[VegasBaby]

***It's not always about worrying what others think. It's entirely possible he found her Reference Group alienating, that colored his perception of her, and he rejected her.***

Regerence Group? Explain.

[HitmanLV]

Sure. I didn't come up with the term, other folks have. I teach peak performance and mind sciences so I am familiar with it and related concepts.

Basically, a person's Reference Group is the people a person hangs around the most with. They end up validating and conveying a certain kind of world view. It's just human nature.

Individuals tend to conform to another individual's influence in order to realize a reward or avoid punishment [the benefits of being in a 'clique' at a large company, for example], and/or more likely conform to another's influence for the purpose of enhancing or supporting his self-concept by associating or disassociating himself with positive or negative Reference Groups ["The Cool Kids" in the 11th grade, for example].