Item Details

title

Characteristics of Group Relationships that Predict Compliance with Group Expectations for Health and Social Behaviors

author

Stark, Shannon

abstract

The goal of this study was to examine characteristics of an individual’s relationship with a group that may relate to whether or not the individual behaves in accordance with the group’s expectations for his or her behavior. We compared these group relationship characteristics to the construct of motivation to comply which has been hypothesized to function in this moderating role. Questionnaires were administered to 170 college students assessing their perceptions of the expectations of their parents and their college friends for their behavior, the nature of their relationship with each of these groups, and their intentions to perform and past performance of the four health behaviors (exercising, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, going to a tanning bed) and four social behaviors (studying, going to a party, volunteering for community service, and going to a religious service). Results showed that motivation to comply did not consistently moderate the relationships between perceived expectations and behavior, whereas many group relationship variables did. Additionally, concern with maintaining the approval of the group and avoiding the rejection of the group tended to predict adherence to perceived group expectations in most situations. These data provide initial clues as to the types of group relationships that relate to increased adherence to group social norms, though a follow-up study with a larger sample size would further strengthen these results.

subject

Social Psychology

Social Norms

contributor

Fleeson, William (committee chair)

Wood, Dustin (committee member)

Furr, R. Michael (committee member)

Mihalko, Shannon L. (committee member)

date

2009-05-08T18:50:52Z (accessioned)

2010-06-18T19:00:08Z (accessioned)

2009-05-08T18:50:52Z (available)

2010-06-18T19:00:08Z (available)

2009-05-08T18:50:52Z (issued)

degree

Psychology (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/14927 (uri)

language

en_US (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

rights

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide. (accessRights)

type

Thesis