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We all have done something just because our friends were around. Maybe laughing on a bad joke, eating spicy chilly in a dare, or acting smart. That's a very common example of peer pressure. “All of us want to please our friends, so we're inclined to act in ways they approve,” says Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Temple University. “It is hard to resist because we all like being accepted.” It makes sense that your friends now have a bigger effect on how you act. You’re spending more time with them and less time with your parents than you ever have before says Anthony Burrow, Ph.D., an assistant professor of human development at Cornell University. The way your brain works also makes it very easy to give in to the suggestions of your friends. The parts that are sensitive to what others think are very easy to trigger at your age. Peer pressure isn’t just about a group of kids daring someone to do something. Often, it’s much more subtle. Peer press