Moderate social sensitivity in a risky context supports adaptive decision making in adolescence: evidence from brain and behavior.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a time of increased social-affective sensitivity, which is often related to heightened health-risk behaviors. However, moderate levels of social sensitivity, relative to either low (social vacuum) or high levels (exceptionally attuned), may confer benefits as it facilitates effective navigation of the social world. The present fMRI study tested a curvilinear relationship between social sensitivity and adaptive decision-making. Participants (ages 12-16; N = 35) played the Social Analogue Risk Task, which measures participants' willingness to knock on doors in order to earn points. With each knock, the facial expression of the house's resident shifted from happy to somewhat angrier. If the resident became too angry, the door slammed and participants lost points. Social sensiti

SUBMITTER: van Hoorn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007597 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature