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Dissecting “Peer Presence” and “Decisions” to Deepen Understanding of Peer Influence on Adolescent Risky Choice
Author(s) -
Somerville Leah H.,
Haddara Nadia,
Sasse Stephanie F.,
Skwara Alea C.,
Moran Joseph M.,
Figner Bernd
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13081
Subject(s) - deliberation , psychology , task (project management) , peer group , affect (linguistics) , peer review , social psychology , developmental psychology , peer influence , peer feedback , human factors and ergonomics , peer effects , poison control , medicine , mathematics education , management , communication , environmental health , politics , political science , law , economics
This study evaluated the aspects of complex decisions influenced by peers, and components of peer involvement influential to adolescents’ risky decisions. Participants ( N = 140) aged 13–25 completed the Columbia Card Task (CCT), a risky choice task, isolating deliberation‐reliant and affect‐reliant decisions while alone, while a friend monitors choices, and while a friend is merely present. There is no condition in which a nonfriend peer is present. Results demonstrated the risk‐increasing peer effect occurred in the youngest participants in the cold CCT and middle‐late adolescents in the hot CCT, whereas other ages and contexts showed a risk‐decreasing peer effect. Mere presence was not sufficient to influence risky behavior. These boundaries in age, decision, and peer involvement constrain prevailing models of adolescent peer influence.