The Attitude of Peers Development of Prejudice in Adolescence

The Attitude of Peers and the Development of Prejudice in Adolescence

Introduction

Studies have shown that many young people form their attitudes, political values, and prejudices in the adolescence stage. For example, according to a study by Raabe and Beelmann (2011), in which they conducted a meta-analysis of prejudice in adolescence and childhood, prejudice is linked to development and age in childhood and social influences in adolescence and later in life. However, few studies focus on it because of the limited longitudinal data available on the topic (Raabe & Beelmann 2011). Change or changes in prejudice at the individual level is not a topic that has been exhaustively explored. However, the theory shows that social influence plays a significant role in driving individuals to develop negative attitudes or beliefs about certain groups. Several social psychological theories emphasize the key role of the social environment: close friends, peers, and parents, in the adoption and development of both negative attitudes (e.g., Hjerm, Eger & Danell, 2018).

Moreover, sociological research also shows that social networks largely influence attitudes and beliefs. However, there are not many studies that look at how prejudice develops with time. This is what this proposal sets out to do. The objective of the research is to understand the relationship between attitudinal change and social context in persons. Specifically, this study aims to investigate how peer groups affect the formation and development of attitudes.

Research Question: How does peer attitude influence the development of prejudice in adolescents?

Hypothesis: Prejudice in groups affects and then determines individual prejudice with time,

Literature review

Many social psychology studies have shown that the social environment influences or determines adolescents' behavior and attitudes. For example, the SIDT (Social Identity Development Theory) (Raabe & Beelmann 2011). The behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes of children are largely influenced by the social identity (e.g., social class, gender, nationality, and race), which pressures them to conform to other group members. Social scientists widely accept SIDT. It is a theory that combines various social development and cognitive development. Another social theory, the social domain theory, also provides an empirical and theoretical approach that can be utilized to investigate and understand how moral development in young people results in prejudice or discrimination of individuals (Hjerm, Eger & Danell, 2018). According to SDT, when making a social evaluation, individuals usually consider separate social knowledge domains: the personal domain (their ideas, choices, and beliefs), the social-conventional domain (the social customs, the norms, group functioning, societal conventions, and expectations) and the moral domain (rights, justice, and welfare) (Hjerm, Eger & Danell, 2018). 

Through the integration of SDT and SIDT elements, a new framework, the Social Reasoning Developmental (SRD) (Rutland, Killen & Abrams, 2010), was developed. This framework looks at things that influence social factors, e.g., group status, group norms, and group processes. As is the case with SIDT, the SRD perspective argues that social associations can influence prejudice and how social groups relate to their members' decisions. Moreover, the SRD perspective looks at how prejudice develops in the social-cognitive development context and the interplay between group identity and morality in young people.

SRD perspective suggests that both group processes and morality principles largely influence young people's decision-making because both processes develop the same way from childhood, as shown by the early onset of morality and prejudice (Nesdale, 2017). Similar research has also shown how both adolescents and children balance their group identity concerns with their moral concerns when making decisions (Killen et al., 2013). A good example is the Hitti and Killen (2015) study. This study investigated non-Arab American adolescents' views on the inclusion-exclusion and inclusion of Arab American and non-Arab American peers with similar interests between and within groups. The researchers discovered that adolescents frequently choose to have good relationships with peers who have similar interests and even integrate them into their groups without considering their ethnicity. However, the researchers also discovered that adolescents who had prejudice and believed in certain stereotypes about Arab Americans had a significantly lower likelihood of including Arab Americans in their groups than those who had no prejudice and believed in no stereotypes. A study published more recently, Hitti et al. (2019) used the SRD framework to investigate Asian American children's developmental patterns and Asian American adolescents' attitudes and reasoning on cross-ethnic integration. This study revealed that adolescents in the Asian American community have no problem prioritizing relationships with whom they have shared interests over relationships with whom they have shared ethnicity. In another study, adolescents with perspective-taking (a social cognitive skill) were more likely to change their prejudice against immigrants than those without the skill. This study revealed the importance of social-cognitive skills in forming and developing the group and intergroup attitudes and perspectives (Miklikowska, 2018).

While many studies have revealed that individuals are heavily influenced by the perspectives and attitudes of the groups they belong to in adolescence, it is uncertain whether specific relationships matter and whether the social environment more generally influences prejudices. It is important to note that the social environment is not just a collection of relationships independent of one another. It is a collection of interpersonal relationships linked in various ways and is integrated into a larger social environment/context that includes social networks. Research in the past has revealed that social networks influence the attitudes of adolescents. For example, it was recently revealed that social networks' peer pressure influences behaviors such as delinquency, drug use, charitable giving, and school performance (Hjerm, Eger & Danell, 2018).

Past studies have revealed the importance of social context in the development of attitudes. This is supported by various social psychological theories, including the social learning theory, identity theories, intergroup contact theory, and symbolic racism theory. While many theories support the importance of the social environment in determining attitudes and prejudices, the social development identity theory and the group norm theory explain how in-group norms and attitudes influence personal attitudes. However, it must be emphasized that not many studies have investigated the link between peers and the development of prejudice over time; this makes it difficult to know about peer attitude changes over time (Hjerm, Eger & Danell, 2018). Nevertheless, sociology and social psychology seminal research on how social relationships affect social influence shows that prejudice among peers influences individual prejudice over time.

Methods

Design

Longitudinal study design, survey, and interview techniques will be utilized in data collection. This research will be carried out for more than three years, and its participants will be surveyed and interviewed annually.

Surveys are usable in several contexts and are most suitable for questions involving participants describing their behaviors, attitude, or a combination of both. Three unique features differentiate survey study designs from other study methods. Firstly, all survey study depends on either verbal or written self-reports of individuals' behaviors, feelings, and attitudes. Self-reporting means that a researcher will ask a participant several questions then record their answers. This method has many advantages, including being somewhat straightforward and permitting some access to psychological procedures. Another distinguishing survey study feature is its capacity to access internal states, which cannot be determined via direct observation. By asking individuals about their thoughts, behavior, and feelings, researchers get closer to understanding the underlying psychological procedures. Lastly, a survey study allows researchers to gather huge amounts of information and data with quite a few resources and minimal effort. Survey study designs stick out as the most effective study design as surveys can be simultaneously distributed to several people (NewMan, 2016).

When compared to written surveys, interviews are more useful. First, individuals are often more willing and motivated to talk than write. Connected to this advantage, an individual's verbal response is normally more detailed and richer than a written response. Secondly, interview formats allow the researcher to make sure that the respondents understand the questions well. Poorly composed written-questionnaire questions force respondents to guess the intended meaning, and it is these guesses introduce large sources of variance errors. In contrast, when an interview question is asked poorly, the respondent can easily request the interviewer's clarification. Lastly, interviews allow researchers to get to a wider cross-section of individuals and even involve those who do not know are incapable of reading and writing or, maybe, not reading and writing the survey's language (NewMan, 2016).

Participants

The sample size in this research will be roughly 200. The sample (teenagers) attending junior colleges will be chosen via using the random sampling technique. With a primary interest in teenagers, the sample will include only two groups of adolescents aged 16 and 13. Researchers employ probability sampling when all people in the population have known chances of being part of the study sample. This is only possible in cases where those conducting the study know the population's exact size. When researchers have such information and data, probability sampling techniques become the most effective as they significantly raise the chances of acquiring a representative sample.

Procedure

The participants will be first interviewed in junior high schools. Teenagers in group 1 will be surveyed for three years on an annual basis, while those in group 2 will be surveyed for more than three years. However, the researchers will need consent from the respondent's parents regarding their children's research involvement. Each child's parent will also participate, and their responses attached to those of their children.

Analysis of data

The research will utilize multiple regression data analysis. This is simply a correlation analysis variation whereby more than a single predictor variable is utilized in predicting one outcome variable. A benefit of this methodology is that it considers both the combined and the individual predictor variables influence. The numerals along every line are called beta weights of regression coefficients. These numbers are comparable to correlation coefficients but vary importantly; they signify every predictor variable's impacts while controlling all other predictors' impacts. Note that individual variables can accumulate to a bigger combined influence even if they only have a little influence. The combined relation between the complete predictor variables and the outcome variable is represented by the multiple correlation coefficient (NewMan, 2016).

Ethical issues

The overall objective of a study that involves young children is to acquire and generate scientific information and data regarding them. In this setting, researchers need to concentrate on the different issues that emerge during the study and employ all necessary precautions to ensure that the young participants will not be adversely affected or harmed by the research. Also, researchers have to ensure that the involved children participate at their own will and that their rights are revered throughout the process. The researcher is also needed at all times to utilize the least stressful study procedure where possible. The benefits of executing such a study should be balanced with its ethical worries (Ferdousi, 2015). Studies involving children have based their ethical guidance on some of the principles below:

Informed consent: Informed consent should be obtained from the child's legal representative, and then the child's approval is obtained via the provision of age-appropriate information. According to the application of general principles, by law, in cases whereby the involved child has enough intelligence and understanding required to comprehend what is suggested, it is their and not their parent's consent that is needed (Ferdousi, 2015).

Approval and child's rejection indications: The information and data presented to the parent and their child need to explain: what is going to take place; what is being demanded of the child; that the involved child can agree and even disagree to participate without any adverse repercussions; and can pull out any time they wish; and be issued in a way that the child can understand, with the help of visuals aids where need be (Ferdousi, 2015).

Reducing risks of danger: Ethical practices and guidance aim to reduce any potential exploitation and ensure that children's well-being and rights are observed during the research. For that reason, an important ethical consideration in studies involving kids is the risk levels to which the kids might be exposed to. Risk can be described as possible harm (social, psychological, or physical) that might surface from the study. Researchers should not utilize the types of study procedures that might psychologically or physically harm the child (Ferdousi, 2015).