The concept of popularity is something that adolescents are keenly aware of. Popularity influences the social pecking order as long as kids are in school. Teenagers are well aware of the difference between being popular and being well-liked, and how the two sometimes aren’t interchangeable. So what is being popular, if not being well liked? Researchers have found that there are three types of popularity among teenagers: being feared, being loved, and being both feared and loved. The popular teens in the “loved” group maintain their status through kindness, and cooperation. The “feared” teens maintain their status through aggression and coercion. However, the third group, “feared and loved”, are aggressive in protecting their status and interacting with others, but are able to make amends and play nice when they need to. This group was found to be the one ranked most popular among their peers. Looks like “Mean Girls” got it right.
Read the Science Daily article here.