Peer presence increases the prosocial behavior of adolescents by speeding the evaluation of outcomes for others.

ABSTRACT: Peer presence can elicit maladaptive adolescent decision-making, potentially by increasing sensitivity to the rewards one receives. It remains unknown whether peer presence also increases adolescents' sensitivity to others' outcomes, which could have an adaptive effect in contexts allowing pro-social behaviors. Here, we combine social utility modeling and real-time decision process modeling to characterize how peer presence alters adolescents' processing of self and other outcomes. We found that adolescents behaved selfishly when privately allocating monetary rewards for themselves and a peer in an incentive-compatible task. In peer presence, however, adolescents became more altruistic. Real-time decision process estimates collected using computer mouse tracking showed that altruistic beha

SUBMITTER: Sullivan NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9021292 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature