Pysc

Adolescents can trust their peers not to treat them like children. Teenagers spend much of their time with friends—they need and use each other to define themselves. High schools are important as places for adolescents to get together, and they do so in fairly predictable ways. Most schools contain easily recognizable and well-defined groups. These groups are arranged in a fairly rigid hierarchy—everyone knows who belongs to which group and what people in that group do with their time. Early in adolescence groups are usually divided by sex, but later the sexes mix. Groups also usually form along class lines. Some school activities bring teenagers of different social classes together, but it is the exception rather than the rule that cross-class friendships are maintained.

Besides class, what determines whether an adolescent will be accepted by a peer group? Many studies have shown that personal characteristics are very important. These studies indicate that popularity is very much based on good looks and personality. With both sexes, athletic ability is also an important factor. Today many peer groups adopt very distinct styles to express themselves.

Belonging to a clique, or a small exclusive group of people within a larger group, is very important to most adolescents and serves several functions. Most obviously, perhaps, it fulfills the need for closeness with others. In addition, it gives the adolescent a means of defining himself or herself, a way of establishing an identity. The group does this by helping the individual achieve self-confidence, develop a sense of independence from family, clarify values, and experiment with new roles. For instance, members of cliques may imitate one another’s clothing, speech, or hairstyles. By providing feedback, clique members not only help define who an individual is but also who he or she is not. Group membership separates an adolescent from others who are not in his or her group.