Describe what you believe to be two of the main functions of the ...

[deesands]

Describe what you believe to be two of the main functions of the peer group for adolescents. Did your peer group provide this for you? Give examples.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Imagine that an acquaintance of yours claims that he or she fell in with the wrong crowd in adolescence and as a result engaged in many delinquent activities he or she shouldn't have done and wouldn't have done otherwise.
 
  (1) Do you agree or disagree with the statement
  about falling in with the wrong crowd? Explain why. (2) Do you agree or disagree with the
  statement about doing things he or she wouldn't have done otherwise? Explain why.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[jjorrostieta]

Answer to Question 1

Answers will vary. Peers can support changes associated with adolescence, they
can allow for experimentation with identity, they can be a sounding board, and they
can help to negotiate conflicts at home or with one's culture. The student should
provide specific examples of when the peer group did or did not live up to these
functions.

Answer to Question 2

(1) Adolescents do not simply fall in with the wrong crowd. They seek out peers who
are similar to them in values and interests. (It is true, however, that negative peer
influence can be stronger in times of uncertainty, as when a student is new to a
school.) (2) It is true that adolescents behave in ways together that they would not
do individually.