sense of self; the adoption of a favorable sense of self is intrinsically rewarding (Abrams & Hogg, 1990; Festinger, 1954). In sum, theories suggest that adolescents increasingly invest in peers as primary sources of social and emotional support while simultaneously using feedback and acceptance from their peers as bases for a sense of self-concept. By conforming to peers’ behavior, adolescents engage in behaviors that (1) are associated with high peer status; (2) match the social norms of a valued or desired social group; (3) lead to extrinsic behavioral reinforcement within a social context; and (4) contribute to an intrinsically rewarding sense of a favorable self-identity. In the past decade, advances in work on peer influence have allowed for some preliminary examination of these ideas; each is discussed below.
