Social Psychology Research Proposal on Adolescent Smoking Behavior

This research proposal investigates the relationship between social influences and the onset of smoking habits in adolescents. The study begins by outlining the importance of the topic, referencing two recent articles to identify a gap in the literature concerning the effects of social factors, such as peer pressure, observational learning, and vicarious learning. The proposal then details the phenomenon of interest and relevant socio-psychological theories, including the Hawthorne effect and social learning theory. The aim is to understand the potential relationships between social factors and adolescent smoking behavior. Two hypotheses are proposed, exploring the potential relationship between social influences and the onset of smoking. The expected outcome is that the study will find a correlation between social influences and the initiation of smoking behavior among adolescents. The study also anticipates finding evidence for the role of media in promoting or discouraging smoking and aims to identify risk behaviors that families and societies should monitor. The research uses a structured approach to address the research questions and hypotheses, including a review of existing literature and the development of a research plan to guide the investigation.

RUNNING HEAD: smoking
Smoking
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

1smoking
Onset of smoking habits: social influences observed in adolescents.
Response to question 1:
Kinard and Webster (2010) aims to study ‘The Effects of Advertising, Social Influences, and
Self‐Efficacy on Adolescent Tobacco Use and Alcohol Consumption’ that focuses on the
social modeling, observational influence of the peers and the parents on the onset of smoking
behavior amongst the adolescents. The impact of advertisement in the society and in the
young adolescents is huge and in the study, it is highlighted that these marketing campaigns
and advertisements where smoking is either explicitly or implicitly promoted plays a great
role in shaping of an adolescent’s smoking behavior (Gregersen et al., 2011). The study
emphasizes that the observing others, especially friends and seniors leads to an ‘observational
learning’ followed by a vicarious learning where the adolescent subject imitate the behavior
of others. In a part of the study, a qualitative analysis explores into the possibility of
observational learning being directly affected by a friend’s direct response or being assisted
by a parent, to the first experience of smoking (Henriksen et al., 2010). The study uses the
right methodologies and tools to understand the relationship between social influence and
onset of smoking behavior in the adolescents. The study finds out that adverse effect of
advertising on the minds of adolescents and the study holds the advertisements responsible
for the onset of smoking behavior in the adolescents. The study supports the fact that
government and social conduct policies should be strengthened in order to change the
smoking behavior in the adults.
Seo and Huang (2011) aims to study ‘Systematic Review of Social Network Analysis in
Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Behaviour’ and finds out the risk taking behaviours are greatly
influenced by the peer network structure and their access to smoking and related behaviours.
The study emphasizes on the peers more than any other relations and their influence as social

2smoking
factor on the onset of smoking behaviour amongst the adolescent individuals. The study
performs a secondary research and literature review of scholarly articles across the electronic
database after analysing the data, they finds out various relations between the smoking
behaviour in adolescence and peer group social positions, the factors leading to onset of
smoking behaviours and the personal intent of smoking. Various reflections derived from the
semi structured interviews conducted by research studies are studied and analysed by the
research which indicates to major finding that socio economic condition of the adolescent
subject itself is a huge contributor to the habit of smoking and onset is as early as the access
to economic resources – that impacts the onset stage of smoking behaviour amongst the
adolescents. The markets and the availability of smoke materials in there – and the
accessibility of the adolescent subjects to the nearby market and to the sellers who does not
reinforce the habit in the adolescents negatively – give away to the smoking behaviour in the
adolescents. These marks the gap in literature and extensive study is yet to be made.
Response to question 2:
The theories underlying these incidence of smoking habits in the adolescents has to be
studied very deeply and these are mainly the social and psychological theories or rather the
socio psychological theories that underpin the individual and collective behaviors related to
smoking habits amongst the adolescents. The major theories that has to analyzed and can
provide the basis for this research can be Hawthorne effect (Barnoya et al., 2011). , the social
learning theories based on observational and vicarious learning, the theories encompassing
the need for social belonging and the need for humanistic esteem in a peer group scenario.
Response to question 3:
The aim of the proposal is to understand the possible sets of relationships present between the
onset of smoking habit or behavior amongst the adolescents and the social factors

3smoking
contributing to the same behavior and to draw a possible relation between the various factors
as well
Response to question 4:
It is hypothesized that there is no relationship between the social influences observed and the
onset of smoking behavior amongst the adolescents.
It is hypothesized that there is a possible relationship between the social influence observed
and the onset of smoking behavior amongst the adolescents
Response to question 5:
It is expect that the study would find the relationship between the effect and onset of
smoking behavior amongst the adolescent subjects and the social influence related to
observational learning, vicarious learning, peer pressure, role modeling which impacts the
personal intent towards smoking, of an adolescent. The social obedience theories and the
social hierarchy along with the conditioning based on reward behavior can be related to this
psychosocial problem of smoking amongst the adolescents. The study expects to find out why
media should not advertise about the alcohol and smoking phenomenon and should advertise
against the use of it. The study will draw a correlation between risk behaviors amongst the
adolescents that must be strictly observed by the family and the society and should be bought
into check before it leads to smoking behavior.

4smoking
References
Barnoya, J., Arvizu, M., Jones, M. R., Hernandez, J. C., Breysse, P. N., & Navas-Acien, A.
(2011). Secondhand smoke exposure in bars and restaurants in Guatemala City:
before and after smoking ban evaluation. Cancer Causes & Control, 22(1), 151-156.
Gregersen, N., Møller, B., Raben, A., Kristensen, S., Holm, L., Flint, A., & Astrup, A.
(2011). Determinants of appetite ratings: the role of age, gender, BMI, physical
activity, smoking habits, and diet/weight concern. Food & nutrition research, 55(1),
7028.
Henriksen, L., Schleicher, N. C., Feighery, E. C., & Fortmann, S. P. (2010). A longitudinal
study of exposure to retail cigarette advertising and smoking
initiation. Pediatrics, 126(2), 232-238.
Kinard, B. R., & Webster, C. (2010). The Effects of Advertising, Social Influences, and Self‐
Efficacy on Adolescent Tobacco Use and Alcohol Consumption. Journal of
Consumer affairs, 44(1), 24-43.
Seo, D. C., & Huang, Y. (2012). Systematic review of social network analysis in adolescent
cigarette smoking behavior. Journal of School Health, 82(1), 21-27.