challenges to prosocial development in adolescence

Question 1

what is eisenbergs definition of prosocial behaviour

Answer 1

voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another

Question 2

what happens in puberty indicating biological maturity (neuroscience)

Answer 2

neuronal pruning and cortical thinning

Question 3

what are some of the pressures during adolescence

Answer 3

-sign changes to social norms and networks
-increased decision making roles
-increased responsibility but not always increased rights
-ostracism felt (exclusion)
-desire to be in ‘in group’ is strong, as is the need to avoid being part of ‘out group’

Question 4

in adolescence who is the most influential group

Answer 4

in WEIRD cultures, peers for the first time in dev are more influential than adults
-specifically in early adolescence

Question 5

what are societies perceptions of teens

Answer 5

sarah-jayne blakemore
-often neg stereotypes
-assumptions made about prosociality/ antisocial behaviour, engagement in pos attributes usually seen as less (being considerate, focused, hard working etc)

Question 6

what do the childrens society 2022 say about these stereotypes

Answer 6

they are not justified

Question 7

are adolescence’s a vulnerable group

Answer 7

Pachuki 2015
-yes they are
-adolescence are susceptible to increased strains/pressures from family, peers, education, health and work, in addition to extensive physiological changes

zarrett and eccles 2006: this may explain why mental health concerns increase in this period of dev

Question 8

how is risk perception altered in adolescence

Answer 8

-cognitive changes when coupled with peer influences means risk perception is negatively affected
-can lead to increased rates of accidents and injuries

Question 9

tamnes et al 2018 study

Answer 9

-mixed methods study of 293 pp, 7-26 yrs
-measured neuronal pruning indirectly via cortical thickness
-measured social perspective taking, self report prosocial b and adjustment by strengths and difficulties questionnaire

FINDINGS
-improvement in social perspective taking across adolescence
-social perspective taking associated with prosocial b and cortical thinning (neuronal pruning) in LH
-opposed neg stereotypes about teens being less prosocial

Question 10

prosociality study in early/middle adolescence

Answer 10

Nantel- Vivier et al 2009
-study in canada and italy WEIRD cultures
-canada: boys age 10-15, yearly self and mother report on prosocial b
-italy: girls age 10-14, self and others reports on prosociality

FINDINGS
-3 groups of prosociality found: high, moderate or low
-most trajectories report stability in prosocial dev across dev, or decline

Question 11

what is a weakness of Nantel-vivier’s 2009 study

Answer 11

asked parents and adults to rate teens prosociality but maybe should have asked peers as they are more influential in this period of early adolescence than adults

Question 12

prosocial dev in late adolescence study

Answer 12

eisenberg 2015
-moral reasoning dev is more complex in early middle childhood
-hedonistic (self focused) reasoning increases then decreases over late adolescence (curvilinear trajectory)
-females reached complex moral reasoning earlier (from physiological and social learning factors)

Question 13

eisenbergs additional finding from her 2002 study

Answer 13

empathy and moral reasoning predicted prosociality in adolescence at ages 22-26

Question 14

study for gender differences in prosocial dev

Answer 14

Van der Graaf et al 2018
-497 13yr olds, longitudinal study until age 17
FINDINGS
-boys prosocially stable until age 14, then increase till age 17, then slightly decline at 17
-girls prosocially stable until age 16, then slightly decrease
-across the genders empathy associated with prosociality
-perspective taking indirectly associated with prosocial b via increased empathy
-early prosocial b predicts later prosocial b for all pp, stronger association for girls
-moral socialisation by peers was central to dev of perspective taking and empathy needed for prosocial b

Question 15

what are the applications implied by Van der Graaf’s study

Answer 15

-need for interventions to focus on moral emotions like empathy to support prosocial b
-given the influence from peers, interventions may be best delivered by peers than adults

Question 16

culture and personality research

Answer 16

Guzman and Carlo 2004
-looked into acculturation (process of assimilating by potentially reducing association with family culture)
-63 adolescent latinos newly moved to Nebraska
-studies family cohesion, parent/peer attachment, level of acculturation and self reported prosocial b

FINDINGS
-acculturation neg impacted prosocial b
-peer not parent attachment pos associated with with prosociality
-family adaptability NOT cohesion predicted prosocial tendencies

Question 17

what did guzman and carlo conclude about culture

Answer 17

it needs to be brought more into theories of prosocial dev

Question 18

study on adolescent susceptability to peer influence and prosocial b

Answer 18

Ahmed 2020
-520 pp aged 11-18
-self rated how likely they were to engage in prosocial b e.g help a classmate with their work, and antisocial b e.g make fun of classmate
-pp then shown fictitious ratings ‘others’ gave and asked to rate again

FINDINGS
-prosocial and antisocial influence decreased with age
-early and middle adolescence was when teens were most influenced by peers

Question 19

why might people in late adolescence be less likely influenced by peers

Answer 19

moral reasoning and sense of self becomes more stable

Question 20

wellbeing and social adjustment research

Answer 20

crone 2022
-systematic review
-prosocial b pos associated with wellbeing and social adjustment
-teens were more complex and discerning in their moral reasoning
-teens differentiate more between recipients and contexts
-suggests in group/out group differentiation that shapes who adolescents are prosocial to
(across neuroscience studies, the social brain dev: cortical thinning via neuronal pruning, was shaped by social environments/networks)

Question 21

what was crone’s main concern

Answer 21

covid 19 would have a lasting effect on adolescents