Adolescent Social Development

Brett Bearrows

Kenyon College
Class of 2022

This is an annotated bibliography that describes the overall social development that occurs during adolescence. In particular, I examine the negative and positive effects of peer interaction on an individual's social development and the importance of teen's views of themselves and others.


Blakemore, S.J., and Mills, K.L. (2014). Is adolescence a sensitive period for sociocultural processing? Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 187-207 from
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100412

In addition, in "Peer contagion in Child and Adolescent Social and Emotional Development," Peer contagion is the phenomenon of spreading “deviant behavior” from one teen to the next -- much like a virus spreads easily between two people in close contact or among a group of people. Peer contagion encompasses the negative effect of teens on each other in a codependent relationship in which negative behaviors and emotions are shared, often not intentionally. For example, a teen may exemplify peer contagion by seeking an audience or approval while engaging in poor decision making or juvenile activity, which negatively influences themselves and others. Increased social interactions during adolescence follow similar patterns of increased delinquency and deviant behavior. The use of social media, in particular, perpetuates the use of peer contagion in the spread of obesity, poor body image and expectations, and eating disorders. Peer contagion reverses the goals of public education and programs intended to face deviant behavior among young people in juvenile centers. The authors mention the importance of neuronal activity in relation to peer contagion -- the social brain is devoted to the social environment. In particular, the neuronal activity that is devoted to mirroring and interpreting the behavior of others in relation to oneself. It is crucial to understand the workings and tendencies of the social brain in order to understand the potential of peer contagion to take root in individuals and among adolescents in society. The activity of the adolescent brain is important to understanding peer contagion and the broader phenomenon of peer influence because the instruments of peer interaction and influence are language, body language, face processing, and the overall perception of others.

The authors of "Is adolescence a sensitive period for sociocultural processing?" discuss the structural and functional ways in which adolescent’s social brains change and the ways in which these changes affect their interactions. Face processing and biological motion detection, among other cognitive functions, become more complex in order for more advanced interactions to occur. In a particular study, participants between the ages of 7 and 27 were tested on their ability to take the perspective of another person into account when making decisions. The study found that the ability to take other’s perspectives into consideration continued to develop through adolescence -- because of an individual's increased concern for others thoughts and/or for the further development of social cognition. Not only did adolescents continue to be concerned for others, but they also had a greater awareness of themselves as adolescence progressed. The study specifically mentions the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and anterior temporal cortex as areas that make up the social brain which is almost exclusively dedicated to the advancement of social cognition processes. During adolescence, the opinions of one’s peers become more important and more influential in decision making. The behaviors and processes of adolescents are heavily dependent on their social environments, and throughout adolescence, we get better at socially interacting. Blakemore and Mills describe hypothesized changes in neurocognitive strategy and/or neuroanatomy between adolescents and adults that explain the differences in decision making, emotional responses, and other processes and behaviors. In particular, awareness and concern for the perspective of others continue to improve through adolescence. In the same way, guilt, embarrassment, shame, and pride are felt more/more deeply among older adolescents and adults because these emotions require mentalizing, empathizing, or realizing another’s mental state.

During development, primarily during adolescence, as described in "The early development of gender differences," differences have already arisen between boys and girls both biologically and socially. In particular, McIntyre and Edwards discuss how biological processes relate to the development of gender in society, specifically during adolescence.

I was interested and intrigued to know that boys and girls develop in different ways in terms of social engagement and affect processing. I feel like the differences between boys and girls in adolescents, especially in this way, have created and enforced harmful, problematic stereotypes for both sexes. For example, girls are stereotyped as being over-emotional, self-conscious, dramatic, and obsessed with popularity/what other people think of them. Boys on the other hand, are shamed for showing or having too much emotion. Both sexes are somehow encouraged to interact with members of the opposite sex but at the same time to avoid them and be rude to them. These phenomena seem to fit in with the differences between boys' and girls' affect processing. These stereotypes perpetuate a toxic adolescent culture for both sexes that continues throughout life and can be seen in gender stereotypes for all ages.

In addition, if individuals in adolescence have easily affected senses of self it may be harder for them to effectively empathize or connect with others. If individuals are undergoing much self-development and self-discovery, the way they view and interact with others will depend on how they view themselves and vice versa -- an adolescent’s view of self is easily altered by how others view them and how others interact with them.