This article reviews research on peer modeling among children, focusing on how model attributes influence behavioral change. Peer modeling is hypothesized to depend in part on perceived similarity between model and observer. Similarity serves as an important source of information for gauging behavioral appropriateness, formulating outcome expectations, and assessing self-efficacy. Research is reviewed on the effects of model age, sex, competence, number of models, and background. Peer models can foster diverse types of behavioral change in children, but attribute similarity does not automatically enhance modeling. The conditions under which similarity promotes behavioral change are discussed. Future research needs to assess children's self-perceptions, as well as maintenance and generalization of behavioral changes. It is suggested that classroom peers can help train social skills, enhance self-efficacy, and remedy skill deficiencies. Modeling is an important means of acquiring skills, beliefs, and novel behaviors. In school, teachers serve as powerful models for children, but children also are exposed to many peers who are the same age and who often are similar in other ways. Peer models can affect many aspects of children's lives. The purpose of this article is to critically review the literature on peer modeling among children as a function of various model attributes. Peer denotes a child who is roughly equivalent in development to the observer, model is an individual whose behaviors, verbalizations, and expressions are attended to by the observer and serve as cues for subsequent modeling, and modeling refers to behavioral change that derives from observing others. From a theoretical perspective, peer modeling depends in part on perceived similarity between model and observer. Modeling is a form of social comparison. Festinger hypothesized that observers evaluate themselves through comparisons with others, and that the most accurate self-evaluations derive from comparisons with those who are similar in the ability or characteristic being evaluated. Given these considerations, peer models should be especially influential in situations where perceived similarity conveys information about one's abilities or the appropriateness of behaviors. This review addresses three major questions. First, how does model-observer similarity affect children's behaviors? A theoretical explanation of modeling processes and of the operation of model-observer similarity is given in the next section, after which studies are reviewed that explore the effects of age and sex of model, model competence, number of models, and background experiences. Second, what types of research are needed to better understand the role that model-observer similarity plays in children's behavioral change? An important goal of this review is to identify methodological concerns involving experimental designs, outcome measures, and maintenance and generalization of behavioral changes. Third, what are the implications of research findings for educational practices? Suggestions will be made for ways of employing peer models to promote educational outcomes. Observational learning through modeling is hypothesized to comprise four subprocesses: attention, retention, production, and motivation. Observer attention to relevant environmental events is necessary for them to be meaningfully perceived. Retention activities include coding and transforming modeled information for storage in memoryThis article reviews research on peer modeling among children, focusing on how model attributes influence behavioral change. Peer modeling is hypothesized to depend in part on perceived similarity between model and observer. Similarity serves as an important source of information for gauging behavioral appropriateness, formulating outcome expectations, and assessing self-efficacy. Research is reviewed on the effects of model age, sex, competence, number of models, and background. Peer models can foster diverse types of behavioral change in children, but attribute similarity does not automatically enhance modeling. The conditions under which similarity promotes behavioral change are discussed. Future research needs to assess children's self-perceptions, as well as maintenance and generalization of behavioral changes. It is suggested that classroom peers can help train social skills, enhance self-efficacy, and remedy skill deficiencies. Modeling is an important means of acquiring skills, beliefs, and novel behaviors. In school, teachers serve as powerful models for children, but children also are exposed to many peers who are the same age and who often are similar in other ways. Peer models can affect many aspects of children's lives. The purpose of this article is to critically review the literature on peer modeling among children as a function of various model attributes. Peer denotes a child who is roughly equivalent in development to the observer, model is an individual whose behaviors, verbalizations, and expressions are attended to by the observer and serve as cues for subsequent modeling, and modeling refers to behavioral change that derives from observing others. From a theoretical perspective, peer modeling depends in part on perceived similarity between model and observer. Modeling is a form of social comparison. Festinger hypothesized that observers evaluate themselves through comparisons with others, and that the most accurate self-evaluations derive from comparisons with those who are similar in the ability or characteristic being evaluated. Given these considerations, peer models should be especially influential in situations where perceived similarity conveys information about one's abilities or the appropriateness of behaviors. This review addresses three major questions. First, how does model-observer similarity affect children's behaviors? A theoretical explanation of modeling processes and of the operation of model-observer similarity is given in the next section, after which studies are reviewed that explore the effects of age and sex of model, model competence, number of models, and background experiences. Second, what types of research are needed to better understand the role that model-observer similarity plays in children's behavioral change? An important goal of this review is to identify methodological concerns involving experimental designs, outcome measures, and maintenance and generalization of behavioral changes. Third, what are the implications of research findings for educational practices? Suggestions will be made for ways of employing peer models to promote educational outcomes. Observational learning through modeling is hypothesized to comprise four subprocesses: attention, retention, production, and motivation. Observer attention to relevant environmental events is necessary for them to be meaningfully perceived. Retention activities include coding and transforming modeled information for storage in memory