Friends
You're at a party with your friends, and they start making fun of another student who isn't there. It feels uncomfortable, but you laugh along because you don't want to be left out.
Response: "I just laughed along even though I didn’t feel good about it."
Amygdala – The amygdala triggers emotional responses like fear or discomfort. Your brain is focused on social acceptance, which overrides your discomfort, driving you to laugh along to avoid being ostracized.
Your parents ask you to take out the trash, but you’ve been playing a game and don’t want to stop. You ignore them and hope they’ll ask someone else.
Response: "I just ignored them and kept playing, hoping they wouldn’t ask again."
Amygdala – The amygdala triggers the avoidance of responsibility due to the emotional discomfort of stopping something enjoyable. You avoid the task to keep experiencing pleasure.
You're sitting in class and the teacher asks a question you know the answer to, but you feel embarrassed to speak up because you're worried about being wrong or making a mistake. You keep quiet and hope someone else answers.
Response: "I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to look dumb if I got it wrong."
Amygdala – The amygdala, responsible for emotional reactions, triggers fear or anxiety in social situations. This fear makes you avoid taking the risk of answering, even though you know the material.
You post a picture of your lunch on your story. A few of your friends like it, but no one comments. You start feeling a little disappointed, but you don’t think much about it and scroll past.
Response: "I posted it and was okay with just a couple likes."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex helps you regulate your expectations and responses, so despite the disappointment, you’re able to move on and not let the situation affect you much.
This type of peer pressure happens when friends encourage or tell you to do something and you feel pressured to fit in.
Direct Peer Pressure
Your friend pressures you to skip class and hang out instead. You’re hesitant but ultimately agree because you don’t want to disappoint them.
Response: "I skipped class because my friend really wanted me to, even though I knew it was wrong."
Dopamine – The dopamine system is engaged when you're motivated by the desire for social approval and fun. You weigh the immediate reward of fun and acceptance over the long-term consequences of skipping class.
Your family has planned a big gathering, but you’re feeling anxious and don't want to go. However, you decide to attend because you know how much it means to your parents.
Response: "I’ll go, even though I don’t feel like it, because they will be happy."
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) – The ACC helps you consider the emotional conflict of your discomfort versus the need to support family, promoting empathy and social harmony.
You have a big test tomorrow and you didn’t study as much as you should have. You’re tempted to cheat by glancing at your friend's answers, but you decide against it and just try your best on your own. However, during the test, you’re really stressed and tempted to cheat again.
Response: "I won’t cheat, but I’m freaking out because I didn’t study enough."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex helps you decide not to cheat, considering the long-term consequences. However, stress is also triggered by the amygdala, creating a push-pull situation between impulse control and anxiety.
You see a post from someone in your grade talking negatively about another student. It bothers you, but you just scroll past without saying anything. You feel weird, but don’t engage.
Response: "I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get involved or start drama."
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) – The ACC helps monitor conflict and social situations. Here, it weighs the tension of doing what’s right (not engaging) versus fitting in or avoiding conflict, which helps you avoid reacting.
When you feel like everyone around you is doing something, and you don't want to feel left out, this is an example of what kind of peer pressure?
Indirect Peer Pressure
You find out your friend is spreading rumors about you. You’re really angry but decide not to confront them right away because you’re afraid of how they’ll react.
Response: "I didn’t say anything, even though I was really upset. I didn’t want to make things worse."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex helps you think about the long-term consequences. You decide that confronting them could escalate the situation, so you hold back, even though your emotions are running high.
Your mom asks you to clean your room, but you know she’s been stressed lately and you just don’t want to do it right now. You snap at her instead.
Response: "I yelled at my mom, even though I knew she was stressed."
Amygdala – The amygdala triggers emotional responses like frustration, which leads to an impulsive reaction. The immediate feeling of frustration overrides the consideration of your mom’s stress.
Your mom asks you to clean your room, but you know she’s been stressed lately and you just don’t want to do it right now. You snap at her instead.
Response: "I yelled at my mom, even though I knew she was stressed."
Amygdala – The amygdala triggers emotional responses like frustration, which leads to an impulsive reaction. The immediate feeling of frustration overrides the consideration of your mom’s stress.
You’re scrolling through your feed and see a post from a friend about a party happening this weekend. You’re not invited, and you feel left out. You immediately think about posting something to show everyone you’re busy and having fun, even though it’s not true.
Response: "I was tempted to lie on my story to make it seem like I was busy, too."
Amygdala – The amygdala plays a role in emotional reactions. In this case, it triggers feelings of exclusion and jealousy, pushing you to impulsively post something to protect your social standing or avoid feeling bad.
This term refers to how we value ourselves.
Self Worth
Your friend asks for your notes from class, but you spent hours working on them, and you’re worried they won’t give them back. You feel conflicted but decide to share them.
Response: "I decided to share my notes, even though I was worried they wouldn’t return them."
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) – The ACC processes the emotional tension between helping your friend and the anxiety about not getting your notes back. You decide to act out of empathy, despite the risk.
Your dad asks you to help with a project, but you’re in the middle of a video game and don’t want to stop. You feel guilty but agree to help because you know it’s important to him.
Response: "I decided to help him even though I wanted to keep playing."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex helps you override the impulse to keep playing by thinking about the long-term benefits of helping your dad and the importance of family.
You’re faced with a difficult math problem. It’s really frustrating, and you’re tempted to give up. You think about asking your friend for the answer, but then remember that cheating would mess up your chances of learning the material for the future. You stick with it, even though you’re still stuck.
Response: "I won’t ask for the answer. I’ll keep trying, even if it’s frustrating."
Brain Function: Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex is actively involved in deciding to resist the temptation of cheating, even though the situation is frustrating. You recognize the importance of effort and the long-term benefit of persistence.
A popular influencer you follow posts a new video, and everyone is talking about it. You’re excited to see it, but you also know that your homework isn’t done and you should be studying. You watch the video anyway.
Response: "I knew I should’ve studied, but I couldn’t resist watching the video because it seemed like everyone was talking about it."
Dopamine – The dopamine system is linked to rewards and pleasure, especially from social validation and excitement. Watching the video gives a quick reward, reinforcing the decision to prioritize the momentary pleasure over responsibilities.
This term refers to how we perceive ourselves, physically and metaphorically
Self Image
You’re hanging out with your friends when they start making fun of a classmate. You feel uncomfortable, so you tell them to be nice. They respond by saying, “Oh, you must like that person” and then pressure you to join in to prove you don't like them. You decide to make fun of the classmate too, even though you feel bad about it.
Response: "I joined in because I didn’t want to be left out or seem uncool."
Amygdala – The amygdala plays a role in emotional reactions like fear or excitement. In this case, it triggers a fear of social exclusion and the discomfort of not fitting in, which leads you to give in to peer pressure and join the group.
You’re at home and your younger sibling asks you to help them with their homework but you’re in the middle of your own homework. You feel torn because you want to help, but you’re also stressed about finishing your work. You decide to ignore them and keep working.
Response: "I didn’t help because I felt too overwhelmed with my own responsibilities."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex helps you plan and prioritize. In this case, it helps you decide to focus on your own tasks, even though the emotional pull to help your sibling exists.
It’s the end of the quarter, and you’ve been procrastinating on several assignments. Your grades are dropping, and your teacher warns that you might not pass if you don’t turn everything in. You feel overwhelmed and think about just giving up entirely. You decide to try anyway, but you're still feeling doubtful.
Response: "I’ll try to finish the assignments, but it feels like it’s too late to turn things around."
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) – The ACC helps process the conflict between emotional stress (feeling overwhelmed) and the rational need to fix the situation (trying to turn things around). The emotional tension creates difficulty, but ultimately you push through.
You get a notification that someone left a hurtful comment on one of your posts. You feel upset and immediately reply with a snarky response to defend yourself. Later, you regret engaging and realize that it made things worse instead of better.
Response: "I responded to the comment right away, but now I wish I hadn’t. It just made the situation worse."
Prefrontal Cortex – The prefrontal cortex is responsible for regulating impulses and thinking through consequences. In this scenario, you didn’t initially use the prefrontal cortex to pause and reflect before responding, but you later regret the decision, which shows that this brain function can influence your actions when you take the time to think.
This kind of confidence allows someone to be true to themselves, regardless of others' opinions, and is a key part of living authentically
Self-Confidence