Explore with Me: Peer Observation Decreases Risk-Taking but Increases Exploration Tendencies across Adolescence

Combined Effects of Social Exclusion and Social Rank Feedback on Risky Decision-Making Across Adolescence

Adolescents' need to belong and concerns about social status are thought to increase risk-taking, however, not much is known about how feedback about social rank and the effects of social exclusion moderate risky decision-making. To this end, the present study examined how social rank feedback moderates the effects of social exclusion on risky decisions during adolescence. The experimental study included a total of 122 participants (11-19 years; 44% female). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either individual or social rank feedback in the Columbia Card Task after social inclusion and exclusion via the Cyberball paradigm. Contrary to expectations, social exclusion led to more cautious decision-making. Mid-adolescents were most influenced by the combination of social exclusion and social rank feedback, while late adolescents became more cautious with individual feedback. These findings suggest that peer influences also have adaptive effects, increasing sensitivity to risk information, with developmental differences in the role of social rank.

Risks and rewards in adolescent decision-making

Adolescent decision-making has been characterized as risky, and a heightened reward sensitivity may be one of the aspects contributing to riskier choice-behavior. Previous studies have targeted reward-sensitivity in adolescence and the neurobiological mechanisms of reward processing in the adolescent brain. In recent examples, researchers aim to disentangle the contributions of risk- and reward-sensitivity to adolescent risk-taking. Here, we discuss recent findings of adolescent's risk preferences and the associated neural mechanisms. We highlight potential frameworks that target individual differences in risk preferences in an effort to understand adolescent risk-taking, and with an ultimate goal of leveraging undesirable levels of risk taking.