Cultural Values Influence the Developmental Trajectory of Resistance to Social Influence Over the Course of Adolescence

ABSTRACT The opinions of peers are among the most potent factors influencing human decision‐making. Research conducted in Western societies suggests that individuals become more resistant to peer influence from late adolescence to adulthood. It is unknown whether this developmental trajectory is uni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopmental psychobiology Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. e22530 - n/a
Main Authors Pei, Rui, Kranzler, Elissa, Falk, Emily B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.2024
Subjects
adolescence
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - ethnology
Adolescent Behavior - physiology
Adolescent Development - physiology
Adult
China - ethnology
conformity
Cross-Cultural Comparison
culture
development
Female
Humans
Male
Peer Influence
social influence
United States - ethnology
Young Adult
United States
China
adolescence
peer influence
development
conformity
social influence
culture
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Summary:ABSTRACT The opinions of peers are among the most potent factors influencing human decision‐making. Research conducted in Western societies suggests that individuals become more resistant to peer influence from late adolescence to adulthood. It is unknown whether this developmental trajectory is universal across cultures. Through two cross‐national studies, we present consistent self‐report and behavioral evidence for culturally distinct developmental trajectories of resistance to peer influence (RPI). Our findings from the US samples replicated prior findings that reported increasing RPI. Yet, data from the Chinese participants were better fitted using a nonlinear model, displaying a U‐shaped trajectory with lowest RPI levels at around 20 years old. In contrast to the long‐held belief that increasing RPI from adolescence to early adulthood is a universal developmental trait, we propose that this developmental trajectory may depend on cultural context.
Bibliography:The research was supported by (1) the Russell Ackoff Doctoral Student Fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania; (2) the US Army Research Laboratory, including work under Cooperative Agreement W911NF‐10‐20022 and W911NF‐16‐2‐0165; and (3) generous support from the Hopelab Foundation. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the funding agencies.
Funding
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0012-1630
1098-2302
1098-2302
DOI:10.1002/dev.22530