Why adolescents conform to high-status peers: Associations among conformity,identity alignment,and self-esteem |
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| Authors: | Nathan H Field Sophia Choukas-Bradley Matteo Giletta Eva H Telzer Geoffrey L Cohen Mitchell J Prinstein |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;2. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;3. Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;4. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study examined whether conformity to high- but not low-status e-confederates was associated with increases in identification with popular peers and subsequent increases in self-esteem. A sample of 250 adolescents (55.1% male; Mage = 12.70 years; 40.3% White, 28.2% Black, 23.4% Hispanic/Latino, and 7.7% multiracial/other) participated in a well-established experimental chat room paradigm where they were exposed to norms communicated by high- and low-status e-confederates. Results revealed that for boys in the high-status condition only, but not girls, the positive relation between conformity and self-esteem was mediated by greater response alignment with popular peers. These findings bolster prior research by suggesting that conformity to popular peers may be partly motivated by drives for self-esteem and alignment with a valued reference group. |
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