Group Influences on Young Adult Warfighters Risk-Taking
Abstract
The purpose of our project is to compare decision-making of young males (ages 18-22), acting alone or within groups, under varying situational circumstances. In experiment 1 (completed), we established a test battery that reliably revealed the peer effect when individuals taking the test battery alone were compared with those taking the test battery while with their peers. During this reporting period, we have completed experiment 2, which showed that the presence of a slightly older adult significantly attenuates the peer effect, making young males in a peer context less impulsive and reward sensitive than they are when there is no adult present. We have also begun experiment 3, where we test fatigued young males in solo and peer contexts to investigate whether fatigue exacerbates the effect of peers on young adults decision-making. In preparation for this experiment, we have trained additional research personnel (5 volunteer research assistants and one paid staff member), piloted the fatigue manipulation, and refined the experimental procedures. To date, we have tested 41 fatigued individuals in the alone condition and 23 fatigued in the peer group (foursome of 18-22 year olds), and continue to collect data.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1002914
Entities
People
- Laurence Steinberg
Organizations
- Temple University