Table of Contents
Definition of Peer Group
(noun) The people an individual socializes with, that typically inform and enforce societal norms.
Examples of Peer Group
- An individual’s friends at work.
- Students in a class.
Peer Group Pronunciation
Syllabification: peer group
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /pIR grOOp/
- British English – /pIUH grOOp/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /pɪr grup/
- British English – /pɪə gruːp/
Usage Notes
Additional Information
- Word origin of “peer” and “group” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Adler, Patricia A., and Peter Adler. 1998. Peer Power: Preadolescent Culture and Identity. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Corsaro, William A. 2005. The Sociology of Childhood. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
- Elkin, Frederick, and Gerald Handel. 1991. The Child and Society: The Process of Socialization. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Riesman, David. 1950. The Lonely Crowd. New York: Yale University Press.
Related Videos
Related Terms
- anticipatory socialization
- cultural capital
- education
- formal education
- grade inflation
- homework
- informal education
- No Child Left Behind Act
- tracking
- youth culture
Works Consulted
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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Peer Group
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “peer group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 13, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/peer-group/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
peer group. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/peer-group/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “peer group.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/peer-group/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“peer group.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 13 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/peer-group/>.