The New York Times February 3, 2011
Teenagers, Friends and Bad Decisions
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Why do otherwise good kids seem to make bad decisions when they are with their friends? New research on risk taking and the teenage brain offers some answers.
In studies at Temple University, psychologists used functional magnetic resonance imaging scans on 40 teenagers and adults to determine if there are differences in brain activity when adolescents are alone versus with their friends. The findings suggest that teenage peer pressure has a distinct effect on brain signals involving risk and reward, helping to explain why young people are more likely to misbehave and take risks when their friends are watching.
To test how the presence of peers influences risk taking, the researchers asked 14 young teenagers (ages 14 to 18), 14 college students and 12 young adults to play a six-minute video driving game while in a brain scanner.
Participants were given cash prizes for completing the game in a certain time, but players had to make decisions about stopping at yellow lights, and being delayed, or racing through yellow lights, which could result in a faster time and a bigger prize, but also meant a higher risk for crashing and an even longer delay. The children and adults played four rounds of the game while undergoing the brain scan. Half the time they played alone, and half the time they were told that two same-sex friends who had accompanied them to the study were watching the play in the next room.
Among adults and college students, there were no meaningful differences in risk taking, regardless of whether friends were watching. But the young teenagers ran about 40 percent more yellow lights and had 60 percent more crashes when they knew their friends were watching.And notably, the regions of the brain associated with reward showed greater activity when they were playing in view of their friends. It was as if the presence of friends, even in the next room, prompted the brain’s reward system to drown out any warning signals about risk, tipping the balance toward the reward.
“The presence of peers activated the reward circuitry in the brain of adolescents that it didn’t do in the case of adults,” said Laurence Steinberg, an author of the study, who is a psychology professor at Temple and author of “You and Your Adolescent: The Essential Guide for Ages 10 to 25.” “We think we’ve uncovered one very plausible explanation for why adolescents do a lot of stupid things with their friends that they wouldn’t do when they are by themselves.”
Dr. Steinberg notes that the findings give a new view of peer pressure, since the peers in this experiment were not even in the same room as the teenager in the scanner.
“The subject was in the scanner, so the friends were not able to directly pressure the person to take chances,” Dr. Steinberg said. “I think it’s helpful to understand because many parents conceive of peer pressure as kids directly coercing each other into doing things. We’ve shown that just the knowledge that your friends are watching you can increase risky behavior.”
Dr. Steinberg notes that the brain system involved in reward processing is also involved in the processing of social information, explaining why peers can have such a pronounced effect on decision making. The effect is believed to be especially strong in teenagers because brain changes shortly after puberty appear to make young people more attentive and aware of what other people are thinking about them, Dr. Steinberg said.
The study results are borne out in real-world data that show teenagers have a much higher risk of car accidents when other teenagers are in the car. More study is needed to determine if the effect shown in the game study is the same when teenagers are in the presence of an opposite-sex friend or romantic interest. In the study, there were no meaningful differences in risk taking among boys and girls. However, some real-world driving data suggests that teenage boys take more risks behind the wheel when one or more boys are in the car, but drive more carefully if they are with a girlfriend.
For parents, the study data reinforce the notion that groups of teenagers need close supervision.
“All of us who have very good kids know they’ve done really dumb things when they’ve been with their friends,” Dr. Steinberg said. “The lesson is that if you have a kid whom you think of as very mature and able to exercise good judgment, based on your observations when he or she is alone or with you, that doesn’t necessarily generalize to how he or she will behave in a group of friends without adults around. Parents should be aware of that.”
How Peer Pressure Can Affect You [Knowing how to handle Peer pressure can help you Make good choices.]
Erin was a sophomore from Walnut Creek, California, when she found two of her friends in the girls' room with lines of crystalline white powder all laid out. They said the white powder was "crank," a slang term for methamphetamine. "Let me try some," Erin said. That impulsive decision led Erin to a problem with addiction that eventually landed her in drug rehabilitation.
Nick came from a nice family in St. Paul, Minnesota. But that didn't keep him from hanging out with gang members. He said he enjoyed their companionship. When Nick got stabbed, however, being in the gang wasn't fun anymore. Erin and Nick let themselves become victims of peer pressure.
Peer pressure can be deadly too. Last April at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, members of the Trench Coat Mafia, killed 12 fellow students, a teacher, and themselves. One possible reason for the rampage was the teasing and taunting they received as part of the Trench Coat Mafia clique--an example of peer pressure at its worst.
A Powerful Force
Peer pressure is the influence that people in your age group (your peers) exert on you. Often, the pressure includes words of encouragement, criticism, or persuasion. Or, it can be unspoken, as when group members sport similar clothes or hairstyles. Either way, peer pressure can have a profound impact on your physical and emotional health.
Why does peer pressure work so well among teens? "I think it works because kids are trying to figure out their place in their school, in their group, or whatever," observes Bernice Humphrey at Girls Incorporated's National Resource Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. "So they try to compare what they do with what other folks are doing." Teens naturally try to avoid negative attention so they won't seem weird, abnormal, or uncool. They want to fit in.
Psychologists differ on why teens are particularly prone to peer pressure. One theory says that it simply feels good to be accepted by a group, and that acceptance satisfies a need to belong. Another theory points out that life becomes easier when we act like others, or conform, rather than be different from others. Still another theory says people tend to view themselves as they think others see them, so they change to conform to others' expectations.
"Whatever the underlying motive, the effect is extremely powerful," says Robert Bornstein, a psychology professor at Miami University in Ohio. "Kids really do care what their peers think, and they really are working very hard to gain acceptance and status within the peer group."
Positive Peer Pressure
Peer pressure doesn't have to be negative. In fact, it can often be a good thing. High school senior Annie says her close friends form a loyal support system. "I know that I can always call them and tell them anything," Annie says.
Peer pressure can encourage good habits. When 14-year-old John Richards' friends play sports in Rocky River, Ohio, he feels encouraged to exercise too. "I got pressured into doing some volunteering," says 18-year-old Ariel Albores from Cleveland, Ohio. He's glad his school group involved him in community service.
Peer pressure can help give you the added strength to avoid risks to your health. Elizabeth Pozydaev, 15, from Fairview Park, Ohio, says no one in her group is into drugs. Most of her friends avoid cigarette smoking too.
Peer pressure can also encourage you to find ways to get along with others. Shouting and screaming don't resolve disputes. To get along with others, you have to know how to speak up for yourself. But you also must become skilled at resolving everyday disagreements in ways that make everyone a winner. Teens who want to keep their friends can benefit from these skills.
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Peer Pressure and Its Consequences
By Erin Kellogg
If all your friends jumped off a cliff would you? This exasperating question has been used by generations of parents to crush youngsters' best laid plans. Its years of use have yielded one simple answer: Of course, all my friends would be dead. Let us alter the scenario to align more closely with reality for a moment and examine the possible answers one might give.
Suppose all your friends are planning to buy the $5 hooker who hangs out at the local shop and rob and ask you to be a partner (no pun intended) in there little venture. Or suppose you and the guys get a little tipsy and decide they are going to go shave Mrs. Jones's cat. If you approached your parents and asked their blessing to take part in these activities, you would probably hear something to the effect of "Anyone who wants you to sleep with a $5 hooker is not your friend."
Being teenagers and therefore considerably more intelligent than our parents, we can approach this scenario in a more intellectual manner. As humans we have a powerful capability to control our own actions and make decisions to guide them. It is up to the individual to examine each decision they are faced with and decide is this the direction I want to take my life? Is this action advantageous to my long-term goals? If your long-term goal is to contract every sort of VD known or die of AIDS just to try and stay popular with your little clique, then slap down your money and go for a ride.
If you have other plans for your life, however, I would suggest you spend your money elsewhere. You must realize that you will not have the same friends your whole life. You can't expect to let other people make decisions for you. You can't follow the crowd and expect it all to work out. Ask yourself is this decision consistent with my long-term goals? Will this decision cause me harm? Will this decision cause others harm?
In the scope of the universe and the potential each individual has, it is not worth listening to Joe Blow and his troglodyte clan of goons.
When Joe calls and says he and all the popular kids are going to get drunk and steal the Interstate 69 sign, you can decide if you want to listen to the Joe Blows of the world the rest of your life or become your own person independent of the influences of others. It is time to take the wheel and steer your ship of life for
the Caribbean because Joe's heading for the bottom on his raft of beer cans.
Erin Kellogg is a senior at Lake Brantley High School in Orlando, Florida. He is on the varsity lacrosse and cross country teams, and is ranked in the top 10 of his class. He
plans on attending the Naval Academy and pursuing a career in engineering.