ABSTRACT
The didactic lesson for this week focuses on changing reputations . Research suggests that bad reputations among peers are stable over time and negatively impact a teen's ability to interact appropriately with peers, due to the expectations and attributions of the larger peer group. Studies have found that even when children and adolescents with bad reputations attempt to engage peers through appropriate interactions, they are less likely to receive positive feedback than if a more well-liked child made the same attempt. The reason for these findings might simply be explained by the fact that teens get their reputations based on who they hang out with . Sadly, if a teen has a bad reputation, very few people will want to be friends with that teen for fear of “catching” their bad reputation by association.
