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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice

Published on: January 24, 2025

Social working memory in adolescence.

Karina Grunewald¹, Jack L Andrews², Susanne Schweizer¹

¹School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Child Development

|January 29, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Adolescents show a working memory (WM) advantage for social information, particularly self-relevant details. This social cognition skill develops with age, impacting wellbeing.

Keywords:

adolescence social network working memory

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Last Updated: Jan 31, 2026

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A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents

Published on: July 10, 2017

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Social Cognition

Background:

Adolescence is a critical period for social network evolution and cognitive development.
Understanding how working memory (WM) processes social information during this phase is crucial.
Existing research has limited data on social WM during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate working memory (WM) performance for social versus nonsocial network information in adolescents and emerging adults.
To examine age-related differences in social and nonsocial WM across a broader age range (13-65 years).
To explore the influence of self-relevance on social WM.

Main Methods:

A working memory (WM) task was administered to 123 adolescents and emerging adults (13-24 years).
Data were combined with an existing sample (N=241, 18-65 years) for age-related analyses.
Statistical models were used to assess WM performance differences and age associations.

Main Results:

A consistent working memory (WM) advantage for social over nonsocial network information was observed across all age groups.
This social WM advantage was particularly pronounced for self-relevant social information.
Working memory (WM) performance showed a positive association with age.

Conclusions:

Individuals demonstrate a cognitive bias towards processing social information, especially self-related social networks, from adolescence through adulthood.
Developing effective social cognition skills during adolescence and emerging adulthood is vital for long-term wellbeing.
Findings highlight the importance of social network dynamics in cognitive development.