How Typical Is the Behaviour Shown by the 15-Year-Old Boy

question 130

Essay

How typical is the behaviour shown by the 15-year-old boy who stole a small private plane and crashed it into a building in January 2002? Are most teenagers angry and unhappy? What are the three kinds of problems that are more common during adolescence than they were in childhood or will be in adulthood?

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Definitions:

Descriptive Norms

Norms that convey information about what is commonly done in specific situations, serving as guides for expected behavior.

Private Acceptance

Conforming by altering private beliefs as well as public behavior.

Normative Social Influence

The influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them, resulting in social harmony and cohesion.

Informational Influence

The effect on an individual's behavior or attitudes caused by the desire to be correct and to understand the proper way to act in a given situation.