Freshman class

Peer pressure

Paul Poteat, assistant professor of counseling, developmental, and educational psychology

PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Representative publication: "Contextual and Moderating Effects of the Peer Group Climate on Use of Homophobic Epithets," School Psychology Review, 37

My research examines the dynamics within social networks and how peers influence the prejudices and behaviors of individuals within their groups from early adolescence through young adulthood. In particular, I am investigating how group norms contribute to the establishment and perpetuation of homophobic and racist attitudes and behaviors. Currently, I am examining the trajectories of prejudiced attitudes during adolescence and looking for individual and group factors that predict how these attitudes develop and change over time.