Developmental Changes in the Intrinsic Value of Learning Parent and Peer Risk Norms in Adolescence

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Social Cognition

Abstract

A potential mechanism underlying the pivotal role of parent and peer influence in adolescent risk taking might be changes in the adolescent’s subjective valuation of risky norms and behaviors in social contexts (Chein et al., 2011; Telzer, Ichien, & Qu, 2015). However, an overlooked aspect of social influence is the degree to which adolescents intentionally seek the opinions of their parents versus peers to guide their own risky decisions. Classic theories of information-seeking motives (Sharot & Sunstein, 2020) propose that opportunities to gain knowledge are instrumental to making decisions that maximize rewards and minimize punishments (Rodriguez Buritica, Heekeren, & van den Bos, 2019). However, individuals often want information that is not immediately useful, suggesting that knowledge, in and of itself, can be intrinsically rewarding or positively valued (Eliaz & Schotter, 2007). What remains unknown is whether opportunities to learn parent and peer risk norms are differentially valued across adolescent development. We address this question in the present preregistration for which data have been collected but not analyzed. Preregistered analyses are part of a larger dissertation project, which will ensure statistical support and timely completion by Spring 2021.

173 adolescents (91 female) and their parents completed three annual visits starting when adolescents were 12-14 years of age. At each visit, both adolescents and parents rated their attitudes toward various risk behaviors (e.g., smoking marijuana). Adolescents then made decisions to forgo various amounts of money (range: $0.01-$0.04) to learn their parents’ or an age-matched peer group’s (aggregated average risk attitudes of adolescents from an independent sample) ratings of these same behaviors before rating their own risk attitudes again (Figure 1). The intrinsic value associated with each source of influence will be operationalized as the amount of money that adolescents were willing to forgo to learn about others’ risk norms.

Multivariate growth curve analyses will examine age-related changes in the extent to which adolescents value learning about their parents’ versus peers’ risk norms before evaluating their own risk attitudes. We hypothesize that, while the intrinsic value of learning parent risk norms will be initially higher than that of peer risk norms in early adolescence, the value of learning parent risk norms will either (a) remain consistent throughout adolescence (i.e., no linear age effects) (b) steadily decline with age (i.e., linear age effects), or (c) decline slightly until mid-adolescence before stabilizing in late adolescence (i.e., cubic age effects). In contrast, we hypothesize that the intrinsic value of learning peer risk norms will be initially lower than that of parent risk norms in early adolescence, but will show age-related increases that peak in mid-adolescence before declining thereafter (i.e., quadratic age effects) (Figure 2).

The hypothesized findings would suggest that increased sensitivity to peer influence during adolescence may reflect biased opportunities toward learning from peer norms more than parent norms, highlighting important developmental changes in the motivational value of different sources of influence. Capitalizing on the source of influence who may be most valued during adolescence may achieve longer-lasting changes in health risk attitudes and behaviors.

Authors

• Kathy T Do, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Mitchell J Prinstein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kristen A Lindquist, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Eva H Telzer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author