Axia College Material
Appendix E
Scenario:
John is an 18-year-old freshman at New York University. John was the starting quarterback at his high school in a small town in Indiana. He enjoys playing sports and hanging out with friends. John has always been popular and done well in school and sports. Once he is comfortable in his surroundings he can be confident in what he is doing.
Donnie is an 18-year-old freshman from Chicago attending Iowa State. Donnie spends most of his time playing his guitar and writing music. In high school he had a few close friends but his attention was mainly focused on his studies and his music. He has little trouble expressing himself and enjoys doing so on stage while playing in his band. Donnie is determined to earn a degree and find a career in playing, writing, or producing music.
Response:
In this scenario, the person more likely to be persuaded by peer pressures such as drinking, drug use, skipping class, and other irresponsible behavior is John. The reason that John seems more likely to be easily influenced by his peers is his inability to feel confident when he is uncomfortable. Often in order to be comfortable around strangers, people will conform to what is popular – and this can lead the way into experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
Additionally, John is used to being popular and well liked by his peers, in part because of his high school football career. The scenario doesn’t say whether John will continue to play football for New York University, but if this is not the case, then John is more likely to feel displaced in his new role without a position on the team. This could supply John with feelings of inadequacy, which can alter his self-esteem and self-concept.
Donnie, however, does not have the same popularity based background, and has instead chosen a few quality friends over mass quantity of friends. This helps Donnie to avoid seeking the acceptance of everyone in favor of...