title: Relationship Reciprocation Modulates Resource Allocation in Adolescent Social Networks: Developmental Effects.
abstract: Adolescence is characterized as a period of social reorientation toward peer relationships, entailing the emergence of sophisticated social abilities. Two studies (Study 1: N = 42, ages 13-17; Study 2: N = 81, ages 13-16) investigated age group differences in the impact of relationship reciprocation within school-based social networks on an experimental measure of cooperation behavior. Results suggest development between mid- and late adolescence in the extent to which reciprocation of social ties predicted resource allocation. With increasing age group, investment decisions increasingly reflected the degree to which peers reciprocated feelings of friendship. This result may reflect social-cognitive development, which could facilitate the ability to navigate an increasingly complex social world in adolescence and promote positive and enduring relationships into adulthood.
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford.|University of Birmingham.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burnett Heyes
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford.
authors.forename: Yeou-Rong
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Jih
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford.|ETH Zürich.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Block
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford.
authors.forename: Chii-Fen
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Hiu
authors.affiliation: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.|Karolinska Institutet.
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford.|King's College London.
authors.forename: Jennifer Y F
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support