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Kreuder A, Frick U, Klütsch J, Haehn L, Schlittmeier SJ. The effect of aggressive group norms on young adults' conformity behavior in WhatsApp chats: a vignette-based experiment. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17231. [PMID: 39060401 PMCID: PMC11282315 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67915-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Social networking and messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, have become an essential social environment for adolescents and young adults (AYA). While facilitating connectivity, they also bear hazards, including cyber-aggression. This study investigates the impact of (aggressive) group norms on AYA's propensity to expect cyberaggressive behaviors within different group chats. Based on a vignette scenario, realistically simulated WhatsApp group chats enabled scrutinizing, if and how exemplary reactions (funny, aggressive, friendly) of group members influence AYA's conformity to cyber-aggression (N = 500, aged 16 to 29). Additionally, we examined the effect of chat group type-close friends versus fellow students-on the anticipation of aggressive reactions. Sociodemographic, social, and developmental-psychological factors were evaluated for potential effects. Multilevel logistic regression analyses indicated that aggressive group norms significantly predict cyber-aggression anticipation, while no effect of chat group type was observed. Controlling for the size and vivacity of participant's friend group, gender, age, and educational status were significant predictors: males, younger participants, and non-university students expected higher levels of cyber-aggression conformity. This study underlines the importance of group dynamics on perceptions of cyber-aggression and hints at individual risk factors for AYA's digital communication behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Kreuder
- Work and Engineering Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
- HSD Hochschule Döpfer, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Ulrich Frick
- HSD Hochschule Döpfer, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jennifer Klütsch
- Work and Engineering Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Luise Haehn
- Work and Engineering Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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2
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Slagter SK, Gradassi A, van Duijvenvoorde ACK, van den Bos W. Identifying who adolescents prefer as source of information within their social network. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20277. [PMID: 37985792 PMCID: PMC10662136 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46994-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescents are highly influenced by their peers within their social networks. This social influence can stem from both unsolicited peer pressure and the active search for guidance. While extensive research examined the mechanisms of peer pressure, little is known about who adolescents prefer as a source of information. To address this gap, we conducted two independent studies using a novel social search paradigm that allows participants to choose which social sources they wish to observe. In both studies, adolescents demonstrated a preference for their friends over non-friends, as well as for peers who were perceived as trustworthy. Across both studies, we found mixed evidence for the role of perceived popularity as a selection criterion. Notable, study 2 revealed the significance of "cool", "admirable" and "acting mean" as additional characteristics of preferred peers, traits that are often associated with elevated peer status. It also revealed an interest for peers perceived as being smart. These findings highlight the active role adolescents have in choosing social sources and emphasize the importance of multiple peer characteristics. Future research should investigate whether adolescents' interest in these types of peers is contingent upon specific social contexts, age groups, and peer cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett K Slagter
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1001 NK, The Netherlands.
| | - Andrea Gradassi
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1001 NK, The Netherlands
| | - Anna C K van Duijvenvoorde
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter van den Bos
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1001 NK, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Human Behavior, Berlin, Germany
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3
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Dobbelaar S, Achterberg M, van Duijvenvoorde ACK, van IJzendoorn MH, Crone EA. Developmental patterns and individual differences in responding to social feedback: A longitudinal fMRI study from childhood to adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 62:101264. [PMID: 37331231 PMCID: PMC10285498 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning to control behavior when receiving feedback underlies social adaptation in childhood and adolescence, and is potentially strengthened by environmental support factors, such as parents. This study examined the neural development of responding to social feedback from childhood to adolescence, and effects of parental sensitivity on this development. We studied these questions in a 3-wave longitudinal fMRI sample (ages 7-13 years, n = 512). We measured responses to feedback using the fMRI Social Network Aggression Task through noise blasts following peer feedback and associated neural activity, and parental sensitivity using observations of parent-child interactions during Etch-a-Sketch. Results revealed largest reductions in noise blasts following positive feedback between middle and late childhood and following negative feedback between late childhood and early adolescence. Additionally, brain-behavior associations between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation and noise blast durations became more differentiated across development. Parental sensitivity was only associated with noise blast duration following positive feedback in childhood, but not in adolescence. There was no relation between parental sensitivity and neural activity. Our findings contribute to our understanding of neural development and individual differences in responding to social feedback, and the role of parenting in supporting children's adaption to social feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Dobbelaar
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Michelle Achterberg
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Anna C K van Duijvenvoorde
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, the Netherlands
| | - Marinus H van IJzendoorn
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Research Department of Clinical, Education and Health Psychology, UCL, University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Eveline A Crone
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Developmental and Educational Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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4
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Zhang W, Liu Y, Dong Y, He W, Yao S, Xu Z, Mu Y. How we learn social norms: a three-stage model for social norm learning. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1153809. [PMID: 37333598 PMCID: PMC10272593 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1153809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
As social animals, humans are unique to make the world function well by developing, maintaining, and enforcing social norms. As a prerequisite among these norm-related processes, learning social norms can act as a basis that helps us quickly coordinate with others, which is beneficial to social inclusion when people enter into a new environment or experience certain sociocultural changes. Given the positive effects of learning social norms on social order and sociocultural adaptability in daily life, there is an urgent need to understand the underlying mechanisms of social norm learning. In this article, we review a set of works regarding social norms and highlight the specificity of social norm learning. We then propose an integrated model of social norm learning containing three stages, i.e., pre-learning, reinforcement learning, and internalization, map a potential brain network in processing social norm learning, and further discuss the potential influencing factors that modulate social norm learning. Finally, we outline a couple of future directions along this line, including theoretical (i.e., societal and individual differences in social norm learning), methodological (i.e., longitudinal research, experimental methods, neuroimaging studies), and practical issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yunhan Liu
- School of Humanities and Social Science, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yixuan Dong
- Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Wanna He
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shiming Yao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ziqian Xu
- Graziadio Business School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Yan Mu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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5
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Pachón-Basallo M, de la Fuente J, González-Torres MC, Martínez-Vicente JM, Peralta-Sánchez FJ, Vera-Martínez MM. Effects of factors of self-regulation vs. factors of external regulation of learning in self-regulated study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:968733. [PMID: 35992476 PMCID: PMC9386275 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.968733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the mid-20th century, the study of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) has aimed to identify the distinctive characteristics that enable individuals to acquire new knowledge and skills under their control. The theory of Internal Self-Regulation vs. External-Regulation in Learning (SRL vs. ERL; 2017) has postulated that a large number of self-regulatory variables are mediated by regulated/non-regulated or dysregulated features of the context. After signing their informed consent, a total of 616 university students completed validated instruments of SRL vs. ERL, behavioral regulation (SRB), regulatory teaching (RT), and metacognitive study control strategies (SRS). Using an ex-post facto design and correlation, regression, structural equation model and mediation analyses, the present research aimed to establish multicausal predictive relationships among the analyzed variables. Results indicated positive predictive effects between the external regulation variables on the self-regulation variables in learning [regulation (SRL)/non-regulation (NRL)/dysregulation (DRL)]; as well as positive predictive effects between SRL on SRB, RT and metacognitive SRS. Additionally, external regulation (ERL) not only predicted but mediated numerous relations among the variables studied. Other findings and important considerations for future research in the field of self-regulation are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Pachón-Basallo
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Mónica Pachón-Basallo, ,
| | - Jesús de la Fuente
- School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- School of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
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Molleman L, Ciranka S, van den Bos W. Social influence in adolescence as a double-edged sword. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220045. [PMID: 35765838 PMCID: PMC9240690 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is fundamental to human development, helping individuals adapt to changing circumstances and cooperate in groups. During the formative years of adolescence, the social environment shapes people's socio-cognitive skills needed in adulthood. Although peer influence among adolescents is traditionally associated with risky and unruly conduct, with long-term negative effects on educational, economic and health outcomes, recent findings suggest that peers may also have a positive impact. Here, we present a series of experiments with 10-20-year-olds (n = 146) showing that positive and negative peer effects reflect a domain-general factor of social information use which declines during adolescence. Exposure to disobedient peers provoked rule breaking, and selfish peers reduced prosocial behaviour, particularly in early adolescence. However, compliant peers also promoted rule compliance and fair peers increased prosociality. A belief formation task further revealed that younger adolescents tend to assimilate social information, while older adolescents prioritize personal views. Our results highlight early adolescence as a key window for peer-based interventions to improve developmental trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Molleman
- Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Simon Ciranka
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wouter van den Bos
- Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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