Monitor on Psychology - February 2012 - (Page 65)

literature that Americans are becoming less empathic and Overall, the researchers found that students underestimated more emotionally disconnected from each other. We are facing their peers’ negative feelings (by 17 percent) and overestimated a crisis of connection that most assuredly is not effectively their positive emotions (by 6 percent). addressed by less face-to-face contact.” “Online social networks are a great example of the type of Online friends can also make it less likely for young adults public venue where people play up the positive and hide the to create new adult friendships — a move that Way says may negative, which can lead to the sense that one is alone in one’s even put psychological and physical health in jeopardy. own struggles,” Jordan says. “It’s evident in the research that building real connections These findings also suggest that even though we all know can help us thrive in life,” Way says. “Friendships are a we hide our own sad or lonely feelings from others, we don’t core part of that, and we just don’t take them seriously realize how often others are doing the same. enough.” n “This anxiety around always ‘performing’ for others via social networking sites may lead to teenagers whose identities Amy Novotney is a writer in Chicago. are shaped not by self-exploration and time alone to process their thoughts, but by how they are perceived by the online collective,” Turkle says. What remains to be seen is how well adolescent friendships managed via Facebook and text message affect teen development, and ultimately, how today’s teens will develop relationships in adulthood, says New York University Make the most of your APA membership. developmental psychologist Niobe Way, PhD, who has been studying APA offers specialized products and services friendships among teenagers for for you, most at reduced rates for members. more than two decades. In a 2009 Let APA help connect you to the best financial study in Child Development, Way and colleagues found that, among services for you. both American and Chinese middleschool students, the emotional support Bank of America they got from close friends boosted (auto loans, checking and savings accounts, credit their self-esteem and grade point cards, loans, money market and CD accounts) www.bankofamerica.com/apa; averages more than support from their http://www.apa.org/membership/finance.aspx parents. Way, author of “Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of ADP (payroll, tax, and HR services) Connection” (2011), has also found Joshua_Waller@adp.com that teenage boys who feel supported (301) 296-7836 by and intimate with their friends are http://www.apa.org/membership/adp.aspx more likely to be academically engaged Elavon (credit card and electronic payment processing) and do their homework than teens 1-800-546-1831 who report low support. Yet as social http://www.apapracticecentral.org/ce/tools/ networking drives teens to decrease payment-processing.aspx their face-to-face time with friends, how much intimacy do they really www.twitter.com/APAbenefits share? “We know from the developmental literature that empathy and intimacy are fostered by looking at people’s faces For more information on all APA benefits visit: and reading people’s emotions and http://www.apa.org/membership/discounts.aspx spending time together physically,” Way says, but it remains to be seen whether that can really be accomplished online. “We also know from the sociological Financial Services for you… F e b ru a ry 2 0 1 2 • M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y 65 http://www.bankofamerica.com/apa http://www.apa.org/membership/finance.aspx http://www.apa.org/membership/adp.aspx http://www.apapracticecentral.org/ce/tools/payment-processing.aspx http://www.twitter.com/APAbenefits http://www.apa.org/membership/discounts.aspx http://www.apa.org/membership/discounts.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012
Letters
President’s column
Contents
From the CEO
APA files two briefs in support of same-sex couples
New registry seeks to understand addiction recovery through ‘crowdsourcing’
APA launches a database of tests and measures
Watch for new member benefit: “APA Access”
Apply now for APA’s Advanced Training Institutes
PsycTHERAPY, APA’s new database, brings therapy demos to life
In Brief
APA scientists help guide tobacco regulation
A-mazing research
‘A machine for jumping to conclusions’
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Righting the imbalance
The beginnings of mental illness
Science Directions
Improving disorder classification, worldwide
Protesting proposed changes to the DSM
Interventions for at-risk students
Harnessing the wisdom of the ages
Anti-bullying efforts ramp up
Hostile hallways
R U friends 4 real?
Support for teachers
Speaking of Education
Record keeping for practitioners
Going green
At the intersection of law and psychology
Division Spotlight
Grants help solve society’s problems
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012