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Ever since humans were in their primitive stages, the need for social interaction has always been present. Loneliness and isolation cause a person to experience many negative emotions, such as sadness and despair (van Zalk, Nestler, Geukes, Hutteman, & Back, 2019). People form close relationships with their peers, often by circumstance. They are drawn to people with similar attitudes, personalities, and demographics, among other aspects (van Zalk et al. 2019).
Friendship is very important in understanding why people act the way that they do. Many studies have been conducted into how a person is influenced by peer pressure (Goel & Malik, 2017; Inguglia, Costa, Ingoglia, & Liga, 2019; Osei, & Gorey, 2019). People may act in ways they would not by themselves. Peer pressure is especially prevalent in adolescent years, through high school and college. (Goel & Malik, 2017)
Friendship
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Often, people develop a close relationship with one person, most commonly of the same sex. They will share many aspects of their life and build empathy and trust with each other. They can even develop a sibling-like relationship. Friendship and peer interaction are important parts of human life and psychology, and as a result there have been many studies devoted to the topic. (Boman, Mowen, & Castro, 2019; Camirand & Poulin, 2019; Goel & Malik, 2017; Perkins, Perkins, & Craig, 2019. Van Zalk et al. 2019). The current study will examine whether there is a relationship between how close two friends are and how far deviant behaviour will be supported. The study will also examine whether there is a difference in support of friends in males and females.
The length to which friends will go to support each other can be related to the phenomenon of peer pressure. This is when a person will act in a way they normally would not in the presence of their peers. They may do this for many reasons, including social conformity, which is the desire to fit in with the group and not disappoint or offend their peers (Goel & Malik, 2017). A person may be influenced by peer pressure by commitment to their group of friends as well. They may feel obligated to act in a way they are not comfortable with to support the group. A study done by Goel and Malik (2017) reinforced this by surveying students who engaged in risky behaviour. They found that students who engaged in risky behavior were more likely to be conforming to peer standards than those acting by themselves. It was especially prevalent outside of a school setting. The effects of peer pressure, whether it be conscious or unconscious, may influence how a person supports a close friend (Goel & Malik 2017). However, there may be a different dynamic between a pair of two close friends. This study is explicit in examining the differences in peer pressure effects in a pair of friends as opposed to a group.
Self Control
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A study done by Mundt, Antonaccio, French, and Zakletskaia (2017) expanded on current research, examining friend interactions in the commission of violent crime. Using self report surveys and in-home interviews of over ten thousand American high school students, the researchers determined how cohesive each participant’s friend group was. Five years later, the same participants retook the survey. Results were then compared with public crime data, and it was found that there is a correlation between the strength of friendships and the likelihood of committing violent crimes. People with a stronger friend group were less likely to commit a violent crime. Friends can have a positive influence on their peers, making the phenomenon of peer pressure as described by Goel and Malik (2017) expanded into positive influences as well. The conclusions drawn reinforce that people are strongly affected by their peers. The current study compares this data to a pair of friends, as opposed to a group.
Boman et al. (2019) studied the relationship between self control and friendship conflict. By using surveys that questioned subjects about their closeness with their friend and their levels of self control, they found that lower self control leads to a person involving themselves with peers that also engage in high levels of deviant behaviour. This could be a factor in how people respond to the questionnaire provided in the study. If they answered that they will support the actions of their friends, they could be a person who displays low levels of self control. The study done by Boman et al. (2019) used numerical scales to measure how close two friends are to each other. The study consisted of numerous categories, such as closeness, trust, and length of time. The scales ranged from 1-5, giving more options in an attempt to limit central tendency bias. These scales can be used in the current study to determine how close two friends are. It is a strong method of measurement.
A study conducted by van Zalk et al (2019) examined how people choose their friends, and how one friend’s level of extraversion can influence the others level of extraversion. Based on surveys, they found that people often choose friends with similar personality types, as well as on demographics and attitude. Often, pairs of friends had different levels of extraversion, and these levels became similar over time. Their study found that the larger the gap is in levels of extraversion, the quicker the friend with lower levels will increase. This study shows how friends can become similar over time and influenced the current study because friends who have been friends longer will be more likely to have similar beliefs and morals.
A study conducted by Camirand & Poulin (2019) examined how the relationship between friends changes through childhood and adolescent years. This longitudinal study used interviews and surveys conducted over the course of many years to collect data. The current study examined friendship in late adolescence and early adulthood. Many of the friendships will have faced various highs and lows, and this may be apparent when the study is conducted. The study found that close friends become closer when they face change and obstacles, while not as close friends will experience conflict in change and obstacles (Camirand & Poulin, 2019). This experiment showed that people who are closer are more likely to stick together through obstacles. As with the study conducted by van Zalk et al. (2019), it can be concluded that friends influence each other greatly and can develop similar personality traits over time. The current study fills the gap in which how far a friend will support the other regarding the severity of their actions.
Code of Silence
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A study conducted by Perkins, Perkins & Craig (2019) examined how adolescents responded to a “code of silence” among their peers. They found that 75 percent of high school students supported telling authorities if they knew of a peer with a weapon in school. They also found that around half of them believed that other students would not report it, drawing the conclusion that the “code of silence” is a misconstrued concept. The code of silence pertains to the current study because it may be a factor in the decision of a person to support their friend’s actions. The action of bringing a weapon into school is a very serious offence, and students were willing to protect their peers who they were not close with. This shows that peers will support the actions of their friends, even if the actions are dangerous. If they perceive that their friend would do the same for them, it may increase their support for their friend. The study conducted by Perkins et al (2019) does not take into consideration the relationship between the peers tested, whether it be positive, negative, or close.
A study conducted by Willard & Burger (2018) aligns closely with the current study. Their study examined how willing people are to take the blame in a criminal act for their friends. The study used methods similar to the current study. A multi part questionnaire was given to participants to determine their moral values, closeness to a friend, and their willingness to take the blame in an offence their friend committed. Willard & Burger (2018) found that friends who were closer were more likely to take the blame for each other, and men were more likely than women. Another interesting discovery they made is that people who have strong “anti-snitching” beliefs or grew up in a culture that discourages cooperation with authorities, were more likely to take the blame, regardless of how close they were with the friend. These factors play an important role in the current study, as participants are randomly selected from many different backgrounds. The current study explores deeper the question of morality and how a friend will support another in multiple different scenarios. The study conducted by Willard & Burger (2018) provides a precedent for similar results in the current study.
Study Parameters
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The current study is a repeated measures study. All participants completed the same survey, and the findings were analyzed. The independent variable is the scenarios presented to the participants. The quasi independent variable is the gender of the participants. The dependant variable is the number of scenarios the participants agree to support their friend in. Variables that were controlled include the age range of the participants, as they are all considered young adults, and that each pair of friends was a pair of the same sex. Male-female friend pairs were not considered in the study.
There have been many research studies on friendship, and peer relationships. It has explained many aspects, such as conformity between friends and peer pressure. The study conducted by Camirand & Poulin (2019) affirmed that close friends will stick together through obstacles, and the study conducted by van Zalk et al (2019) concluded that friends influence each other greatly. Perkins et al (2019) found that peers will still support each other in very severe cases. This information can lead to the hypothesis that close friends will also support each other in deviant actions that one of the friends partakes in. The current study will determine if the closeness of the two friends is a factor. It was expected that the closer two friends are with each other, the more scenarios their friend partakes in they will support. It was also expected that male participants would be more likely to support their friends. The similarities between the current study and the study conducted by Willard and Burger (2018) suggested that the results would be concurrent.