Teens in the Driver Seat

A peer-to-peer safe driving program for your school.

Follow us @teensdriverseat

M&M Madness

 

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Peer pressure is a real thing. Group decision making is much harder than making a decision on your own. This activity explores decision making and peer pressure and discusses what happens when you have more people impacting your decision.

Items Needed
  • A jar or clear ziplock bag of M&Ms or similar small candy
  • Paper and Pen for each participant
  • NOTE: You will need to know how many candies are in the jar/bag.

Steps
  • Give everyone a piece of paper and pen or pencil. Explain that they will be trying to guess how many candies are in the jar/bag and that they will be recording their guesses on the paper.
  • Hold up the jar or clear bag of candy and tell each person to guess how many there are and write it down beside #1. Remind them to not shout out their answers.
  • Then, ask them to find a partner and come up with a guess together and record it on the paper.
  • Ask the teams of 2 to find another team and repeat the process.
  • Groups of 4 form groups of 8, and so on until the group is a whole and makes a guess.
  • Have everyone return to their seat and make one last guess individually.
  • Tell the group how many candies are in the bag/jar and ask them to circle the guess that was closest.
  • Discuss:
    • How many were closest when they guessed by themselves?
    • …with 2 people?
    • …with 4 people? Etc
    • In which group was it easiest to make a decision? Explain.
    • How easy was it to make your opinion known as the group continued to get larger?
    • How was it decided in each group what the guess would be for that round?
    • Did you disagree with any of the decisions? Did you speak up? Why or why not?
    • Which was closer to correct, the first individual guess or last?
    • Did you make any change between these guesses? Why or why not?
    • How can we relate to this activity to making decisions with our friends?
    • Did the persuaders come out? Let’s hear from them. What was your reasoning for wanting to make your voice heard?
    • Are group decisions always the best for everyone in the group? Why or why not?
    • What should you do if you don’t agree with the decision that has been made?
    • What should you do if someone in your group doesn’t agree with the decision that has been made?
  • Share photos from your activity along with safe driving information on your school social media channels & website. Make sure you tag us: @teensdriverseat.
  • Submit an Activity Form to earn TDS All-Stars credit for your school.

Don’t Forget
  • Teens experience peer pressure to engage in unsafe driving behaviors when other teens are present.
  • Knowing how to handle this pressure is a skill teens need to stay safe behind the wheel.

Make it GREAT
Give the candy to the person with the closest guess or share with the group.