Peer group facts for kids
A peer group is a group of people who are similar in some way. Members of a peer group are usually about the same age. They often have similar interests and backgrounds. These groups are important for how people grow and learn.
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What is a Peer Group?
A peer group is made of people who are equal in some way. This means they often share the same social status. They also tend to be around the same age. People in a peer group often spend time together. They might have similar hobbies or come from similar backgrounds.
How Peer Groups Help You Grow
Many experts who study how people grow, called developmental psychologists, say that friends and other peers are very important. People like Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Harry Stack Sullivan believed this. They thought that being with peers teaches you important things. These include learning about fairness, working together, and building close friendships.
Modern studies also agree. They show that spending time with peers helps you grow socially and emotionally. You learn how to get along with others. You also learn how to understand your own feelings better.
The Influence of Friends
A writer named Judith Rich Harris wrote a book called The Nurture Assumption. In it, she suggested that your peer group has a big effect on how you think and grow as a person. She believed that friends influence your smarts and your personality a lot.
Other long-term studies have also found good things about peer groups. They show that having friends can even help you do better in school. When you work with friends, you can learn from each other and improve your schoolwork.
Related Pages
Images for kids
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Children playing together
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A group of children playing together in Bolivia
See also
In Spanish: Grupo de pares para niños
