San Diego State Study Finds Young People Are Increasingly Rejecting Politeness

Contact: Lorena Nava
San Diego State University
(619) 594-0206 office; (619) 309-5179 cell
lnava@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO – (Tuesday, April 11, 2006)– Today's young people are less concerned than previous generations about following social norms, such as practicing courtesy or making a good impression on others, says a new study from San Diego State University that examined data spanning six decades.

SDSU psychology professor Jean Twenge, who co-authored the study along with SDSU graduate student Charles Im, analyzed responses from 40,745 children and college students who completed surveys on the need for social approval between 1958 and 2001. The study found large decreases in the average participant's need for social approval in the most recent studies.

Twenge, who will present the study's findings April 18 at the annual conference of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers in San Diego, attributes the decline in politeness and concern with following cultural norms to the rise of a Zeitgeist emphasizing individuality and personal gratification that she terms "Generation Me.

"Generation Me has grown up believing it's more important to 'do your own thing' than conform to the group," Twenge said. "Unfortunately that also means people of this generation are more likely to be inconsiderate of other people."

The study, which also has been accepted for publication in the Journal for Research in Personality , examined how young people responded to socially desirable or socially undesirable items in decades' worth of surveys. Participants who tended to agree with socially desirable items ("I am always careful in my manner of dress," I am always courteous, even to people who are disagreeable, "I never forget to say 'please' or 'thank you,' etc.) are typically polite and concerned with following cultural norms, Twenge said.

Participants who tended to agree with socially undesirable items ("At times I have really insisted on having my own way," "There have been times I have felt like rebelling against people in authority even though I know they are right," etc.) tend to think following norms is not very important.

Twenge said today's young people scored low, showing much less need for social approval. For example, the average sixth-grade child scored lower than 72 percent of children from the 1960s. The average college student in 2001 scored lower than 62 percent of college students from 1958.

"When you're less concerned with what other people think of you, you're more likely to do things like blast your car stereo or talk loudly on your cell phone in a library or waiting room," Twenge said. "It also helps explain some other trends, such as more casual attitudes toward sex, dress and cursing."

Twenge has written a book exploring these findings and many others she's discovered from combing through cross-generational research on more than 1.3 million young people's self-esteem, assertiveness, anxiety and feelings of control. The book, "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before," is being published by Free Press Publishing and is set for release in April.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasingly international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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