Peer Crowds in Singapore

Abstract

This study examined peer crowds in the Singapore context. A total of 598 Secondary 1 and 2 adolescents were asked to identify the crowds they perceived to exist in their schools and to describe these crowds' characteristics. The adolescents had no difficulty identifying crowds, generating a total of 1,534 crowds. Among the crowds identified, seven major crowds (nerd, gangster, athlete, joker, computer geek, ordinary, loner) emerged, some perceived as more similar to each other and others as almost direct opposites of one another. These crowds showed both similarities with and differences from typical American crowds. Results also suggest that crowds in the Singapore context reflect more of adolescents' increased cognitive abilities than challenges arising from negotiating a larger peer world. © The Author(s) 2012.