Today I read an article about a study conducted on teenagers, found at this website:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/teenagers-friends-and-bad-decisions/?src=me&ref=general
The study conducted tried to evaluate the effects of peer pressure on teenagers. In the study, 14 young teenagers, 14 college students and 12 young adults were asked to play a video driving game four different times while in an MRI scanner. The players were given cash prizes for completing the game at faster times, and for two of the four trials were told friends that accompanied them to the study were watching them play. The study showed that among adults and college students, there were no major differences in risk taking, regardless of whether friends were watching. However, the young teenagers ran about 40 percent more yellow lights and had 60 percent more crashes when they knew their friends were watching. The regions of the brain associated with reward showed greater activity when they were playing in view of their friends. This shows that peer pressure has an effect on brain signals involving risk and reward and young people are more likely to misbehave and take risks when their friends are watching. I think this was a very beneficial study, and I hope more teens will realize how dangerous it is to show off in front of your friends!
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