This year the Tryon lecture will be delivered by Professor Eva Telzer from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Family and Peer Influence on Adolescent Risk Taking: A Developmental Social Neuroscience Perspective
Social influences from parents and peers represent the most potent predictors of adolescentsÂ’ initiation and escalation of risk-taking behaviors. However, emerging evidence also implicates the protective role of parents and peers in adolescentsÂ’ positive and adaptive adjustment. In this talk, I will draw on developmental social neuroscience research, underscoring the malleability of the adolescent brain, which may account for heightened susceptibility to social influences during this developmental period. I will highlight how neurobiological sensitivity to social context can be an opportunity for promoting social adjustment, redirecting negative trajectories to help adolescents thrive.