Article: This article examines how peer pressure can positively and negatively affect a teen 's behavior and why teens are "especially sensitive to peer influence." Apparently there is a biological reason for this, and it involves dopamine, a chemical that "helps transmit signals in the brain that make people feel happy." In adolescents, the number of brain receptors with dopamine is very high, so when a teen gets rewarded with a compliment or positive feedback, "the reward center reacts more strongly than it would for an adult or a child." As a result, teens are interested in behaviors that hold potential "rewards" from their peers, and this can lead to positive behaviors like joining a club or a team or high-risk behaviors like drinking
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That included a basketball scholarship to the University of Texas, one the premier women 's ' basketball programs at that time, and successful career as a writer of historical fiction. In my secondary education, (page 444, Chapter 15) I was lucky to have several outstanding teachers, so they buoyed my confidence in my academic abilities. Notably, my English teacher and social studies teacher encouraged formal operational thought (page 431, Chapter 15) in their classes and kept pushing me to engage in hypothetical thought (page 432, Chapter 15). They also helped me buy into the incremental theory of intelligence (page 447, Chapter 15). If I worked hard in their classes, applied myself, and actually tried to learn, I could master whatever content or skill they put before me. To my teachers I owe a great deal; they played a huge role in helping me develop into the student, educator, and person that I am …show more content…
It was tough figuring out who I was and what I stood for, and I had more "What were you thinking" moments and required more parental monitoring (page 464, Chapter 16), than I should have, but eventually I figured it out. Identity achievement (page 458, Chapter 16) helped me accept who I was and focus on future goals. It also helped me resist negative peer pressure (page 467, Chapter 16) and combat the invincibility fable (page 430, Chapter 14) that would have made doing drugs or drinking alcohol seem
That included a basketball scholarship to the University of Texas, one the premier women 's ' basketball programs at that time, and successful career as a writer of historical fiction. In my secondary education, (page 444, Chapter 15) I was lucky to have several outstanding teachers, so they buoyed my confidence in my academic abilities. Notably, my English teacher and social studies teacher encouraged formal operational thought (page 431, Chapter 15) in their classes and kept pushing me to engage in hypothetical thought (page 432, Chapter 15). They also helped me buy into the incremental theory of intelligence (page 447, Chapter 15). If I worked hard in their classes, applied myself, and actually tried to learn, I could master whatever content or skill they put before me. To my teachers I owe a great deal; they played a huge role in helping me develop into the student, educator, and person that I am …show more content…
It was tough figuring out who I was and what I stood for, and I had more "What were you thinking" moments and required more parental monitoring (page 464, Chapter 16), than I should have, but eventually I figured it out. Identity achievement (page 458, Chapter 16) helped me accept who I was and focus on future goals. It also helped me resist negative peer pressure (page 467, Chapter 16) and combat the invincibility fable (page 430, Chapter 14) that would have made doing drugs or drinking alcohol seem