THE INFLUENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE STUDENT AND HIS TEACHERS AND PEERS WERE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE HOW AND WHY THEY MIGHT AFFECT STUDENT DESIRES AND OBJECTIVES. THREE SEPARATE STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED, INVOLVING APPROXIMATELY 740 JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE FIRST, A QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY, EXAMINED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL INFLUENCES OF TEACHERS UPON THE ASPIRATIONS OF STUDENTS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR SOCIAL POWER AS IT APPEALS TO DIFFERENT STUDENT MOTIVES. THE SECOND, A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT, INQUIRED WHETHER SELF-EVALUATIONS AND EFFORTS TO COPE WITH AN EXPERIENCE OF FAILURE DIFFERED WHEN STUDENTS WERE EXPOSED TO SOCIAL PRESSURES FROM PEERS BASED UPON SEPARATE SOURCES OF SOCIAL POWER. THE THIRD, ALSO A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT, CONSIDERED THE CONTRASTING USES OF COPING BEHAVIOR BY A STUDENT WHEN HE WAS FREE TO SET HIS OWN ASPIRATIONS, WHEN HE WAS INFLUENCED BY AN AUTHORITY FIGURE TO ACHIEVE AT A GIVEN LEVEL, AND WHEN HE RECEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT FROM HIS PEERS. FINDINGS IN ALL THREE AREAS OF STUDY WERE NUMEROUS AND ADDED NEW INSIGHTS TO THE ROLE A SINGLE TEACHER COULD PLAY IN SHAPING A STUDENT'S IMMEDIATE ASPIRATIONS OR DISTANT GOALS AND IN MOLDING THE PERSONALITY OF YOUTH. (JH)