Peer Norm Salience for Academic Achievement, Prosocial Behavior, and Bullying

Abstract

This study investigated the significance of classroom-level norm salience, calculated as the within-classroom correlation between a behavior and peer-nominated popularity, by examining the extent to which norm salience moderated the relation of individual classroom behaviors (academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and bullying) with peer acceptance, and was associated with between-classroom differences in student-rated feelings about school and teacher-rated academic performance. Participants were students ( n = 3,231, [Formula: see text] = 13.60) attending 164 school classrooms in 30 secondary schools in the Netherlands. Results of our study demonstrate that norm salience scores are distinct from measures of descriptive norms, moderate the relations of individual classroom behaviors with peer acceptance, and can be used to define an overall profile of classroom peer norms that is related to independent measures of student adjustment.