The Crowd in the Room: teacher key

Peer Pressure, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. Studies show how peers shape choices, from a line test to brain scans and charity time. It also covers how parents and peers fit together and how to say no.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. In Asch's experiments, what cut conformity by about 80 percent?
   • A single dissenting person (answer)
   • A longer line
   • A louder group
2. In the 2011 driving experiment, when did risk taking rise among adolescents?
   • When they drove alone
   • When peers watched (answer)
   • When adults watched
3. How did the researchers read the brain-scan result?
   • Peers turned off self-control
   • Peers made risky choices feel more rewarding (answer)
   • Peers made the task easier
4. In the charity study, which teens donated more minutes?
   • Those who saw a less generous peer
   • Those who saw no peer
   • Those who saw a very generous peer (answer)
5. In these pages, what does fMRI do?
   • Tracks changes in blood flow in the brain (answer)
   • Measures how fast teens read
   • Counts friends in a class
6. What do extension researchers say peers more often do with family values?
   • Reinforce them (answer)
   • Reject them
   • Ignore them

Words

• clique: tight group
• prosocial: helping others
• fMRI: brain scan
• malleable: easy to shape