Elaboration principle

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The elaboration principle is when "non-group" members form relationships with an "in-group" member and later are incorporated into the existing "in-group."

Contents

Background

The elaboration principle originally stemmed off of a study done by T.M. Newcomb called the acquaintance process. From the acquaintance process Newcomb helped to developed three principles of attraction: Proximity principle, similarity principle, and elaboration principle.

Recruitment

The elaboration principle can be seen in many different groups in society. The areas that the principle is most evident is in recruitment and in friendship circles.

Gangs

A major formation technique in gangs is through recruitment. Recruitment can be seen in schools, mainly middle and high school, parks, neighborhoods and community centers. Ways that gangs recruit are summarized in four different types: "gangs employ strategies of obligation, coercion, seduction, and subterfuge to attract new members." [1] Seduction is a technique that has been used for a very long time with gangs. They use a form of trickery to make the gang seem more fun and glamorous. "The symbols of the gang (the graffiti, hand signs, colors, tattoos, etc.) create a visual attraction for young people; they realize that with these symbols they are part of something organized and powerful. Parties are also very useful ways for recruiters to seduce young people into the gang. At the party they have fun, get high, and believe the rhetoric they are bombarded with." [2] Gangs will use symbols, either tattoos and graffiti, to create attraction to the potential members as a seduction technique. Self-recruitment, another technique, is used because to some, gangs aren't glamorous and so by making contact with potential members personally draws them in. "For many reasons, youth will make contact with gang members and ask to join the gang. The reasons are many and not always because the individual sees the gang as glamorous. The reason may be one of necessity, money, protection etc.. The reasons may be a combination of all of the trappings mentioned above. The range of reasons for a youth to join a gang is very wide and does not always mean that he has joined the gang open heartedly. [2]

Military

The most popular age group to recruit for the military is the youth population, because many youth are opting out of going to college because of the economic times and financial positions. "The recruiting process involves national and local advertising to efficiently supply information on a widespread basis; informational visits by recruiters to schools and student groups; traveling military exhibits to provide information to schools and the public; direct mail advertising and telephone solicitation to identify interested youth; web sites to provide information on military services; and contacts and visits with recruiters to qualify leads and to assist youth in gaining needed information about the decision to enlist and the selection of a particular Service." [3]

Friendship groups

College dorms

The elaboration principle is very prominent in college dorm living. It is one of the major ways students new to college make friends. One source of friendship-making is through the residence assistants (RAs) on each floor. The RAs create different groups and activities to connect the students. "RA, Nicole Laniado, CSOM '13, has done an excellent job fostering community and bringing the girls together. "Not only does she do a great job organizing movie nights, or outings practically every week, but she really has made an effort to bring the floor closer together. And it's worked," says Mariana Eizayaga, a student on Laniado's hall." [4] The students are able to form bonds with each other and the groups then become larger because of the induction of friends that are taking place. "Regardless, the RAs of Fitzpatrick and Gonzaga have put a tremendous amount of effort into fostering bonds between not only themselves and their residents, but within the students on their halls. Required to host at least two programs each month, the residents of these two halls have had the opportunity to attend multiple Table Talks, discussions led by a professor and catered by an outside restaurant." [4]

High school cliques

In high school, cliques typically tend to form and the groups usually will grow as the age grows. "In elementary school, cliques are hierarchical friendship groups based on popularity and prestige. By the time children reach high school, the clique social hierarchy is stratified. Typically, one finds "jocks," "preppies", or "popular"; "brains," or "nerds"; and "unpopular"." [5] "Though people have secured friendships before high school, often these relationships tend to fluctuate or end completely, and new ones emerge. Students must choose which peers to hang out with and why. This leads to the formation of social groups, or cliques. Cliques can range from a group of acquaintances to the opposite extreme-gangs." [6]

Usefulness

Deterring gang membership

Gangs are a steadily growing problem in metropolitan and suburban areas alike. And as crime increases, government and local law enforcement officials have been struggling to deter and eliminate these criminally active groups. In order to effectively shrink and extinguish gangs, efforts must be focused on deterring youth from falling into criminal activities. The elaboration principle may help researchers determine why young adults join these gangs, in turn reducing violence and crime. Robert Agnew's "Strain Theory" identifies five types of strain on youth that seem to detect and predict criminal behavior, two of which can be traced back to the elaboration principle. Research has suggested that a youth's interaction with delinquent peers as well as the mere existence of gangs in the individuals neighborhood are strong indicators of gang joining activity. [7] In many cases, young adults are searching for companionship and excitement, [8] two items that gangs readily provide to at-risk-children. These gangs represent a family, people to look up to, and are much more exciting than the classroom to many children. In terms of the elaboration principle, a child may be influenced by an older gang member or classmate to join a gang. An article by Jerome and Glenda Blakemore explains that low-self esteem is a primary reason for gang participation. [9] This child then becomes an in-group member of the gang, and continues the cycle of recruiting other individuals into a life of crime. If community members can establish a strategy limiting children's contact with gangs, as well as reducing contact and association with other delinquent children, youth-at-risk may be less enticed by gangs, and instead encouraged to join after-school programs and engage in activities that keep them off of the streets. By engaging in positive activities and groups, the elaboration principle can be used to reduce the influence of gangs and potentially reduce crime and gang size altogether.

Social adjustment

High school can yield a wide range of experiences for students, ranging from fulfilling and pleasurable to some to downright worthless and miserable for others. During these malleable and very important years of development, the groups and associations young adults make may have long-lasting effects throughout their lives. Cliques are formed in mid-childhood and vary in size from three to nine individuals. Within these cliques occur the majority of peer interactions with other children, [10] and thus have a large impact on the development of teenagers. Using the elaboration principle, a scenario of a child joining a clique might unfold as follows: a child comes into contact with other children performing various behaviors, and depending on these behaviors identify with a certain group, whether that be the "athletes," "bullies," or "scholars," etc. Through these identifications, out-group members join these groups and become in-group members. Research has shown that children in competent and average clicks display higher personal competence and lower anxiety when compared to children involved in withdrawn/aggressive cliques. [10] If the dynamics of group processes and the elaboration principle are understood, teachers and parents can better understand the children themselves, in turn providing better parental care and more personalized attention within the classroom.

Practicality

The elaboration principle can be put to use in real-world situations when it comes to things like helping to stop kids from joining unsatisfactory peer groups that participate in high risk activities at a young age. "Belonging to a group is an important part of adolescence, and, rather than being ostracized... youth will conform in order to have access to the group". [11] Activities such as being sexually active, and engaging in drug and alcohol use can occur at a young age because youth have friends that are participating in similar behavior. People who are associated with people who engage in delinquent behavior are at a greater risk to engage in that behavior as well; [12] they are drawn to it because of their friends and their family members. Because people will be drawn to groups that have their close friends in them its possible to intervene with programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America that form dyadic relationships with people at risk of exhibiting at risk behaviors, children who participate show a noticeable reduction in the likelihood that they would exhibit negative behaviors like drug use, use of alcohol and skipping school.

See also

Related Research Articles

A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, and possibly violent, behavior.

Adolescence Transitional stage of physical and psychological development

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood. Adolescence is usually associated with the teenage years, but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier and end later. Puberty now typically begins during preadolescence, particularly in females. Physical growth and cognitive development can extend throughout the lifespan, but mostly in the 20s and 30s. Age provides only a rough marker of adolescence, and scholars have not agreed upon a precise definition. Traditionally, it includes ages 10 to 19, but an expansive definition includes ages 10 to 24 to account for a more cultural and comprehensive understanding of this phase of life.

Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A group or individual may be encouraged and want to follow their peers by changing their attitudes, values or behaviors to conform to those of the influencing group or individual. For the individual affected by peer pressure, this can have both a positive or negative influence on them.

Youth culture Norms, values, practices and shared symbolic systems of children, adolescents and young adults

Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth demographic and are distinct from those of adults in the community.

Peer group Primary group of people with similar interests, age, background, or social status

In sociology, a peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people who have similar interests (homophily), age, background, or social status. The members of this group are likely to influence the person's beliefs and behaviour.

Juvenile delinquency Illegal behavior by minors

Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person who commits a crime and is under a specific age. Most states specify a juvenile delinquent as an individual under 18 years of age while a few states have set the maximum age slightly different. In 2021, Michigan, New York, and Vermont raised the maximum age to under 19, and Vermont law was updated again in 2022 to include individuals under the age of 20. Only three states, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin still appropriate the age of a juvenile delinquent as someone under the age of 17. While the maximum age in some US states has increased, Japan has lowered the juvenile delinquent age from under 20 to under 18. This change occurred on April 1, 2022 when the Japanese Diet activated a law lowering the age of minor status in the country. Just as there are differences in the maximum age of a juvenile delinquent, the minimum age for a child to be considered capable of delinquency or the age of criminal responsibility varies considerably between the states. Some states that impose a minimum age have made recent amendments to raise the minimum age, but most states remain ambiguous on the minimum age for a child to be determined a juvenile delinquent. In 2021, North Carolina changed the minimum age from 6 years old to 10 years old while Connecticut moved from 7 to 10 and New York made an adjustment from 7 to 12. In some states the minimum age depends on the seriousness of the crime committed. Juvenile delinquents or juvenile offenders commit crimes ranging from status offenses such as, truancy, violating a curfew or underage drinking and smoking to more serious offenses categorized as property crimes, violent crimes, sexual offenses, and cybercrimes.

Gang Resistance Education And Training, abbreviated G.R.E.A.T., provides a school-based, police officer instructed program that includes classroom instruction and various learning activities. Their intention is to teach the students to avoid gangs as well as drugs and alcohol.

Adolescent cliques are cliques that develop amongst adolescents. In the social sciences, the word "clique" is used to describe a group of 2 to 12 "who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting". Cliques are distinguished from "crowds" in that their members socially interact with one another more than the typical crowd. Crowds, on the other hand, are defined by reputation. Although the word 'clique' or 'cliquey' is often used in day-to-day conversation to describe relational aggression or snarky, gossipy behaviors of groups of socially dominant teenage girls, that is not always accurate. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence, they exist in all age groups.

School violence encompasses physical violence, including student-on-student fighting and corporal punishment; psychological violence, including verbal abuse; sexual violence, including rape and sexual harassment; many forms of bullying, including cyberbullying; and carrying weapons in school. It is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved. It includes violence between school students as well as physical attacks by students on school staff.

Relational aggression or alternative aggression is a type of aggression in which harm is caused by damaging someone's relationships or social status.

Youth mentoring is the process of matching mentors with young people who need or want a caring, responsible adult in their lives. Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, school-, or church-based social service program. The goal of youth mentoring programs is to improve the well-being of the child by providing a role model that can support the child academically, socially and/or personally. This goal can be accomplished through school work, communication, and/or activities. Goals and settings within a mentoring program vary by country because of cultural values.

Social control theory

In criminology, social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial. It derived from functionalist theories of crime and was developed by Ivan Nye (1958), who proposed that there were three types of control:

An at-risk student is a term used in the United States to describe a student who requires temporary or ongoing intervention in order to succeed academically. At risk students, sometimes referred to as at-risk youth or at-promise youth, are also adolescents who are less likely to transition successfully into adulthood and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Characteristics of at-risk students include emotional or behavioral problems, truancy, low academic performance, showing a lack of interest for academics, and expressing a disconnection from the school environment. A school's effort to at-risk students is essential. For example, a study showed that 80% to 87% of variables that led to a school's retention are predictable with linear modeling. In January 2020, Governor Newsom of California changed all references to "at-risk" to "at-promise" in the California Penal Codes.

Gangs in the United States US criminal groups or organisations

Gangs in the United States include several types of groups, including national street gangs, local street gangs, prison gangs, motorcycle clubs, and ethnic and organized crime gangs. Approximately 1.4 million people were part of gangs as of 2011, and more than 33,000 gangs were active in the United States.

Adolescent health, or youth health, is the range of approaches to preventing, detecting or treating young people's health and well-being.

Juvenile delinquency refers to crimes committed by children or young people, particularly those under the age of majority. In the United States, this means anyone under the age of eighteen.

Unpopularity is the opposite of popularity. Therefore, it is the quality of lacking acceptance or approval by one's peers or society as a whole.

Crowds are large groups of adolescents defined by their shared image and reputation. Crowd membership is externally imposed and not a direct consequence of interaction with other members of the crowd. For adolescent friendships and social interaction in small groups, see cliques.

Criminology Study of the causes and manifestations of crime

Criminology is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, political scientists, economists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, social workers, biologists, social anthropologists, as well as scholars of law.

A clique, in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence and middle childhood development, they exist in all age groups. They are often bound together by shared social characteristics such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Examples of common or stereotypical adolescent cliques include athletes, nerds, and "outsiders".

References

  1. ↑ Sanchez-Jankowski, Martin (1991). Islands in the Street: Gangs and American Urban Society . University California Press. pp.  47–59.
  2. 1 2 Carlie, Michael (2002). Into the Abyss: Gang 101- Gang Recruitment Techniques. Urban Dynamics, Inc.
  3. ↑ Sackett, Paul; Mavor, Anne (2003). Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth: Implications for Military Recruitment. Washington DC: National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/10478. ISBN   978-0-309-08531-1.
  4. 1 2 Schaeffer, Alexandra. "Enhancing the Student Dorm Life Experience". The Heights. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ Adler, P.A (2004). "Peers, Power, Pecking Order and Punishment". Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
  6. ↑ Labrum, Chris. "Poverty & Prejudice: Gangs of All Colors".
  7. ↑ Merianos, Dorothy (2001). Joining the Gang: A Reaction to Straing? A Partial Test of Agnew's General Strain Theory.
  8. ↑ Hochhaus, Craig; Sousa, Frank (1987). "Why Children belong to Gangs: A Comparison of Expectations and Reality". The High School Journal: 74–77.
  9. ↑ Blakemore, Jerome; Glenda (1998). "African American Street Gangs: A Quest for Identity". Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 1 (2–3): 203–223. doi:10.1300/J137v01n02_12.
  10. 1 2 Kwon, Kyongboon; Lease, A. "Clique Membership and Social Adjustment in Children's Same-Gender Cliques; The Contributions of the Type of Clique to Children's Self- Reported Adjustment". Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: 216–18.
  11. ↑ Selikow, Terry-Ann; et al. (2009). "I am not Umqwayito; A Qualitative Study of Peer Pressure and Sexual Risk Behavior among Young Adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa". Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 37 (2): 107–12. doi: 10.1177/1403494809103903 . PMID   19493988.
  12. ↑ Clark, Patsy Pace. "Male Juvenile Delinquent's Effects on Younger Male Sibling's Delinquency and Crime in the Absence of Positive Adult Male Role Models".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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