Social factors play an important role in responsiveness to novelty in human adolescents, as well as adolescents of other species. In humans, social conformity, peer deviance, and social support influence novelty-seeking and risk-taking in adolescence (Martin et al., 1995), with peer effects on risk taking and risky decision making being stronger among adolescents than adults (Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). Rewarding properties of novelty are influenced by social deprivation in adolescent-specific (and sex-specific) ways in rodent studies of reward as well (Douglas et al., 2003).
