Influence of Adolescent Peer Status on Critical Thinking Test

Abstract

The influence of adolescent peer status on critical thinking test was investigated using 615 Senior Secondary II students (299 males and 316 females) with age range of 15 to 21 years (17.56; SD = 2.19). Instruments used were Rating and Nomination Sociometric Scale for peer assessment; The Test of Critical Thinking, Form G and Eysenck General Intelligence Test 4 (EGIT-4). A one-way Analysis of Covariance, using general intelligence as the covariate revealed a significant difference in critical thinking scores among peer status conditions [F(2,611) = 27.57, p <.001]. Follow-up test using the Bonferroni procedure showed that adolescents with popular peer status (14.36) had significantly higher critical thinking scores, controlling for the effect of their general intelligence, than those with rejected peer status (12.22, ES = .71) and those with neglected peer status (13.04, ES = .44). Results were discussed in relation to the behavioural correlates of peer status and cognitive gains of social interaction.