Please join us for our upcoming colloquium from 12:10-1:30 (PST) on March 1, Entitled:

When Mattering Really Matters: A Panel Discussion on the Development of Meaning, Purpose, Contribution, and Social Inequities. 

Panelists:
Andrew Fuligni PhD

Co-Executive Director, Center for the Developing Adolescent

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA

Professor, Department of Psychology, UCLA

Senior Scientist, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA

Director, Adolescent Development Lab at UCLA

Anthony Burrow, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Human Development, Cornell University

Director, Purpose and Identity Processes Laboratory, Cornell University

Director, Program for Research on Youth Development and Engagement (PRYDE), Cornell

Introduction and Moderator: Ron Dahl (Director of IHD)

Abstract:

This panel will focus on the role of social and emotional learning experiences (particularly those that convey social value) in shaping aspects of psychological development in adolescence. The onset of puberty appears to amplify sensitivity to social evaluation in ways that can make adolescents more reactive to both positive and negative social feedback. These changes may also contribute to greater motivational salience in adolescence for activities that increase one’s personal experiences of respect, admiration, or prestige. These motivational proclivities may be relevant to understanding the importance of meaningful contribution (e.g. Fuligni 2019, 2020) and purpose (e.g. Burrow et al 2020) relevant to psychological development in adolescence. That is, obtaining the feedback that one matters by doing things that matter to others (e.g. meaningful contributions) may support pathways to prosocial development in adolescence.

These insights also raise compelling questions about the impact of social inequities: What is the impact on adolescent development of growing up in a social context where one receives more negative than positive social signals about mattering or feeling valued? How might fewer opportunities for making meaningful contributions further amplify inequalities in adolescence? The panelists also will discuss some of the practice and policy implications based on current and emerging research.