The Human Development Colloquium Series Presents:

Challenging Stereotypes of Teens: Reframing Adolescence as Window of 

Opportunity

 

Dr. Eva Telzer

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 

Abstract

In this talk, I will challenge negative stereotypes of adolescence and unpack the
many ways that the developing brain contributes to positive development
during the adolescent years. In particular, I will show that risk-taking is not
inevitable and risks can be highly adaptive and positive; adolescents are not
overly self-centered but engage in other-oriented prosocial behaviors in
remarkable ways; adolescents are not only susceptible to negative peer
influence but can resist negative peer influence and conform more to positive
peer influence; and adolescents do not orient away from the family, but the
family remains a constant and important source of influence into adolescence.