Page 36 - Flipbook: Sociology Shortcuts Issue 3

peer groups
Peer groups, involving people of a similar
age, such as teenagers, are both primary
agencies - we usually choose friends of a
similar age and personal interaction with
them impacts on our behaviour, from how
we dress and talk to the things we like or
loathe - and secondary agencies of
socialisation: they may be used as a
reference group - what Hughes et. al. (2002)
call “the models we use for appraising and
shaping our attitudes, feelings and actions”
Although we may never personally interact
with these groups, behaviour can be
influenced by things like peer fashions and
general behaviour - an example of peer
pressure as a form of social control.
We play a range of peer-related roles,
depending on our age group and situation.
“Friend”, for example, expresses very
personal role play, whereas at school or work
we may have a variety of acquaintances.
In the workplace too, we're likely to play the
role of colleague to at least some of our
peers.
The values we’re taught within a peer group
will vary with things like age and
circumstances and peer group norms often
relate to ideas about age-appropriate
behaviour; young children, for example, are
not allowed to smoke or buy alcohol in
countries like the UK and USA,
Conversely, it’s generally not considered
age-appropriate for the elderly to take-part in
extreme sports or wear clothes considered
more-appropriate to younger age groups.
Peer group sanctions are generally informal -
things like disapproving looks and
disparaging comments. This is mainly
because peer group norms vary considerably,
with the same behaviour in different
situations producing different responses.
Swearing at your grandmother, for example,
will probably be met with disapproval;
swearing among friends may actually be a
norm. Approving gestures and language,
laughing at your “jokes” and seeking out
your company represent positive sanctions,
while refusing to speak to you, rejecting
your friendship and physical violence are
negative sanctions.
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