‘Sticking together’ in class comes with conditions

The new study suggests that peer pressure can also influence other kinds of decisions, such as those on education.

The term “peer pressure” is most commonly associated with a range of youth behaviours that are considered dangerous: tobacco and drug use, drinking, and risky sexual practices. The new study suggests that peer pressure can also influence other kinds of decisions, such as those on education.

The study authors were seeking an answer to the following question: Will 11th grade students be more likely or less to sign up for a free online SAT prep course if their enrollment decision were to be made public later?

Sign-up forms for the prep course were randomly distributed to students in both honours and non-honours classrooms in four low-performing, low-income Los Angeles schools. Each form included one of the following two options: That their enrollment decision would be kept secret from everyone, including the other students in the room; and that their decision would be kept private from everyone except those students.

Respondents were told to check a box indicating whether they would enroll for the course. They were not allowed to discuss their decision with their classmates or teachers.

The results showed the following: In general, more honours students were likely to sign up for the course than non-honours students. Among the honours students, nearly as many were likely to sign up if their decision was made public (93%), as they were if it wasn’t (92%). In non-honours classrooms, however, students were clearly less likely to sign up if they knew their classmates would know (sign-up rate of 72% in case of a private decision, as compared to 61% in case of a public decision.)

The researchers then chose a random group of students who had opted for two honours courses (out of a possible four or five), and visited the schools when some students of this group were sitting in honours classes, while others were sitting in non-honours ones.

Among the students in honours classes, in the case of a public decision, 97% were willing to sign up, as opposed to 72% in case the decision was kept private. But among those students in the ‘two-honours’ group who were then sitting in non-honours classes, the opposite trend was seen: in case of a public decision, only 54% were willing to sign up, 79% if the decision was kept private.

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The conclusion: When their effort is observable to peers, students may act to avoid social penalties by conforming to prevailing norms. But then, students are highly responsive to who their peers are, and what the prevailing norm is when they make decisions. Marginal students may go in either direction.

(ADAPTED FROM STUDY ABSTRACT & BROOKINGS REPORT)