The importance of belonging and the avoidance of social risk taking in adolescence

Tomova, Livia; Andrews, Jack L; Blakemore, Sarah‐Jayne

doi:10.1016/j.dr.2021.100981

Cited by 63 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…However, a recent study found that young adults are more generous to both strangers and close friends when being watched by non-recipient others 42 , providing evidence for the former interpretation. Our study design also cannot determine whether faster processing of peer outcomes while watched is driven by greater concern for the peer’s outcomes themselves, or by social motivations such as avoiding the social risk of seeming selfish, anticipating the benefits from appearing altruistic, or conforming to what they perceived to be more socially acceptable behavior 13 , 43 , 44 . It is possible that self-presentation concerns promote heighted attention to the rewards available to the peer, facilitating their faster processing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer presence increases the prosocial behavior of adolescents by speeding the evaluation of outcomes for others

Sullivan

Huettel

2022

Sci Rep

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Peer presence can elicit maladaptive adolescent decision-making, potentially by increasing sensitivity to the rewards one receives. It remains unknown whether peer presence also increases adolescents’ sensitivity to others’ outcomes, which could have an adaptive effect in contexts allowing pro-social behaviors. Here, we combine social utility modeling and real-time decision process modeling to characterize how peer presence alters adolescents’ processing of self and other outcomes. We found that adolescents behaved selfishly when privately allocating monetary rewards for themselves and a peer in an incentive-compatible task. In peer presence, however, adolescents became more altruistic. Real-time decision process estimates collected using computer mouse tracking showed that altruistic behavior was associated with relatively earlier influence of peer-outcomes relative to self-outcomes, and that peer presence sped the influence of peer-outcomes without altering the time at which self-outcomes began to influence the decision process. Our results indicate a mechanism through which peer presence prompts greater prosocial behavior by altering how adolescents process prosocial outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer presence increases the prosocial behavior of adolescents by speeding the evaluation of outcomes for others

Sullivan

Huettel

2022

Sci Rep

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“…These findings are in line with the core value of the domain of status/power in males ( Wilson and Daly, 1985 ; Ellis et al, 2012 ; Archer, 2019 ; Buss and Schmitt, 2019 ). In fact, adolescents’ concern about avoiding social rejection and losing social status could protect them against participating in risky behaviors ( Tomova et al, 2021 ). Thus, the negative effect of risk perception in status/power over risk-taking behaviors could protect against risk-taking behaviors in male adolescents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying an Evolutionary Approach of Risk-Taking Behaviors in Adolescents

et al. 2022

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Risk-taking behaviors in adolescents have traditionally been analyzed from a psychopathological approach, with an excessive emphasis on their potential costs. From evolutionary theory we propose that risk-taking behaviors can be means through which adolescents obtain potential benefits for survival and reproduction. The present study analyses sex differences in three contexts of risk (i.e., risk propensity, expected benefits and risk perception) in the evolutionary specific domains and the predictive value of these domains over risk-taking behaviors, separately in female and male adolescents. 749 adolescents (females = 370) valued their risk perception, expected benefits and risk propensity through the Evolutionary Domain-Specific Risk Scale, as well as their engagement in risk-taking behaviors through the Risky Behavior Questionnaire. Male adolescents showed lower risk perception in two evolutionary domains, expected higher benefits in two other domains and showed higher risk propensity in six domains. Female adolescents showed lower risk perception in two domains. Additionally, risk perception, expected benefits and risk propensity in the evolutionary domains predicted the engagement in risk-taking behaviors in male adolescents, whereas in female adolescents only expected benefits and risk propensity showed a predictive effect over risk-taking behaviors. These results suggest the potential role of evolutionary mechanisms on risk-taking behaviors in adolescents. Results have practical implications for interventions programs aimed at reducing risk-taking behaviors. In addition to considering sex differences, intervention programs should consider alternative behaviors through which adolescents can reach their evolutionary goals, and handle the risks related to those behaviors that cannot be replaced but have potential benefits for adolescents.

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“…Secondary school is a time where students are engaged in increasingly complex social and emotional interactions (Eccles et al, 1993 ). It is also a time when the importance of peer approval and motivations for conforming to peer norms become heightened (Tomova et al, 2021 ), which can lead to declines in prosocial behavior (Padilla-Walker et al, 2018 ). Thus, examining mechanisms that might be implicated in students’ enactment of prosocial behaviors, as well as their well-being outcomes, is important for building understanding and guiding intervention development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social-emotional need satisfaction, prosocial motivation, and students’ positive behavioral and well-being outcomes

Collie

2022

Soc Psychol Educ

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This study investigated the extent to which students’ social-emotional basic psychological need satisfaction (of social-emotional autonomy, social competence, relatedness with students, and relatedness with teachers) is associated with their prosocial motivation and, in turn, behavioral and emotional well-being outcomes. For motivation, autonomous prosocial motivation and controlled prosocial motivation (by way of introjected and external regulation) were examined. Behavioral outcomes comprised prosocial behavior and conduct problems reported by parents/carers, and emotional well-being were positive and negative affect reported by students. With data from 408 secondary school students (and their parents/carers), structural equation modeling showed that perceived autonomy was associated with lower negative affect. Perceived social competence was associated with greater autonomous prosocial motivation, lower external prosocial regulation, greater positive affect, and lower negative affect. Relatedness with teachers was associated with greater autonomous prosocial motivation. In turn, autonomous prosocial motivation was associated with greater prosocial behavior, whereas external prosocial regulation was associated with lower prosocial behavior. Introjected prosocial regulation was only associated with greater negative affect. The results hold implications for promoting social and emotional competence among students.

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The importance of belonging and the avoidance of social risk taking in adolescence

Cited by 63 publications

References 97 publications

Peer presence increases the prosocial behavior of adolescents by speeding the evaluation of outcomes for others

Peer presence increases the prosocial behavior of adolescents by speeding the evaluation of outcomes for others

Applying an Evolutionary Approach of Risk-Taking Behaviors in Adolescents

Social-emotional need satisfaction, prosocial motivation, and students’ positive behavioral and well-being outcomes

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