves treating adolescents as active in the sense that they choose from whom to observe and take cues.
About the study
The research team designed two social experiments to examine the role that friendship, popularity, and other characteristics such as politeness, likability, and coolness play in teenagers’ decisions to consult members of their social network for information. The authors hypothesized that the influence of popularity would be greater for younger than older adolescents and that the role of friends would increase with age.
In the first experiment, the researchers observed how teenagers chose their peers as sources of information when they were in an uncertain situation. Students from 10 classes in two secondary schools in the Netherlands participated in the study. Students answered questionnaires and played games designed to assess their individual decision-making.
After two to three weeks the students played three games with the possibility of monetary reward in addition to an incentive of 5 euros per student. This time, students also answered questions about their perceptions of others in their class, identifying their friends, popular students, and others based on traits such as influence, intelligence, and trustworthiness.
Before submitting a final answer for the games (which had no “correct” answers), they could choose to see how their classmates had answered questions in the first session, specifically whether they had chosen safer or riskier options. Data from the first experiment were analyzed using mixed logistic models and variable selection methods.
In the second experiment, the research team set out to better understand what peer characteristics influenced students’ decision to consult them. These traits were associated with popularity, such as coolness, meanness, and admirable character. This part of the study involved students in 22 classes from two Dutch secondary schools.
As before, participants played solo games in the first session but were told that they would play the games again in a subsequent session. They were then asked who, if any, of their classmates they would like to consult for the next session. Data were analyzed to predict peer selection using confirmatory mixed logistic models.
Foundings
Of the 140 participants between the ages of 11 and 18 in the first experiment, 95% chose to reveal the choices made by at least one classmate from the first session before making their decisions in the second session. They were also influenced by the information revealed, choosing riskier options if they saw that their peers had made riskier decisions.
Choices were significantly predicted by friendship, with friends being 1.8 times more likely sources than nonfriends, and this likelihood increased with age. Socially distant peers were consulted less often, with friends being chosen more often than friends of friends. Popular peers were chosen less often than unpopular peers, but this effect disappeared as the age of the respondents increased. Credibility was also a factor influencing decision-making.
Of the 278 students between the ages of 12 and 17 who participated in the second experiment, 234 said they wanted to consult their classmates, choosing an average of 4.4 classmates. Respondents’ friends were 14.08 times more likely to be selected, while classmates perceived as trustworthy were 7.22 times more likely to be selected. In this case, the importance of friendship appeared to decrease with age.
In increasing order of importance, coolness, admirability, intelligence, trustworthiness, meanness, likability, friendship, and best friendship were significant predictors of choice. While popularity did not emerge as a significant factor, many of these characteristics were associated with popularity.
conclusions
Emerging research shows that adolescents, in addition to being passive recipients of social information, actively seek information from trusted sources. The results of the study showed the strong influence of friendship and credibility on the choice of information sources, but also pointed out changes in the selection criteria with increasing age.
Future studies on this interesting topic could examine a wider age range to further demonstrate this effect. They could also consider decision-making beyond gambling, focusing on options related to education or consumption. The effect of popularity could also be studied through experiments in public spaces. Other factors, such as socio-economic status, immigration background and nationality, could provide more information about the actual conditions under which teenagers make choices.
