Pedagogy and Professional Development

The Impact of Peer Influence on Apparel Design Students in a Studio Format Classes

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Abstract

While one’s family impacts them in their formative years, research has shown that adolescents are more likely to be impacted by peers of the same age, including their mental health, behavior, self-esteem, and educational success. This proves even more apparent in college, where students are often removed from their family setting for the first time. Despite the research conducted on social network impacts, there is a gap in research regarding the impacts of college students' networks, specifically the impact of peer critiques in an apparel design studio class. Thus the purpose of this study is to analyze the social network that one is encapsulated in to understand the impacts on their human capital. Overall, it was determined that students strongly agree that seeing their classmates’ projects motivates them to perform better. Extroverted students were more impacted by the direct effects (i.e., getting feedback from a classmate), whereas introverted students were more impacted by indirect effects (i.e., comparing their work to their classmates). After engaging in the informal peer critique, students also reported that they felt less embarrassed asking their classmates questions when they were confused.

Keywords: Peer Influence, Studio Class, Peer Social Capital

How to Cite:

Schrimpf, E. & Zhang, L., (2022) “The Impact of Peer Influence on Apparel Design Students in a Studio Format Classes”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15992