Previous studies on pro-environmentalism have highlighted the roles of friend’s pro environmental social norms and the experience of eco-anger as strong predictors of young adults’ pro...Show morePrevious studies on pro-environmentalism have highlighted the roles of friend’s pro environmental social norms and the experience of eco-anger as strong predictors of young adults’ pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). Substantial evidence supports the influential role of emotions, specifically eco-anger, in social influence processes within interpersonal relationships. While the unique effects of social norms and emotioanal responses on PEB are well-documented, the interaction between these factors, particularly in the context of environmental activism among adolescents and young adults, has not been explored. To address this gap, this study investigated the complex interplay between these factors, examining how friends’ pro-environmental social norms and eco-anger together influence young adults’ PEB. A sample of 216 young adults, aged 17-29 years, completed self-report questionnaires in a computer laboratory setting. Pro-environmental behaviour was measured using the Adolescents’ Environmental Behavior scale (AEB), friends' descriptive social norms through an adjusted version of the AEB scale, and self and friend’s eco-anger through self created scales. A moderation model was employed to test the main and interaction effects of friends’ social norms, self and friend’s eco-anger on PEB. Our findings revealed that both friends’ descriptive social norms (b = .27, t(210)= 5.65, p< .001, 95% CI [0.17, 0.36]) and self experienced eco-anger (b= .20, t(210)= 4.70, p < .001, 95% CI [0.12, 0.28]) were significant predictors of PEB. However, friends’ eco-anger did not significantly predict PEB, and the anticipated moderating effects of both self and friends’ eco-anger on the positive relationship between social norms and PEB were not supported. While the direct impact of friend’s social norms and self eco-anger was evident, the interaction between these factors did not enhance pro-environmental behavior as hypothesized. This suggests that eco-anger may drive proenvironmental actions through personal motivations rather than amplifying the effects of peer influence. Future studies should delve deeper into the nuances of these interactions, considering possible intermediate factors. The robust influence of friends’ social norms and eco-anger highlights the importance of leveraging both social networks and emotional engagement in designing effective pro-environmental campaigns and promoting sustainable behaviour.Show less
Background:. This project investigates the effectiveness of a peer-led exposure therapy to help adolescents with mild-to-borderline intellectual disability (MBID) and a clinical level of anxiety...Show moreBackground:. This project investigates the effectiveness of a peer-led exposure therapy to help adolescents with mild-to-borderline intellectual disability (MBID) and a clinical level of anxiety symptoms. Focus groups were held to assess the implications of this mode of therapy. In this thesis the importance of matching between the peer and the adolescent as well as the possible characteristics to use during matching were assessed. Method: We assessed 40 stakeholders divided into three groups (15 therapists, 17 experienced experts and 8 parents of youth with MBID) by conducting 1 to 1.5 hour focus-groups or 45 minute individual interviews. Transcriptions were coded and afterwards both qualitatively (thematic analysis) and quantitatively analysed (chi-square tests and Fisher’s exact test). Results: Matching was found to be important by all groups, though therapists found it less important than the other stakeholders (3.2% of the transcription compared to 5.5% and 4.5%). Possible characteristics to match on were equal age, experiencing a connection, similar levels of social-emotional competence and same type of anxiety. The three stakeholder groups did not agree on how the characteristic intelligence should be implemented in the matching process. Conclusions: This study reveals the importance that is attributed to the process of matching between a peer and an adolescent with MBID and anxiety by the three stakeholder groups. Possible characteristics to match on are suggested.Show less
The relation between cognitive empathy, and the accuracy adolescents learn how to predict the social behavior of peers was examined in this current study with 38 adolescents. The data was obtained...Show moreThe relation between cognitive empathy, and the accuracy adolescents learn how to predict the social behavior of peers was examined in this current study with 38 adolescents. The data was obtained through an online social prediction game which measured the two motives, greed and risk aversion, that drive the cooperative behavior of others, and a survey from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index which measured cognitive empathy. The findings suggest that the expected relations do not exist. However, in the oldest age group significant correlations were found between greed and empathy. Further research on the relation between cognitive empathy and the accuracy adolescents learn how to predict the social behavior of peers is necessary to make a reliable statement about this relation.Show less
Fear is a crucial defence mechanism that is aroused by an imminent threat and prepares an organism to take action. However, unnecessary fears that persist may lead to anxiety and stress-related...Show moreFear is a crucial defence mechanism that is aroused by an imminent threat and prepares an organism to take action. However, unnecessary fears that persist may lead to anxiety and stress-related disorders. Therefore, the extinction of a fear response is important. During the hormonal, brain and social changes in adolescence, the ability to extinct fears seems to decline. In this study we examined the role of pubertal development and peer attachment on fear extinction in 107 healthy participants between 9 and 12 years old. During this study, participants were shown natural looking faces. One of the faces (CS+) was presented together with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (A loud scream in combination with an anxious looking face (US)). The other natural looking face (CS-) was not presented with this aversive stimulus (US). During the fear extinction phase, both CS’s were shown without the US. Thereafter, the reinstatement phase took place, during which the fear reaction was first reignited again by showing the US three times again. This fear then was extinct again during the test phase by showing the CS’s without US. The fear acquisition seemed to have worked for girls only. However, boys were able to differentiate between the CS’s during fear extinction and might have learned slowly. During fear extinction, there was no decrease in CS differentiation, meaning that fear extinction did not work as expected. No effect of pubertal development nor peer attachment was found. The reinstatement phase seemed successful. During the test phase was found that pre-puberty boys show a general differential fear response, but boys in puberty do not show this general differential fear response. Thus, boys in puberty seem to show stronger recurrence of a differential fear response after reinstatement. This effect was not found in girls. Lastly, boys with high peer attachment seemed to have better fear extinction during the test phase compared to boys with low peer attachment, meaning that peer attachment may serve as a protective factor. This study might help develop research based on pubertal development or help future research based on peer support and social learning.Show less
Early adolescence, between the age of 10 to 13, is characterized by gaining more autonomy and an increase in complex social relationships. To engage in these social relations, prosocial giving...Show moreEarly adolescence, between the age of 10 to 13, is characterized by gaining more autonomy and an increase in complex social relationships. To engage in these social relations, prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept play an important role. Within gifted adolescents the social development is different from non-gifted adolescents, which might affect the development of prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept. In the current research we were interested in prosocial giving behaviour towards different targets and academic/non-academic self-concept within and between non-gifted and gifted adolescents. We recruited 112 children in the 7th and 8th grade from schools with regular and full-time gifted education. The Standard Progressive Raven Matrices was used to assess IQ, the Prosocial Giving Task to measure giving behaviour towards different targets and the Competentiebelevingsschaal voor Kinderen to measure self-concept on six areas. The results showed that adolescents gave more to ingroup targets than to out-group targets. We also found that within non-gifted adolescents the academic self-concept was lower than the non-academic self-concept. Within gifted adolescents, there was no difference between the academic and non-academic self-concept. For both prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept, we did not find a difference between non-gifted and gifted adolescents. Furthermore, there was not an association between prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept for both non-gifted and gifted adolescents. Future research could consider to take the transition to high school into account. This transition might influence the development of both prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept during early adolescence within both non-gifted and gifted adolescents.Show less
