Comparing the effect of passive and active peer encouragement on adolescents’ sensitivity to reward and risk-taking

Studies have indicated that adolescents take more risks in the presence of their peers. This study aimed to examine the effect of passive and active (online) peer encouragement on adolescentschr('39') sensitivity to reward and risk-taking. One hundred fifty girls and one hundred fifty boys aged 13-17 participated in the experiment. First, the participants completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task alone. Then, the participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: 1)Active peer encouragement group, 2)Passive peer encouragement group, 3)Control group and performed the BART again; however, this time, they performed the task with the presence of unfamiliar online peers. The participants in the passive and active groups performed the BART with their peerschr('39') presence. However, the participants in the control group performed the task with no presence of peers. Our findings demonstrated that passive but not active peer encouragement increased adolescentschr('39') risk-taking and sensitivity to reward (p<0/05). Also, findings demonstrated no gender differences (p>0/05). Thus, girlschr('39') risk-taking should not be underestimated. Also, future interventions should focus on the influence of passive peer encouragement.