Friends' influence on adolescents' academic achievement motivation: An experimental study.

To examine the influence of friends on adolescents' motivation to achieve in school, each of 118 eight graders was paired with a close friend. The pairs of friends were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control condition. In the experimental condition, the friends discussed dilemmas that required them to decide between 2 actions reflecting different levels of achievement motivation. In the control condition, friends discussed topics unrelated to school. Before and after the discussions, all adolescents made decisions on the dilemmas independently. The 1st hypothesis was that discussions of the dilemmas would lead to an increase in the similarity of friends' decisions. The 2nd hypothesis was that the discussions would lead to shifts toward more extreme decisions

[1]  Myron H. Dembo,et al.  Effects of perceived ability and grade status on social interaction and influence in cooperative groups. , 1987 .

[2]  W. Bukowski,et al.  Popularity and friendship: Issues in theory, measurement, and outcome. , 1989 .

[3]  A. Vinokur,et al.  Novel argumentation and attitude change: The case of polarization following group discussion , 1978 .

[4]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Expectancies, values, and achievement in junior high school. , 1990 .

[5]  K. Mccartney,et al.  The Effects of Group Discussions on Children's Moral Decisions , 1984 .

[6]  D. Isenberg.  Group polarization: A critical review and meta-analysis. , 1986 .

[7]  David G. Myers,et al.  Group-Induced Polarization of Attitudes and Behavior , 1978 .

[8]  J. Bishop.  Why the Apathy in American High Schools , 1989 .

[9]  Laurence Steinberg,et al.  The vicissitudes of autonomy in early adolescence. , 1986, Child development.

[10]  G. Ladd,et al.  Peer relationships in child development. , 1989 .

[11]  R. Cairns,et al.  The Analysis of social interactions : methods, issues, and illustrations , 1979 .

[12]  Jere M. Cohen.  Commentary: The Relationship between Friendship Selection and Peer Influence , 1983 .

[13]  J. Epstein.  The Influence of Friends on Achievement and Affective Outcomes , 1983 .

[14]  L. Downing,et al.  Deindividuation and valence of cues: effects on prosocial and antisocial behavior. , 1979, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  J. Eccles.  Expectancies, values and academic behaviors , 1983 .

[16]  Chen-Lin C. Kulik,et al.  Effects of Ability Grouping on Secondary School Students: A Meta-analysis of Evaluation Findings , 1981 .

[17]  Michael Tomasello,et al.  Transactive Discussions with Peers and Adults. , 1986 .

[18]  Herbert J. Walberg,et al.  Peer group influence on educational outcomes: A quantitative synthesis. , 1981 .

[19]  M. Hallinan.  Commentary: New Directions for Research on Peer Influence , 1983 .

[20]  J. Goodlad.  A Place Called School , 1984 .

[21]  Melanie Killen,et al.  Peer interaction and the process of change in children's moral reasoning. , 1982 .

[22]  F. Schwartz.  Supporting or Subverting Learning: Peer Group Patterns in Four Tracked Schools1 , 1981 .

[23]  D. Kandel.  Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships , 1978, American Journal of Sociology.

[24]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[25]  B. B. Brown,et al.  Perceptions of peer pressure, peer conformity dispositions, and self-reported behavior among adolescents. , 1986 .