Uncommon knowledge

When friends make you poorer

Surprising insights from the social sciences

(Wesley Bedrosian for the Boston Globe)

By Kevin Lewis

June 21, 2009

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Peer pressure can make people, especially young people, do stupid things. New research finds that this includes one’s choice of career. A team of economists tested the hypothesis that peer groups can push college students into the wrong major. The economists analyzed data from a university program that randomly assigned students to classes (and thus classmates) for the first few ... (Full article: 781 words)