The term “peer pressure” is often linked to experiences of children or teenagers in extreme situations. Dr. Kendra Seaman, assistant professor of psychology in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), and her colleagues recently examined the battle between self-control and peer pressure in the over-18 crowd. The researchers found that the influence of peer pressure continues into early adulthood, while middle-aged and older adults are better at controlling their desires. Seaman, the senior author of the study and director of the Aging Well Lab at the Center for Vital Longevity at UT Dallas, said that susceptibility to peer pressure had been thought to peak in adolescence and gradually disappear in early adulthood. “Consistent with other studies on emotion regulation improving with age, these results indicate that resistance to social-conformity pressure grows across the adult lifespan.”Seaman said the research addressed largely unexplored facets of peer pressure.