As I indicated in my Letter to the Editor earlier this week, I am learning the difference between positive and negative peer pressure. I want to be the type of person who does things because of my ...

Peer pressure can be tough for kids to resist, even if it comes from robots. School-aged children tend to echo the incorrect but unanimous responses of a group of robots to a simple visual task, a new ...

Economist Robert Frank studies peer pressure and how its power can be leveraged for good. In his new book, “Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work,” Frank explains the idea of “behavioral ...

In seventh grade, Nathan Maynard joined a gang, hoping it would give him the sense of belonging he lacked at home. But his new friends only led him to make poor decisions, and he was sent to the ...

The economists and activists who hope to stop global warming know that small measures won’t cut it. Which is why “conscious consumption” — taking individual actions to reduce your carbon footprint — ...

Peer pressure is a proven social motivator. Researchers probed this decidedly human attribute and found that not only is virtual pressure from a computer-simulated peer just as motivating as the real ...

Parents of teenagers often view their children's friends with something like suspicion. They worry that the adolescent peer group has the power to prod its members into behavior that is foolish and ...

We’ve had stunning illustrations in recent months about how an enabling culture is created and perpetuated around toxic but charismatic leaders. High-profile examples have ranged from churches like ...

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. is a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge. “If your friends told ...

The bane of many parents’ existence, peer pressure, is a topic I am often asked to address. “He just got in with the wrong crowd.” “She is just under the influence of that dirt-bag boyfriend.” Or, ...