What was the observed effect of the secret agent activity?

What was the observed effect of the secret agent activity?

• A. Decreased participation
• B. Increased cooperation and positive peer pressure
• C. No change
• D. Increased resistance to rules

Answer: (B)

Covert peer monitoring tends to strengthen cooperative behavior by activating social norms and accountability. When students know that peers are secretly observing and may report on how well everyone contributes, they feel a motivation to participate and follow expectations to maintain a positive image and avoid social scrutiny. This creates positive peer pressure: classmates encourage one another to cooperate and stay on task, leading to fuller participation and smoother group functioning. That’s why the observed effect is increased cooperation and positive peer pressure. A decline in participation would suggest the monitor role dampened engagement, which is unlikely in this setup. No change would imply norms weren’t influential, and increased resistance to rules would contradict the aim of leveraging peers to promote prosocial behavior.

Covert peer monitoring tends to strengthen cooperative behavior by activating social norms and accountability. When students know that peers are secretly observing and may report on how well everyone contributes, they feel a motivation to participate and follow expectations to maintain a positive image and avoid social scrutiny. This creates positive peer pressure: classmates encourage one another to cooperate and stay on task, leading to fuller participation and smoother group functioning.

That’s why the observed effect is increased cooperation and positive peer pressure. A decline in participation would suggest the monitor role dampened engagement, which is unlikely in this setup. No change would imply norms weren’t influential, and increased resistance to rules would contradict the aim of leveraging peers to promote prosocial behavior.