| The purpose of this study was to examine two sets of psychological processes hypothesized to account for middle adolescent friend influence on prosocial behavior. Specifically, motivation (prosocial goals) was posited to explain the relation of a friend's prosocial behavior to an individual's prosocial behavior. Further, an individual's characteristics (sex and emotional distress) and friendship characteristics (affective valence and prevalence) were believed to moderate the relation of a friend's prosocial behavior to an individual's prosocial goal pursuit. Bandura's (1986) model of observational learning was utilized as the theoretical framework for the study. According to Bandura, modeled behavior is likely to be reproduced when an individual attends to and retains information concerning the modeled behavior, practices, and is motivated to perform the behavior. Therefore, attentional and motivational processes of Bandura's model were tested in the current study, whereas the retention and production processes were assumed. Participants were 221, 9 th and 10th grade-students with at least one reciprocated friendship, who attended a suburban, mid-Atlantic high school. Students completed questionnaires to rate their prosocial goal pursuit and emotional distress, and to rate their friendships with respect to importance, closeness, interaction frequency, and prosocial behavior. Peer nominations were used to determine best friendships and each individual's prosocial behavior. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that an individual's prosocial goal pursuit provides a pathway of influence from a friend's prosocial behavior (as rated by the target individual) to an individual's prosocial behavior. Further, affective valence and interaction frequency moderated the relation of a friend's prosocial behavior to an individual's prosocial goal pursuit, and made a difference particularly when a friend's prosocial behavior was perceived as low. Sex, emotional distress, and friendship duration were not significant moderators of the relation of a friend's prosocial behavior to an individual's prosocial goal pursuit. Supplementary analyses that utilized a friend's peer-nominated prosocial behavior also indicated goal pursuit as a pathway of influence from a friend's to an individual's prosocial behavior. The results provided preliminary support to understand the processes involved in middle adolescent friend influence on prosocial behavior. Future research should investigate these processes longitudinally to separate friendship selection from influence. |
