Psychologists agree that peer pressure is a key influence of everyday life across all the gene rations. While some aspects of peer pressure are positive, a lot of research centers on the negative effects of peer pressure. Conventionally, peer pressure is a common phenomenon amongst high school students and early teenagers. However, recent research has discovered that peer pressure surges at the college level. The probable reasons for the increase of peer pressure at the college level are due to the sudden freedom, especially among freshman, from parental control (McCabe, 2008). Second, peer activities such as binge drinking become synonymous with college students when they hit the legal drinking age. However, exploration of peer influence of peer pressure on college students should detour from the persistence focus on negativity to a more positive approach.
First, peer pressure induces college students to have non-judgmental attitude in the society that creates independence in thought. While peer pressure has a very strong influence on thoughts and decision-making, it provides an opportunity for college students to define values and to stick to them away from parental instigation. The students get an opportunity to make a choice of what is right and what is wrong while having clear-cut line of not judging their peers for making decisions contrary to their own (Shore & Berman, 1983).
Second, peer pressure enables students to test their limits. You can only know the negativity of something once you are into it. Many times hanging out with people with different values enables people to know why they do not choose a particular lifestyle. Without peer pressure, one would be absorbed into his or her own enclave without really expounding and testing his or her own limits (Hansen, 2011).
Perhaps another advantage of peer pressure is that it generates the spirit of competition among college students. College men engage in activities such as weightlifting, sports, dances and much other fun stuff that are healthy for the brain. These activities are mostly done in peer groups. A certain percentage of students engage in the activities because of pressure of not fitting in. In return, students get out having a learned a thing or two ( McCabe, 2008).
References
Hansen, R. (2011, November 10). College and Peer Pressure. Retrieved July 11, 2012, from Yahoo website: http://voices.yahoo.com/college-peer-pressure-10388585.html?cat=9
McCabe, D. (2008). The Influence of Situational Ethics on Cheating Among College Students. Chicago University Press: Sociological Inquiry.
Shore, E., Rivers, C., & Berman, J. (1983). Resistance by College Students to Peer Pressure to Drink. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 34(2), 342-356.
