Social psychological explanation- peer influence

Question 1

Social Learning Theory albert bandura

Answer 1

emphasises the role of social factors can have on behaviour. he extended the behaviourist approach to include indirect and direct reinforcement
you learn indirectly from the behaviour of other people

Question 2

how does SLT take place

Answer 2

the observer needs to be motivated by two key processes
1. observing role model someone they identify with and admire
2. vicarious (indirect reinforcement) is a role model is reinforced in any way for their behaviour then the individual anticipates similar outcomes and rewards for themselves and is likely to repeat the behaviour

Question 3

applying slt to addiction

Answer 3

individual sees peers smoking , those peers may be people look up to (role models) and these peers are being rewarded through having a higher social status and also because they are seen enjoying it (vicarious reinforcement) therefore individual engages too

Question 4

perceived social norms

Answer 4

social norms are the rules of behaviour that are considered acceptable within a particular social group

Question 5

two types of norms

Answer 5

descriptive and injunctive

Question 6

descriptive norms

Answer 6

individuals perception of how much others engage in behaviours such as drinking or smoking

Question 7

injunctive norms

Answer 7

what individual perceives as others approval of the behaviour ( the norm of ought)

Question 8

applying the norms to addictions

Answer 8

students overestimate the descriptive and injunctive norms within their peer group. They believe their peers are drinking more alcohol than they are(descriptive) and also that it is socially acceptable (injunctive)

Question 10

Wes Perkins and Alan Berkowitz

Answer 10

Found that a high proportion of students they surveyed believed that being intoxicated was only acceptable in limited circumstances. High proportion also thought that their peers believed that it was acceptable.
Therefore individual acts in the way they think the group are acting in particular they see no need to reduce their consumption as they think that everyone else is doing it more than them anyway

Question 11

Modifying addiction SNMA

Answer 11

Social norms marketing advertising
This aims to change student’s perceptions of their peers drinking habits through the use of mass media and other communication techniques. The adverts focus on providing info such as stats about how much students typically drink. The hope is that by giving students more accurate info it will help combat the overestimation of social norms

Question 12

Trial in Welsh universities by graham Moore et al

Answer 12

Used beer mats, leaflets and poster displaying info targeting both descriptive and injunctive norms
Eg phrases like those around you are drinking less than you think

Question 13

Evaluation

Answer 13

1. Research evidence
2. Peer influence or peer selection
3. Research into perceived social norms
4. The role of other psychosocial factors

Question 14

Prospective studies

Answer 14

Bruce simons Morton and tilada Farhat reviewed 40 prospective studies into the relationship between peers and smoking and found that all but one showed a positive correlation between two. Similar results have also been found for other addictive behaviours (eg maxwell)
This supports the link between the behaviour of peers and engagement in addictive behaviour. The fact that the studies were prospective provides stronger evidence of a casual relationship between the two

Question 15

Peer influence or peer selection

Answer 15

Key problem is that whether peers influence the individual to engage in the addictive behaviour(peer influence) or whether individuals choose friends because they also engage in behaviour( peer selection). It is likely that the two interact with each other although the role of peer selection is often underestimated in research

Question 16

Peer influence or peer selection researchers Susan ennett and Karl bauman

Answer 16

Susan ennett and Karl bauman found that participants who where non smokers at the start of the study and who had smoking friends were more likely to smoke at follow up. There was also evidence that individuals chnaged membership or friendship groups in line with their smoking/non smoking behaviour.
Therefore suggests both peer influence and selection are important processes in addictive behaviour

Question 17

Research into perceived social norms

Answer 17

Clayton neighbors et al compared number of factors related to alcohol consumption and found that descriptive and injunctive norms were the best predictor of alcohol consumption among a sample of US college students.
This supports the idea that peers can influence engagement in addictive behaviour through this process.
It is to note they were not the best predictor of alcohol problems such as drink driving or getting into fights. Therefore although peers may influence individuals to engage in an addictive behaviour in the first place other factors may be more important in influencing whether this becomes an addiction with long term negative consequences

Question 18

The role of other psychosocial factors

Answer 18

It may be too simplistic to say that peers are only social factor that influences the development of addictive behaviour. Kimberly Kobus suggests we need to consider larger social context like family and neighbourhood we will consider the role of the media in more detail on the next spread.
The exact mechanisms involved are unclear. Social learning theory and perceived social norms are just two explanations and there may be other processes involved such as conformity and social identity. It is very difficult for researchers to try and disentangle these different mechanisms