Peer group
A peer group is a group of people who are equal in some way. Those in a peer group have the same status and are about the same age. They often interact with the group as a whole.[1] Members of a peer group often have similar interests and backgrounds.[2]
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychologists, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Harry Stack Sullivan, argued that peer relationships are important in a person's development, and teach about equality, reciprocity, cooperation, and intimacy. Modern research also shows that social and emotional gains are indeed provided by peer interaction.[3]
Judith Rich Harris, in The Nurture Assumption, argues that an individual's peer group significantly influences their intellectual and personal development. Several long-term studies also claim that peer groups improve school work.[4][5][6]
Peer Group Media
A group of children playing together in Bolivia
Related pages
References
- ↑ Peer group definitionencarta.msn.com. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ↑ Wolf, Sun. (2008). Peer groups: expanding our study of small group communication. Thousand oaks,CA: Sage publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4129-2686-7
- ↑ Siegler, Robert (2006). How Children Develop, Exploring Child Develop Student Media Tool Kit & Scientific American Reader to Accompany How Children Develop. New York: Worth Publishers. ISBN 0716761130
- ↑ Kindermann, Thomas A.. Natural peer groups as contexts for individual development: The case of children's motivation in school. Developmental Psychology 29 (6) (1993). p. 970–977.
- ↑ Sacerdote, Bruce. Peer Effects With Random Assignment: Results For Dartmouth Roommates. The Quarterly Journal of Economics (2001).
- ↑ Robertson, Donald; Symons, James. Do Peer Groups Matter? Peer Group versus Schooling Effects on Academic Attainment. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 70 (2003). p. 31–53.
