ABSTRACT

Adolescence is a period of growing focus on social interactions and relationships. The peer context is one of the most significant developmental contexts in this transitional period and positive peer experiences contribute positively to adolescent well-being. Although negative peer influence on antisocial behaviour has received much attention, we know less about the positive power of peers such as on prosocial behaviour. Functioning in a social context involves affective and regulatory processes, as well as understanding others and mentalizing. In this article, I highlight neuroscientific studies examining prosocial decision-making in the peer context. Based on studies combining economic exchange paradigms with sociometric assessments of peer relations, I show that prosocial behaviour for friends involves activation of the ventral striatum and the temporoparietal junction, brain regions associated with affective-motivational processes and other-oriented thinking. Differential developmental trajectories of these brain regions across adolescence can be critical in understanding the developmental significance of peer relationships and its links with developmental outcomes.

摘要

青春期是一个越来越关注社会互动和关系的时期。同伴情境是这个过渡时期最重要的发展情境之一，积极的同伴经历对青少年的幸福有积极的贡献。尽管同龄人对反社会行为的负面影响已引起广泛关注，但我们对同龄人在亲社会行为等方面的积极力量知之甚少。在社会环境中运作涉及情感和调节过程，以及对他人的理解和思想化。在本文中，我重点介绍了神经科学研究，旨在研究同伴环境下的亲社会决策。基于将经济交流范例与同伴关系的社会计量评估相结合的研究，我表明，对朋友的亲社会行为涉及腹侧纹状体和颞顶交界处的激活，与情感动机过程相关的大脑区域以及其他定向思维。这些大脑区域在整个青春期的差异发展轨迹对于理解同伴关系的发展意义及其与发展成果的联系至关重要。