Racial Identity and Peer Influence: Understanding Same-Race Friendship Formation Across Social Contexts

Abstract

This study examined how racial identity and ingroup social networks influence friendship formation decisions. Building on theories of racial homophily and social learning, the research hypothesized that individuals with stronger racial identification would be more influenced by the racial makeup of their same-race peers' social networks when selecting friends. It was also hypothesized that individuals with strong racial identities would be less likely to befriend a same-race peer with more cross-race friends than same-race. Participants were shown a simulated same-race friend with varying social network compositions and asked to indicate their likelihood of sitting with targets of different races in a lunchroom. Results indicated that higher racial identity predicted a stronger preference for same-race friendship choices. White participants were more likely to sit with Black targets when their ingroup friend had a predominantly Black network. Black participants with weak racial identification were more likely to befriend ingroup peers with predominantly White social networks.These findings highlight the interplay between racial identity, peer influence, and friendship decisions, and suggest important implications for understanding social belonging, diversity efforts, and inclusion practices.