Patricia Greenfield | University of California, Los Angeles (original) (raw)

Papers by Patricia Greenfield

Considerable research on computer-mediated communication has examined online communication betwee... more Considerable research on computer-mediated communication has examined online communication between strangers, but little is known about the emotional experience of connectedness between friends in digital environments. However, adolescents and emerging adults use digital communication primarily to communicate with existing friends rather than to make new connections. We compared feelings of emotional connectedness as they occurred in person and through digital communication among pairs of close friends in emerging adulthood. Fifty-eight young women, recruited in pairs of close friends, engaged in four conversations each: in-person, video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging (IM). Bonding in each condition was measured through both self-report and affiliation cues (i.e., nonverbal behaviors associated with the emotional experience of bonding). Participants reported feeling connected in all conditions. However, bonding, as measured by both self-report and affiliation cues, differed significantly across conditions, with the greatest bonding during in-person interaction, followed by video chat, audio chat, and IM in that order. Compared with other participants, those who used video chat more frequently reported greater bonding with friends through video chat in our study. Compared with other participants, those who spoke on the phone more frequently with their participating friend reported greater bonding during audio chat. Use of textual affiliation cues like emoticons, typed laughter, and excessive letter capitalization during IM related to increased bonding experience during IM. Nonetheless, a significantly lower level of bonding was experienced in IM compared with in-person communication. Because adolescent and emerging adults' digital communication is primarily text-based, this finding has significant realworld implications.

Among pregnant youth, relationships with parents and romantic partners are correlated with overal... more Among pregnant youth, relationships with parents and romantic partners are correlated with overall wellbeing; however, this relationship does not exist with friends. Friends who have also experienced a pregnancy, however, may offer more effective support than friends who have not. One way that pregnant and mothering adolescents can connect is through online message boards. We hypothesized that adolescents would use these sites primarily to establish friendships and develop a supportive community, rather than simply to solicit pregnancy-related advice. We randomly selected 200 threads from four message boards for pregnant and mothering teens and performed a mixed-methods content analysis of the original posts and responses. Most original posts were categorized as ''Community Oriented Posts,'' rather than ''Soliciting Pregnancy or Motherhood Advice.'' Furthermore, qualitative analysis revealed frequent instances of emotional support, instrumental support, and informational support in both categories. In message board communities where pregnant teens and teen mothers were in the majority, messages were predominantly positive. In sharp contrast, in the one message board in which they were in the minority, as they are in the adolescent community at large, messages were significantly more negative. The dynamics of these message boards indicate the possibility that social support from other pregnant or mothering teens may enhance the wellbeing of pregnant teens and explain why peer ''support'' from teens who have not had this experience may often have a negative influence on wellbeing.

We conducted research on the independent and interdependent self which points to cultural differe... more We conducted research on the independent and interdependent self which points to cultural differences in self-enhancing versus self-effacing perspectives. We investigated members of multiethnic, high school, girls' sports teams and their tendencies to interpret praise or criticism in a self-effacing or self-enhancing manner. Our analysis is in the spirit of Bruner's conceptualization of narrative as cultural interpretation. This investigation differs from other studies on the independent and interdependent self in several respects: (1) it is naturalistic; (2) it focuses on ethnic differences within a multicultural society, rather than on cross-national comparison; (3) primary data sources are qualitative (ethnography, journals); (4) we analyzed cultural perspectives of researchers and participants; and (5) its focus is on adolescence. Euro-American and African American participants shared a more self-enhancing perspective, while Asian American and Latina participants shared a more self-effacing perspective. Differing cultural perspectives produced conflict when participants were faced with contrasting interpretations of praise and criticism. [individualism, independence, collectivism, interdependence, sport, adolescence] We investigated the relevance of the cultural models of individualism and collectivism for understanding reactions to praise and criticism on multiethnic high school sports teams. We also investigated the implications of contrasting cultural models for interethnic misunderstanding among adolescent teammates. As Bruner (this issue) points out, many cultural norms are implicit rather than explicit. We would go one step farther and assert that the most basic cultural norms are also the most implicit; seeing the valued self as more independent or more interdependent is such a fundamental and implicit cultural norm.

Evidence increasingly suggests that neural structures that respond to primary and secondary rewar... more Evidence increasingly suggests that neural structures that respond to primary and secondary rewards are also implicated in the processing of social rewards. The 'Like'-a popular feature on social media-shares features with both monetary and social rewards as a means of feedback that shapes reinforcement learning. Despite the ubiquity of the Like, little is known about the neural correlates of providing this feedback to others. In this study, we mapped the neural correlates of providing Likes to others on social media. Fifty-eight adolescents and young adults completed a task in the MRI scanner designed to mimic the social photo-sharing app Instagram. We examined neural responses when participants provided positive feedback to others. The experience of providing Likes to others on social media related to activation in brain circuity implicated in reward, including the striatum and ventral tegmental area, regions also implicated in the experience of receiving Likes from others. Providing Likes was also associated with activation in brain regions involved in salience processing and executive function. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the neural processing of social rewards, as well as the neural processes underlying social media use.

Mobile social media often feature the ability to "Like" content posted by others. This study exam... more Mobile social media often feature the ability to "Like" content posted by others. This study examined the effect of Likes on youths' neural and behavioral responses to photographs. High school and college students (N = 61, ages 13-21) viewed theirs and others' Instagram photographs while undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Participants more often Liked photographs that appeared to have received many (vs. few) Likes. Popular photographs elicited greater activity in multiple brain regions, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a hub of the brain's reward circuitry. NAcc responsivity increased with age for high school but not college students. When viewing images depicting risk-taking (vs. nonrisky photographs), high school students, but not college students, showed decreased activation of neural regions implicated in cognitive control.

Research is reported t h a t shows how block play becomes more complex with respect to part-whole... more Research is reported t h a t shows how block play becomes more complex with respect to part-whole relationships with the child's increasing age. Older children include a greater number of constituent parts in their constructions. Constructions appear to reveal knowledge of parts before the child uses spontaneous language to indicate parts.

Based on Greenfield's theory of social change and human development, we predicted that adolescent... more Based on Greenfield's theory of social change and human development, we predicted that adolescents' values, behaviors, and self-assessments would become more collectivistic and less individualistic during the Great Recession (2008-2010) compared to the prerecession period (2004)(2005)(2006), thereby reversing long-term trends from the 1970s. Data came from Monitoring the Future, a nationally representative yearly survey of 12th graders. Concern for others and environmentalism increased from the prerecession period to recession, reversing long-term declines. Long-term trends toward increasing materialism partially reversed: Wanting a job making lots of money continued to increase, the increase in the importance of money leveled off, and the increase in desiring to own expensive material items reversed. Long-term trends toward increasingly positive self-views continued. Correlations with economic indicators (median income, employment rate) over the entire time period showed that collectivism was high and individualism was low during times of economic deprivation, consistent with Greenfield's theory.