Framework for Examining Adolescent Identity, Media Influence & Social Development

A Conceptual Framework for Examining Adolescent Identity,
Media Influence, and Social Development
Blake Te’Neil Lloyd
University of South Carolina
The adolescent identity, media, and sociocognitive schema
(AIMSS) framework offers
a theoretical understanding of adolescent consumption and
cognitive processing of
media entertainment. Review and integration of mass
communication theory, develop-
mental theory, and ecological theory serves as the conceptual
foundation. The frame-
work outlines linkages between media exposure and adolescent
development, in par-
ticular adolescent identity formation and social competence. A
key contribution of the
model is consideration of the positive and negative aspects of
adolescent cognition and
behavioral functioning. The present article offers several
recommendations for testing
the utility of the AIMSS framework.
Less than a century ago, G. Stanley Hall pub-
lished his seminal work, Adolescence (1904),
which popularized the idea of adolescence as a
time of storm and strife. Since then our under-
standing of adolescence has slowly progressed
beyond a narrow focus on reactive, transient be-
haviors of maturing children to the study of intri-
cate developmental processes. Along the way,

several researchers have provided major concep-
tual and practical insights into our understanding
of how cognitive, social, and biological develop-
ment contribute to the overall well-being of the
adolescent. Erikson (1968), Elkind (1990), Brooks-
Gunn (1988), and numerous others have proposed
exemplary theoretical models that examine the
salient biological, psychosocial, and cognitive
tasks faced by adolescents. The key to deepening
this understanding of adolescent development is to
synthesize existing exemplary frameworks so as
to create new, perhaps eclectic, conceptual mod-
els. These new models must incorporate relevant
historical frameworks while simultaneously pre-
senting new theoretical perspectives that address
the interaction of the multiple domains of human
development within a contemporary context. If
adolescent social functioning is to be addressed
adequately, a close examination of the current
zeitgeist in which these youths develop is
paramount.
In this millennium, adolescents develop in an
environment saturated with technology, multi-
culturalism, and mass media imagery. Current
theories of adolescent development address the
biological and psychological growth of these
youths, but a comprehensive model that incor-
porates the sociocultural specificity of the 21st
century has not been set forth. If there is to be
an in-depth and more accurate understanding of
adolescent behavior, researchers must account
for these cultural and technological changes
within a developmental context. This article
lays out such a conceptual framework. It en-
deavors to present adolescent social develop-

ment within the context of these multiple phe-
nomena by considering the impact on adoles-
cent development and its most salient task,
identity formation. This review examines the
implications that mass media devices (i.e., the
Internet, video gaming, and television viewing)
have for adolescent development, in particular
adolescent social competence. A discussion of
mass communication theory, adolescent identity
formation, and symbolic interactionist theory
nested within ecological theory provides the
conceptual foundation for the presentation of
the adolescent identity, media, and sociocogni-
tive schema (AIMSS) framework.
Mass Communication: Adolescent
Connection to the Outside World
From its conception, theories on mass com-
munication have encompassed several philo-
sophical frameworks. Many researchers actu-
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to Blake Te’Neil Lloyd, Department of Psychology,
University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
29208. E-mail: [email protected]
Review of General Psychology Copyright 2002 by the
Educational Publishing Foundation
2002, Vol. 6, No. 1, 73–91 1089-2680/02/$5.00 DOI:
10.1037//1089-2680.6.1.73
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ally conceptualize the origin of mass communi-
cation theory with that of sociology (De Fleur &
Ball-Rokeach, 1975; Merton, 1994; Schramm,
1971). The philosophies of Auguste Comte (i.e.,
society as an organism), Herbert Spencer (i.e.,
social Darwinism and the division of labor),
Ferdinand Tonnies (i.e., the complex ideas of
“community” and “social contract”), and Emile
Durkheim (i.e., bringing the ideas together,
along with division of labor as the principal
source of “social solidarity,” a sociopsychologi-
cal bonding of the members of the society) are
all components of sociological theorizing and
what came to be known as “mass society” (i.e.,
the relationship between individuals and the
social order). This sociological perspective was
being linked with a psychological perspective
that viewed human behavior totally in the do-
main of genetic endowment (De Fleur & Ball-
Rokeach, 1975). Together, they can be viewed
as the starting point for mass communication
theory.
Researchers have defined the first theory of
mass communication as the “instinctive Stimu-
lus-Response (S-R) theory” (Katz & Lazarsfeld,
1960). This theory posited that media simply
sent forth messages that were received and

obeyed by the masses; nothing resided in the
middle. Devised in the 1920s during the peak of
instinct psychology, and based on the assump-
tions of uniform human nature (i.e., the biolog-
ical inheritance of behavior) with the social
mass as social order, instinctive S-R theory
seemed quite viable and consistent with both
psychological and sociological theory of the
period. Over time, as psychological and socio-
logical theories changed, so did mass commu-
nication theories. Mass communication theo-
rists used these changes as a basis for under-
standing the impact of mass media devices on
society.
Some of the most popular and influential
theories have used sociological or psychologi-
cal constructs as major components in the de-
velopment of their theoretical and foundational
bases (Davis & Baron, 1981; Williams &
Pearce, 1978). For example, the individual dif-
ferences perspective on the mass communica-
tion process used the psychological constructs
of Watson’s behaviorism as a blueprint. Indi-
vidual differences theorists posit that individu-
als will react idiosyncratically to mass media
stimuli. These theorists believe that individuals
will be selective with regard to the type of
information processed. Audience members will
attend to messages that are consistent with pre-
existing attitudes and beliefs that serve to sup-
port personal values (De Fleur & Ball-Rokeach,
1975). Proponents of the social categories per-
spective suggest that there are broad collectivi-
ties or aggregates and that people in similar

social settings, or people of similar social class
or demographic characteristics, are more likely
to have similar responses to the same stimuli
(De Fleur & Ball-Rokeach, 1975).
Several theorists have attempted to explain
the broad impact of mass media and media
technologies on society and the individual (e.g.,
Davis & Baron, 1981; Klapper, 1960; McLu-
han, 1964; McQuail, 1994; Perry, 1996; Wil-
liams & Pearce, 1978). Davis and Baron (1981)
posited that because mass media is often the
primary source of information about situations
and places that the audience may have limited
knowledge of, and because the media itself im-
parts a certain level of validity by reporting this
information, mass communications have the
power to shape impressions and conceptions of
normal behavior in given situations. Social crit-
ics argue that violence on television affects chil-
dren by teaching them that aggressive behavior
is an acceptable if not normative means of prob-
lem solving (Donnerstein & Smith, 1997). So-
cial learning theorists argue that children imi-
tate the violent behaviors to which they are
exposed (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963). Sev-
eral scholars have documented that an individ-
ual’s television viewing patterns are predictive
of certain attitudinal and behavior patterns
(Bushman & Anderson, 2001; Drabman &
Thomas, 1975; Fowles & Horner, 1975). Other
researchers, however, have posited mass me-
dia’s impact as a function of how it impedes
societal or individual behavioral changes rather
than as a means of facilitating societal or be-
havioral change (Klapper, 1960).

Despite contrasting views as to the specific
results of the influx of mass media technologies,
there is overall agreement that these types of
mass communication do exert some influence
on the development of young children and ad-
olescents (Caplow & Merton, 1991; Singer &
Singer, 2001). I propose that as these technolo-
gies become increasingly more entertaining and
relevant to the targeted audience members, it is
much more probable that adolescent audiences
74 LLOYD
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will adapt and use this information as a tool for
understanding of self and others. Furthermore,
although the potential for imitation of aggres-
sive behaviors exists, it is more likely that ad-
olescent viewers use these viewing opportuni-
ties as times to rehearse (cognitively) interac-
tions with peers and selectively apply them as
appropriate situations arise. In other words, con-
sumption of mass media, particularly as a form
of entertainment, does not necessarily negate
the normal developmental cognitive functioning

of these adolescents. The mass media devices of
the 21st century simply provide new opportuni-
ties for learning appropriate and inappropriate
social–cultural behaviors and practicing these
new behaviors cognitively without risking peer
rejection.
It is clear that mass communication theorists
understand the complexity of mass media and
its impact on society and the individual. As
these researchers have concluded, both social
and psychological factors contribute to our un-
derstanding of mass media. However, others
have criticized media research for failing to
examine outcomes using a developmental per-
spective (Arnett, 1995; Singer & Singer, 2001).
To advance this field of study, mass media
constructs must become integrated into our core
understanding of adolescent psychological
functioning. Adolescent development does not
occur within a single designated theoretical
confine. As elements of the relevant environ-
ment change, conceptualization of adolescent
development must also be modified. This is
especially important because these mass media
devices have become one of the most prevalent
ways in which adolescents gather information
about their environment, including societal at-
titudes toward high-risk behaviors involving
sexuality, drug and alcohol consumption, and
smoking (Strasburger, 2001).
Despite decades of research examining the
influences of a major media format, television,
Singer and Singer (2001) lamented that main-
stream discussions of child development often

treat television viewing as a cursory influence
on development. Television has been the focus
of significant research, but too often theoretical
models suffer from a limited focus on either (a)
isolated child outcomes, most often aggressive
behavior, or (b) type of media device, such as
television. For example, a large body of litera-
ture documents associations among aggression,
criminality, and heavy television viewing
(Bushman & Huesmann, 2001; Donnerstein &
Smith, 1997), whereas the impact of television
on the development of empathy and prosocial
development has received less attention (Fesh-
bach & Feshbach, 1997). A major exception to
this critique applies to research targeting cogni-
tive or school readiness benefits of educational
programming on television; however, these
studies are generally confined to samples of
preschool and elementary-aged children (Bick-
ham, Wright, & Huston, 2001). The next major
frontier in media research is likely to involve
studies capturing the active processing that oc-
curs as children use various forms of media.
Empirical studies ranging from visual attention
and processing by preschool children (Bickham
et al., 2001) to adolescents’ preferred use of
music as a media format (Roberts & Christen-
son, 2001) demonstrate the potential for this
approach to provide more sophisticated answers
to a public highly concerned with the influence
of media, and not solely television, on youth
development.
The commonplace uses of mass media de-
vices in today’s society might make the issue of

accessibility to mass media information or ma-
terial less relevant, especially with respect to
television programming, because most families
in the United States have at least one television.
Access to the Internet is rapidly growing as
well. Recent surveys indicate that just over one
third of American households with children had
Internet services during 1999 (Turrow, 1999),
and children report using the Internet for social
activities such as interactive game playing and
online chats as well as for schoolwork purposes
(Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield, & Gross,
2001). However, it is precisely this increased
accessibility and familiarity with traditional and
interactive media devices among children that
necessitates more precision in our theoretical
frameworks concerning the role of mass media
for different developmental periods (Stokols,
1999). For example, Roberts and Christenson
(2001) have shown that media preferences ex-
hibit both consistency and change across early
to late adolescence, with music consistently pre-
ferred over television and increasing in prefer-
ence as students get older. Music listening av-
erages 3 to 4 hr a day, with female and African
American youths reporting greater consumption
(Roberts & Christenson, 2001).
75CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
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Adolescents also differ in terms of reasons
for listening to music and watching television, a
position often captured within the uses and grat-
ification approach (Arnett, 1995; Arnett, Lar-
son, & Offer, 1995; Rubin, 1993). This ap-
proach generally captures the bidirectional link
between individuals and media, whereby people
may be influenced differently by the same me-
dia message as a result of developmental factors
such as age, gender, or other individual charac-
teristics. As these approaches reveal, mass me-
dia’s influence on adolescents must be centrally
linked with our current understanding of ado-
lescent development. This linkage is critical be-
cause it provides further insight into the mech-
anisms or pathways through which external en-
vironmental stimuli may affect adolescent
social development. Therefore, a discussion of
the context and salient events of this develop-
mental stage is crucial in our attempts toward
linking mass media influences and adolescent
development.
Developmental Theory: Identity
Formation and the “Significant Other”
As mentioned, mass media culture is viewed
as a major mechanism by which ideals of mul-
ticulturalism, sexuality, and sometimes violence
are introduced to the adolescent. An analysis of
these and other media influences as they pertain

to adolescents is facilitated by drawing from
three distinct perspectives: ecological models,
identity formation theory, and symbolic inter-
actionist theory. These frameworks provide a
contextual and developmental linkage of the
individual with the surrounding mass media
context. By incorporating ideas from these com-
plementary perspectives, the researcher is able
to explore and offer social explanations for the
interaction of mass media devices, such as tele-
vision or music entertainment, and critical de-
velopmental tasks, such as adolescent identity
formation.
First, the adolescent must be viewed within
the context of the environment in which the
adolescent interacts. Bronfenbrenner’s ecologi-
cal perspective (1989) provides a mechanism to
explain this phenomenon. Second, because de-
velopment continues to occur across the life
span, the adolescent must be viewed within the
appropriate developmental stage. Specifically,
the stage-salient task of adolescent identity for-
mation, as described by Erikson (1968), is of
critical importance because it is the selection of
an identity that determines how one will even-
tually view the self and how one will interact
with others in society. Finally, symbolic inter-
actionist theory serves as a useful tool for de-
fining linkages between the individual and en-
vironmental processes.
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Perspective
Lewin’s classical equation, B � F(P, E), is

the starting point for Bronfenbrenner’s ecology
of human development. According to Lewin’s
equation, behavior (as well as development) is a
function of the interaction between the person
and the environment (Lewin, 1931). Lewin’s
theories, abstract and often in the language of
mathematics, focused on topology: the study of
relations among regions in space. Lewin’s to-
pology, his space, included the subjective, one’s
psychological space or, as Lewin articulated,
one’s phenomenological field. It is Bronfen-
brenner’s view that this ecology of human de-
velopment is nothing more than a continuation
of the Lewinian line of thought (Bronfenbren-
ner, 1977).
From Bronfenbrenner’s perspective, when-
ever Lewin spoke about human behavior, he did
so by always placing human behavior in con-
text: situational, interpersonal, sociological, cul-
tural, historical, and, of course, theoretical
(Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Ecological models as
expressed by authors such as Bronfenbrenner
(1989) and Garbarino (1982) recognize the mul-
tiple layers of contextual influences on child
development. Bronfenbrenner (1989) asserted
that developmental research must attempt to
include several contexts in research designs to
capture the complexity of any phenomenon.
Muuss (1988) described this challenge as un-
derstanding “how adolescents adjust to an ever-
changing, interrelated social and cultural envi-
ronment” (p. 301). Bronfenbrenner articulated
four major systems that represent the context for
child development: microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, and macrosystem. These levels of

context simultaneously affect the individual and
interact with one another.
The microsystem is described by Bronfen-
brenner (1977) as “an immediate setting con-
taining that person” where interactions occur
between the developing person and the environ-
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ment (p. 514). In essence, the microsystem is
the most proximal level of context to the indi-
vidual. Typical components of a microsystem
for an adolescent include interpersonal relation-
ships with family members, a peer network, and
other social groups such as neighbors. With
respect to understanding microsystem-level in-
fluence, it is important to recognize that the
adolescent is a member of multiple microsys-
tems. Therefore, the role of the adolescent in
each microsystem may be similar or different,
depending on the types of interactions promoted
within the system.
Bronfenbrenner referred to the mesosystem

as “a system of microsystems” through which
different settings are linked. An example of this
level of ecology might be the linkage between
home and school. Furthermore, these interwo-
ven relationships can be supportive of each mi-
crosystem or in opposition to each microsystem.
For instance, Muuss (1988, p. 304) described an
“impoverished mesosystem” in which parents
are not familiar with their adolescent child’s
peer group. Microsystems, by definition, cannot
be congruent in their impact on adolescent de-
velopment if they are not successfully linked
through a mesosystem. Bronfenbrenner also
noted that substantial changes in any one mi-
crosystem often necessitate an “ecological tran-
sition” within the mesosystem, such as when
children move from junior high school to high
school. (Muuss, 1988, p. 305).
The last two systems of Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological model, the exosystem and the mac-
rosystem, are more distal from the developing
person. Within the exosystem, the adolescent
does not directly participate in these interac-
tions; however, decisions made at this level of
context often greatly affect the adolescent. For
example, interactions that occur within a par-
ent’s place of employment often have a signif-
icant impact on the microsystem level of the
family. Finally, the macrosystem is described as
a broad societal blueprint that contains the core
structures and values that compose a particular
culture. Features of the macrosystem include
political, religious, and educational values;
health practices; appropriate standards for be-
havior and appearance; and roles according to

age, gender, and ethnicity (Muuss, 1988).
Recent writings of Bronfenbrenner have
called the original model into question by not-
ing the limitations of the approach in capturing
the dynamic nature of interactions between the
developing person and the surrounding environ-
ment. Bronfenbrenner (1999) has even pro-
posed a more elaborate bioecological model
that argues for the distinct importance of four
elements in environmental research designs:
person, process, context, and time. He spe-
cifically pressed researchers to more closely
examine the “form, power, content, and direc-
tion of the proximal process” as related to a
range of developmental outcomes within a
nested set of environmental systems (p. 5). The
evolution of ideas toward a focus on the pro-
cesses that can account for human development
across settings is a major step toward offering
more precision regarding how macrosystem at-
titudes might influence individuals. The bioeco-
logical model may also lead to generating more
research that examines how a developmental
process may vary as a function of contextual
variables or characteristics of individuals; how-
ever, to date such questions remain understud-
ied within developmental research (Bronfen-
brenner, 1999).
With respect to mass media influence and the
environment, Stokols (1999) has argued that
increased access to the Internet is changing pre-
vious assumptions regarding contextual systems
and individuals. Previously, a person’s context

was in large part determined by geographic or
economic boundaries at each stage of the life
course. However, Stokols (1999) observed that
because of endless opportunities for participa-
tion in virtual places through chat rooms or
other Internet experiences, “the boundaries
among one’s micro-, meso-, and exosystems
have become increasingly blurred” (p. 343).
Because of the dramatic impact of these tech-
nologies, mass media researchers will need to
incorporate these issues of context into their
own perspectives when designing conceptual
models and research hypotheses. Bronfenbren-
ner’s framework may provide an important
starting point with respect to identifying envi-
ronmental variables worthy of consideration,
but such ecological models are often less able to
offer testable predictions regarding mechanisms
of contextual influence (Dannefer, 1992). Mass
media theorists will probably need to extend
beyond the general bioecological framework to
produce specific applications involving various
media devices, including Internet, music, tele-
vision, and music video consumption. In sum-
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mary, whereas significant research has included
the proximal ecological levels of the microsys-
tem and mesosystem, such as comparisons be-
tween home and school attitudes or the interac-
tion between parents and teachers, the processes
by which broad cultural messages of the mac-
rosystem filter through the ecology to finally
affect the adolescent are less well understood.
Identity and Adolescence
The nature of the self and of personal identity
has been studied by philosophers for centuries.
Thinkers from Descartes to West have provided
much guidance and insight into the definition of
identity (Baumeister, 1986). Even within the
field of psychology, researchers have used a
variety of terms to examine an individual’s
identity. Over time, several key components of
the definition and understanding of identity
have emerged. The ability to be cognate of self;
the continuity of experience; ethnic, ethical, and
economic makeup; and character and the ability
to make meaning of context and experience are
examples of components that researchers posit
as constituting identity (Kroger, 1990). Most
researchers agree that adolescence is the devel-
opmental period in which individuals have the
requisite cognitive abilities to effectively com-
plete the process of identity formation (Blos,
1968; Erikson, 1968; Spencer, 1999; Waterman,
1984).
Although the language, and oftentimes the

process, by which the adolescent reaches an
understanding of self is different in the theoret-
ical conceptions of one researcher to the next,
the fundamental construct—appreciation and
acceptance of self—is the same. For example,
Blos (1962, 1968) used the term character to
refer to what is denoted by many other research-
ers as identity. Blos asserted that to successfully
negotiate adolescence, the preadolescent must
master four “challenges”: (a) the second indi-
viduation process, (b) reworking and mastering
of childhood trauma, (c) ego continuity, and (d)
sexual identity. Blos contended that, on com-
pletion of these challenges, the adolescent will
possess the ability to manage the anxieties that
come with human existence.
Sullivan (1953), closely following the work
of Cooley (1902) and Mead (1934), looked to
interpersonal relationships to help explain the
self. According to Sullivan (1953), “all that is
the self-system arises in interpersonal relations”
(p. 200). The self system operates to minimize
the level of anxiety when dealing with others.
Sullivan also denoted three modes of ex-
perience (i.e., levels of cognitive function-
ing): prototaxic, parataxic, and syntaxic. These
modes of experience are expressions of the in-
ner thoughts of the individual. More complex
inner thoughts are believed to be more differ-
entiated thoughts found in developmentally pro-
gressed individuals (Sullivan, 1953). Like many
other theorists, Sullivan has put forth a stage
model of development. Unlike other theorists,
however, Sullivan contends that the individual’s

movement from one stage to the next is con-
tingent on her or his ability to contend with
feelings of anxiety that arise out of changing
interpersonal relationships. The key feature for
Sullivan becomes, in essence, the individual’s
ability to acquire the appropriate interpersonal
skills for each particular stage of development.
Thus, a person who can successfully negotiate
and cope with normal levels of societal anxiety
would be considered as having achieved an
appropriate level of identity formation in Sulli-
van’s model.
Loevinger (1977) discussed identity within
the framework of the ego. She referred to the
ego as “the master trait of personality” that
forms the basis of identity. Furthermore, Loe-
vinger defined ego development as a continuum
that is both a developmental sequence and a
dimension of individual differences at every age
(Loevinger, 1977). Although, according to Loe-
vinger, the defining characteristics of the stages
are not age specific, a developmental perspec-
tive informs us that there is a linkage between
age and the stage continuum. In Loevinger’s
typology, most individuals have progressed
through the conformist stage by the end of ad-
olescence. These individuals begin to see ex-
ceptions to rules instead of only viewing people
within the norm of the group (Loevinger, 1990).
Her stages of ego development include the fol-
lowing: the impulsive, self-protective conform-
ist stage (most frequently found in individuals
during adolescence); the conscientious–con-
formist stage (viewed by Loevinger as a transi-
tional stage); the conscientious stage; the indi-

vidualistic stage (transitional); the autonomous
stage; and the integrated stage. A person at the
highest stage in this particular framework has an
integrated understanding of his or her own per-
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sonal identity and its relation to the views of
others.
Elkind (1961) believed that the major devel-
opmental task of early adolescence concerns the
adolescent’s ability to access thought. He con-
tended that consideration of adolescent egocen-
trism might be helpful in attempts to reconcile
cognitive structure and the dynamics of person-
ality (i.e., the formation of identity). According
to Elkind, it is during adolescence, with the
onset of formal operational thought, that ado-
lescents begin to conceptualize their thoughts
and the thoughts of others. However, adolescent
egocentrism leaves early adolescents preoccu-
pied with their own appearance and behavior.
He concluded:

One consequence of adolescent egocentrism is that, in
actual or impending social situations, the young person
anticipates the reactions of other people to himself.
These anticipations, however, are based on the premise
that others are as admiring or as critical of him as he is
of himself . . . in a sense, then, the adolescent is con-
tinually constructing, or reacting to, an imaginary au-
dience. (Elkind, 1990, p. 83)
In Elkind’s framework, the adolescent’s ego-
centrism is overcome by a twofold transforma-
tion. First, with respect to the cognitive plane, a
gradual differentiation occurs between the ado-
lescent’s preoccupations and the thoughts of
others. Second, on the plane of affectivity, the
adolescent gradually integrates the feelings of
others with his or her own emotions (Elkind,
1990). Thus, differentiation and appropriate af-
fect appear to be key components regarding the
formation of a dynamic personality (i.e., appro-
priate identity formation).
Erikson’s Identity Formation
A significant body of work has attempted to
describe the process through which identity for-
mation occurs during adolescence (Waterman
& Archer, 1990). The origins of these efforts
can be traced to the seminal work on identity
theorizing offered by Erik Erikson in the 1960s.
Erikson (1968) is generally associated with the
concept of identity formation as a result of
Stage 5 of his eight-stage epigenetic model of
life span development. According to Erikson,
Stage 5, identity versus identity confusion, is
the primary challenge of the adolescence period

of development. However, this model recog-
nizes that resolution of earlier stage-salient
tasks, such as trust, autonomy, and initiative,
plays a key role in contributing to a strong,
healthy identity. The concept of identity, as
intended by Erikson, refers to adolescents’ ac-
tive search for their role, contemplation of per-
sonal strengths and weaknesses, and simulta-
neous synthesis of past, present, and future life
experiences (Waterman, 1988). The success or
failure of negotiating future life stages of devel-
oping intimate relationships, fulfilling work
goals, and contributing to society in general is
dependent on a strong concept of identity
emerging during adolescence. In addressing the
task of identity formation, Erikson (1968)
wrote:
The young person, in order to experience wholeness,
must feel a progressive continuity between that which
he has come to be during the long years of childhood
and that which he promises to become in the antici-
pated future; between that which he conceives himself
to be and that which he perceives others to see in him
and to expect of him. Individually speaking, identity
includes, but is more than, the sum of all the successive
identifications of those earlier years when the child
wanted to be, and often was forced to become, like the
people he depended on. (p. 87)
Because of the importance of constructing an
identity, adolescents are constantly seeking out
information about themselves from others
within specific contexts. Erikson viewed peer
interaction as an acceptable and necessary in-

volvement as the adolescent moves from ac-
cepting her or his parents’ views to exploring
peers’ views to eventually determining her or
his own view of the self. The adolescent is
struggling to answer key questions during the
identity crisis about the present and future self.
The dangers of proceeding through adolescence
without gaining answers to these questions were
also specified by Erikson. “Many a late adoles-
cent, if faced with continuing [identity] diffu-
sion, would rather be nobody or somebody bad,
or indeed, dead . . . than be not-quite some-
body” (Erikson, 1959, as cited in Muuss, 1988,
p. 63).
In attempting to operationalize Erikson’s the-
oretical description of identity formation, Mar-
cia (1966, 1993) posited that during Erikson’s
identity formation stage (Stage 5), the adoles-
cent can exhibit four distinct identity “statuses”:
identity diffused or identity confused, fore-
closed, moratorium, and identity achieved.
Identity achievement and identity diffusion rep-
resent the “polar alternatives of status inherent
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in Erikson’s theory” (Marcia, 1966, p. 551).
According to Marcia, adolescents are assigned
an identity status on the basis of two criteria: (a)
commitments to core beliefs or life choices and
(b) crisis period or “exploration of alternatives”
(Côté & Levine, 1988a). An adolescent who is
identity diffused or identity confused has not
experienced an identity crisis. This adolescent
has not made any commitment to a vocation or
set of beliefs. The foreclosed adolescent has not
experienced an identity crisis but, unlike the
identity-diffused or identity-confused adoles-
cent, has made commitments. The problem,
however, is that these commitments are not the
result of personal exploration but are probably
the result of parental imposition. The adolescent
has accepted the role without raising fundamen-
tal questions about how the role will affect him
or her.
In moratorium, the adolescent is in an acute
state of crisis, actively searching and struggling
to find a set of beliefs to call his or her own. He
or she has not committed to a set of beliefs but
may have developed very temporary kinds of
commitments. Adolescents may fluctuate be-
tween periods of distress and boredom until
reaching Marcia’s last stage, identity achieve-
ment. According to Marcia, identity-achieved
adolescents will have experienced the tradi-
tional Eriksonian struggle of developing their
own set of beliefs or values and committed to a
set of core identity features.

Recent research has highlighted the signifi-
cant physical and psychological stress associ-
ated with the identity exploration crisis. In a
study involving high school students 14–17
years of age, researchers found associations be-
tween identity exploration and lowered ego
strength, agitation, acting out, and depressive
symptoms (Kidwell, Dunham, Bacho, Pas-
torino, & Portes, 1995). However, according to
Côté and Levine (1988a), Marcia has failed to
adequately address the “compatibility” of the
identity status paradigm with Erikson’s original
ego identity theoretical framework. They ob-
served that Marcia’s identity status paradigm
does not appear to follow a developmental con-
tinuum, which is a necessary criterion for ac-
ceptance under Erikson’s epigenetic frame-
work. Rather, the adolescent must continually
revert to a state of moratorium if exploration
and progress in identity development are to
occur. Côté and Levine (1988a) “challenge[d]
the assumption that [Marcia’s] identity status
paradigm is an appropriate conceptualization
and operationalization of Erikson’s theory of
ego identity formation” (p. 147). These re-
searchers asserted that Erikson did not support
the notion that achievement of an identity is an
end product that can be clearly identified.
Rather, Erikson described the evolving nature
of identity, focusing on the process through
which individuals become more differentiated
in their view of self. Despite this criticism, Côté
and Levine (1988a) agreed that Marcia’s iden-
tity status paradigm “appears to address at least
one essential concern expressed in Erikson’s

work, namely, the formation of commitments
during the process of ego identity formation” (p.
149).
Comparisons of definitions of identity reveal
similarities as well as differences. For example,
Marcia (1980) described identity as
an internal, self-constructed, dynamic organization of
drives, abilities, beliefs and individual history. The
better developed this structure is, the more aware in-
dividuals appear to be of their own uniqueness and
similarity to others and their own strengths and weak-
nesses in making their way in the world. The less
developed this structure is, the more confused individ-
uals seem about their own distinctiveness from others
and the more they have to rely on external sources to
evaluate themselves. (p. 159)
However, Waterman (1984) equated identity
with
having a clearly delineated self-definition comprised of
those goals, values, and beliefs to which the person is
unequivocally committed. These commitments evolve
over time and are made because the chosen goals,
values, and beliefs are judged worthy of giving a
direction, purpose, and meaning to life. (p. 331)
Comparing Waterman’s (1984) perspective
with the definition of identity presented 4 years
earlier by Marcia (1980) and the classic defini-
tion presented by Erikson in 1968, Waterman
(1988) asserted that all three definitions are
“attempts to describe the same referent but that
each theorist has sought to focus on different

descriptive elements and on different functions
the concept serves in human endeavors” (p.
187). Waterman’s interpretation of this “differ-
ent focus” is clearly evident in the numerous
examples just presented.
Marcia and Waterman have operationalized
and researched the commitment aspect of iden-
tity formation (see Waterman and Archer, 1990,
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for a review), but it is important to consider the
other aspects of identity as set forth by Erikson.
If Côté and Levine (1988b) are correct and
identity statuses are more similar to “states,”
then a logical next step for identity researchers
is to examine how adolescents move or evolve
in their views of self. Perhaps this line of in-
quiry can more closely approximate Erikson’s
notion that adolescents continue to refine their
view of self throughout this and subsequent
developmental periods as they formulate an
identity. Erikson reminded us that the idea of
identity achievement is ephemeral, because in-

dividuals are continuously contemplating and
incorporating new life experiences into their
internalized view of self. Research that can cap-
ture the cognitive and behavioral processes that
facilitate the evolving nature of the self will be
useful in developing a richer template for un-
derstanding identity that moves beyond “sta-
tuses” or “states.”
The work of Baumeister (1986) makes a
start at answering these questions by offering
a model of identity consisting of two defin-
ing criteria: continuity and differentiation.
Baumeister (1986) postulated that “whatever
differentiates one from others and makes one
the same across time creates identity” (p. 26).
This definition points to the cognitive processes
that adolescents use to evaluate their position in
relation to others in their social environment.
Many of the theorists mentioned earlier classify
their work in terms other than “identity” and
“identity formation”; however, it is unmistak-
ably clear that these terms reflect a similar
search for an understanding of self. Thus, mul-
tiple theoretical perspectives are useful in high-
lighting key features explicating adolescents’
ability to identify and differentiate self from
others. It should be noted that although Erik-
son’s theoretical framework is relied on heavily
to explain the process of identity formation,
other researchers have contributed substantial
information to our understanding of this
phenomenon.
Ethnic Identity

Perspectives on identity formation concur re-
garding the necessity for integration of various
identities into one cohesive self (Harter, 1990).
For minority adolescents, identity formation
also requires contemplation of ethnic or racial
group membership, a process that influences the
development of ethnic or racial identity (Spen-
cer & Dornbusch, 1990). Ethnic identity is con-
ceptualized as a sense of connectedness to an
ethnic group in addition to cognitive, emotional,
and behavioral correlates of belonging to a par-
ticular ethnic group (Rotheram & Phinney,
1987; Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990).
Whereas ethnic identity is especially important
for minority youths, Spencer (1999) noted that
it may also be relevant for majority youths.
Spencer and Markstrom-Adams (1990) syn-
thesized literature related to identity processes
for American ethnic minority children and ad-
olescents. Early literature on this topic was
characterized by a lack of precision in differen-
tiating components of ethnic identity, including
people’s racial identification, society’s racial at-
titudes toward them, and ethnic–racial pride
(Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990). How-
ever, the work of several scholars has contrib-
uted to a sophisticated understanding of the role
of ethnic identity during adolescence (Cross,
1978; Parham & Helms, 1985).
A number of theorists have proposed a stage
model for exploring ethnic identity, similarly
patterned with Marcia’s perspective on ego
identity development. For example, Cross

(1978, 1991) traced the emergence of Black
identity from the preencounter stage, or an un-
examined ethnic identity, through a process of
engaging in an active search for and, ultimately,
commitment to an ethnic identity. Work by
Phinney and Aliporia (1987) highlighted the
saliency of ethnic identity considerations for
minority adolescents, as related to other, more
traditionally studied components of the self
such as religion, occupation, and political ori-
entation. Phinney’s work also suggests that this
exploration is actively occurring among adoles-
cents as young as 11 years of age. In a study
conducted in an integrated junior high school
with an even distribution of Black and White
students, interviews documented sophisticated
consideration of views regarding ethnicity, par-
ticularly among Black girls (Phinney & Tarver,
1988). This research showed that identity state-
ments for White adolescents frequently cen-
tered around comparisons and acknowledg-
ments of privilege in relation to minority
groups, whereas Black students with a commit-
ment to their racial identity provided statements
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regarding pride with respect to Black culture
(Phinney & Tarver, 1988).
Ecological perspectives regarding ethnic
identity have also highlighted the role signifi-
cant others can play in the formation of ethnic
identity. Literature addressing racial socializa-
tion has examined the transmission of values,
beliefs, and other messages about a child’s ra-
cial identity within a society (Hale, 1991; Spen-
cer, 1990; Stevenson, 1994). Several scholars
have highlighted the specific plight of African
American youths who must simultaneously ex-
ist in three often disjointed realities—main-
stream society, the African-rooted Black cul-
tural experience, and an oppressed minority
group—a phenomenon captured by Boykin
(1986) as “a triple quandary” (p. 59). Similarly,
Ogbu (1986) noted negative consequences for
African American youths associated with a
castelike minority status that may differ, for
example, from identity processes of voluntary
or immigrant minorities such as Asian Ameri-
can adolescents.
In summary, the racial socialization literature
emphasizes the diverse approaches taken by
minority families to convey important mes-
sages, both positive and negative, to their chil-
dren. In response to the saliency of these mes-
sages, Stevenson (1994, 1995) developed an
instrument designed to assess cultural strengths
that could be critical for racial socialization.
Stevenson (1994) denoted a process whereby

professionals and other socialization agents out-
side the Black family could recognize pro-
Black racial attitudes as adaptive, particularly as
expressed through “pro-Black attitudes, lan-
guage, and behaviors (e.g., styles of dress)” (p.
196). This perspective is useful within the con-
text of a discussion contemplating cognitive
interpretations of music video images, which, at
least for certain music genres (i.e., hip-hop and
rap), are likely to contain representations related
to ethnic identity formation for African Ameri-
can adolescents.
Cooley and Mead’s Symbolic
Interactionist Theory
Blumer (1969, p. 2) suggested that the con-
ceptual foundation of symbolic interactionism
“rests on three simple premises”:
(1) human beings act toward things on the basis of the
meanings that the things have for them; (2) the mean-
ing of such things is derived from, or arises out of the
social interaction that one has with one’s fellows; and
(3) these meanings are handled in, and modified
through, an interpretative process used by the person in
dealing with the things he encounters.
Spencer (1999) elaborated on this process by
noting that adolescents’ “inferences about other
people’s thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and at-
titudes” (p. 44) are directly linked to eventual
emotional and behavioral responses. Symbolic
interactionists have raised awareness regarding
the salience of communication, and more pre-

cisely language, as both “an interpersonal and
intrapersonal medium by which culture, socially
structured situations, interpersonal relation-
ships, and social identities are created and main-
tained in individual minds (Heise & Weir, 1999,
p. 139). This theory therefore provides a
key insight into how adolescents who exist in
very similar environments can develop entirely
different attitudes, feelings, and emergent
identities.
The initial proponents of symbolic interac-
tionist theory, Charles H. Cooley and George
Herbert Mead, believed that individuals develop
their self-concept through interactions with sig-
nificant others (Cooley, 1902). Their work ex-
amined the influence on a developing individual
of repeated images from people closely and
frequently involved with that individual. Sym-
bolic interactionist theory offers an explanation
for the linkage between individuals in a society
and provides a mechanism for new members to
become incorporated into a common culture.
Mead (1934) highlighted the importance of
communication in this process, especially the
role of language and symbols used to convey
“culturally defined meanings” (Newton &
Buck, 1985). Individuals internalize the sym-
bols and images they observe in their immediate
surroundings; however, as media influences
from multiple sources become more wide-
spread, messages may or may not be congruent
with an individual’s family or cultural values.
The impact of the media may be magnified
during adolescence, especially if media images

are being discussed and socially reinforced
within an adolescent’s peer group. The in-
creased use of mass media among adolescents
can no longer be dismissed by onlookers; how-
ever, the specific ways in which adolescents are
affected by images are unclear. Bloom (1990)
noted that “the influence [of modern mass me-
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dia] is cognitive as well as affective: its mean-
ings are social as well as personal” (p. 17). For
example, it is probable that features depicted
within music video entertainment, such as fash-
ion, language, decision making, risk-taking be-
haviors, and character attitudes and relation-
ships, can exert influences within the arena of
adolescent peer relationships.
Thus, symbolic interactionist theory can be
used to account for the cognitive processes of
adolescent meaning making. Symbolic interac-
tionist theory also provides the connection be-
tween intrapersonal processes, such as identity
formation, and interpersonal processes, such as

forming friendships or participating in peer
group activities. The theory articulates that me-
dia images are to be conceptualized as a “sig-
nificant other” through which adolescents “de-
velop, maintain, and revise their self-concepts
including perceptions of gender and role iden-
tification” (Newton & Buck, 1985, p. 294). The
relationship between mass communication and
individual behavior is likely to be affected by a
number of variables at both the micro and
macro levels of society (Bronfenbrenner, 1989).
However, as media technology continues to ad-
vance and become integrated in more ways into
the daily lives of adolescents, symbolic interac-
tionist theory predicts that these repeated im-
ages are likely to have an impact on the views of
adolescents.
Linkages to Outcomes:
Adolescent Social Competence
To provide a more comprehensive and accu-
rate view of media influence on adolescence,
the range of salient outcomes must expand be-
yond the confined focus on violent behavior
(see Bushman & Anderson, 2001, for a review).
Existing empirical literature on youth social
competence has established this construct as
an important variable in the overall adjustment
of adolescents (Coie, Christopoulos, Terry,
Dodge, & Lochman, 1988; Parker & Asher,
1987). During this stage of development, ado-
lescents with strong and positive peer group
affiliations are generally considered to be so-
cially competent individuals who are successful
in navigating the social demands of their imme-

diate environment (Ford, 1982; White, 1959).
Within the context of media influence, it is
postulated that the features of mass media en-
tertainment (e.g., language, clothing, and cul-
tural settings in television programming) take
on a primary role in the transmission of implicit
social knowledge within the adolescent peer
culture.
The historical observance of social compe-
tence dates back to the era of Socrates, who first
observed that “those possessing it manage well
the circumstances which they encounter daily.”
Socrates further noted that socially competent
individuals “possess a judgment which is accu-
rate in meeting occasions as they arise and
rarely miss the expedient course of action.”
Others have addressed the development of spe-
cific skills involved in social competence, such
as “possession of the capability to generate
skilled behavior” (Trower, 1982, p. 419) or “an
effective response of the individual to specific
life situations” (Goldfried & D’Zurilla, 1969, p.
158). Finally, some researchers have noted the
interactional dimension of social competence
and defined this construct as the “degree to
which a person is successful in interactions or
transactions taking place in the social sphere”
(Conger & Conger, 1982, p. 314) or “an organ-
ism’s capacity to interact effectively with its
environment” (White, 1959, p. 297).
In general, adolescents are required to mobi-
lize both personal and environmental resources
to achieve good interpersonal outcomes within

a given context (Peterson & Leigh, 1990; Wa-
ters & Sroufe, 1983). For example, personal
resources that are suggestive of social compe-
tence for an adolescent would be emotional
control, thought-out decisions, a good self-con-
cept, high self-esteem, motivation toward iden-
tity achievement, and acceptance of the physical
self (Downs, 1990). Within the interpersonal
arena, a socially competent adolescent demon-
strates many of the following capabilities: con-
versational abilities, listening and responsive-
ness to others, good peer status, growing inter-
est in intimacy and dating, acceptance of
increasing responsibility, and overall adaptation
to a variety of social situations (Downs, 1990).
A developmental approach to social compe-
tence within adolescence requires attention to
the emerging capabilities and changes that in-
fluence the expression of socially competent
behavior (Ford, 1982). Bloom (1990) reviewed
three major domains of functioning—changes
in physical appearance during adolescence, the
developing cognitive structures of adolescents,
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and expanding affective structures—that are
key in understanding social competence. In-
creases in cognitive processing, especially for-
mal reasoning abilities, along with exploration
of feelings of others and morality, contribute to
an adolescent’s decisions about social interac-
tions. Cognitive researchers suggest that adoles-
cents use internal schemas to perceive or inter-
pret the social environment and determine ap-
propriate social interactions (Bloom, 1990;
Spencer, 1999). These perceptions also evolve
within the interpersonal context of family rela-
tionships, expanding peer networks, and influ-
ential community–school relationships. As de-
scribed by Bloom (1990), any one of these
factors can inhibit or promote socially compe-
tent behavior during adolescence; therefore, re-
searchers must study the processes by which
adolescents integrate these influences within
their social relationships.
Clearly, social competence encompasses both
adolescent cognition and social behavior. This
underlying sense of competence may be best
defined as “the degree that an adolescent devel-
ops the relevant attitudinal and behavioral rep-
ertoire that a given social order sees as good and
desirable” (Thomas & Carver, 1990, p. 195).
Therefore, research has targeted the interactions
between specific cognitive capacities, or socio-
cognitive schemas, that aid adolescents in their
interpersonal behavioral interactions. Identified
cognitive resources include not only problem-
solving abilities but also positive self-esteem,

perspective taking, and an internal locus of con-
trol (Peterson & Leigh, 1990). However, these
overly simplistic developmental lists are mis-
leading in regard to their applicability when
investigations are conducted with adolescents in
real-life contextual situations.
Critiques of the literature on social compe-
tence among adolescents identify the lack of
consideration of contextual influences as con-
tributory or inhibitory influences on the devel-
opment of cognitive or social abilities (Bloom,
1990). For example, how does the developing
adolescent sort through messages about socially
desirable attitudes and behaviors from main-
stream culture? This processing is likely to de-
pend on multiple factors in addition to personal
cognitive resources, including an adolescent’s
gender, ethnicity, level of acculturation, and
identity status. For example, research with mi-
nority adolescents has demonstrated that a re-
active cognitive orientation to majority group
attitudes and behaviors is associated with less
adaptive functioning, as opposed to a proactive
attitude or schema regarding one’s own minor-
ity group (Swanson, Spencer, & Petersen,
1998). Therefore, those assessing social compe-
tence among adolescents from diverse back-
grounds must embrace contextual consider-
ations in their theories and research.
AIMSS: An Integrated Framework for
Examining Identity, Media, and
Sociocognitive Schemas

Simultaneous consideration of the literatures
reviewed in this article is complex yet neces-
sary. Mass communication theory provides a
context for understanding the importance of so-
cial–cultural stimuli and offers an important
rationale for the need for additional research
regarding the impact of media on the develop-
ing adolescent. Mass communication theory
also provides strong evidence that information
transmitted through mass media sources can
and does influence individuals. Whereas most
media research has focused on external images,
developmental theories provide a means for fur-
ther examining the domain-specific internal
processes of individual adolescents (i.e., cogni-
tive and socioemotional).
Consideration of development in context,
specifically the process of identity formation
during adolescence as defined by Erikson, is
useful for examining the linkages from the ex-
ternal or macrosystem impact of mass commu-
nication to internal developmental processes
such as identity formation. Identity formation,
as the key developmental undertaking of ado-
lescence, can in turn be viewed in the context of
the “significant other” as defined by Cooley,
Mead, and other symbolic interaction theorists.
These “significant others,” according to sym-
bolic interactionist theorists, will not only in-
clude peers, as posited by Erikson, but may also
include music videos (vis-à-vis television) and
interactive gaming and chat rooms (vis-à-vis the
Internet). It is posited here that the cognitive
processes that take place within individual ad-

olescents while they are integrating external
mass communication images (music videos and
multiculturalism) with the salient developmen-
tal task (identity formation) eventually provide
them with an additional resource for enhancing
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their social competence with peers. Finally, the
literature on adolescent social competence dem-
onstrates that more research is necessary to pre-
cisely determine relations between cognitive
processes involved in the interpretation of
media images and important interpersonal
outcomes.
A new conceptual framework, AIMSS, is
presented in Figure 1. The AIMSS is unique in
its ability to analyze the impact of media on
adolescent development using an integrated the-
oretical lens. Specifically, the AIMSS unifies
the various theoretical perspectives reviewed in
this article into a comprehensive framework that
recognizes the importance of (a) ecology, (b)
salient developmental tasks, (c) process, and (d)

relevant outcomes. Each component of the
model is viewed as essential for understanding
and measuring the true impact of mass media
during this developmental period. Considering
the impact of one or two of these components
without including the others may obfuscate the
analysis and produce inaccurate conclusions re-
garding a complex phenomenon.
The AIMSS depicts the multileveled interac-
tions among mass media devices, adolescent
sociocognitive processing, and adolescent iden-
tity formation. Relevant mass media devices for
adolescents include television and radio pro-
gramming, video games and Internet technolo-
gies, and other evolving interactive formats.
The AIMSS framework is capable of analyzing
the mechanisms through which these media de-
vices contribute to the socialization of adoles-
cents. By taking a comprehensive view of this
process, the AIMSS can offer specific predic-
tions regarding adolescent cognitive and social
decision making as a result of media exposure
that serve to guide research in this important
area.
So, how would we apply the AIMSS to an
adolescent who is watching a music video? The
AIMSS posits that the experience of watching a
music video is likely to affect the adolescent’s
social competence. How does this come about?
Initially, we must remember that the salient
developmental task is identity formation. Nav-
igation of this task occurs within the larger
ecological context that defines the adolescent’s

experience. Key contextual examples to analyze
might include a family microsystem lacking in
adult supervision or monetary resources or a
highly functional home environment with au-
thoritative parenting. In addition to proximal
variables such as family composition, macro
features of the ecology, such as cultural atti-
tudes or political control of media content, are
equally relevant within the AIMSS framework.
Concomitantly, the AIMSS posits that this
adolescent engages in a cognitive process of
identity exploration as a consequence of expo-
sure to the music video. In other words, the
adolescent viewer uses the video as a vehicle for
cognitive exploration that involves the “trying
on” of possible selves. The adolescent will at-
tribute meaning to the image on the basis of
perceptions of self and perceptions of how sig-
nificant others would interpret the video. Rele-
vant features of the self that come into play
include identity status, racial identity, and pos-
sible selves defined at the broader or more pe-
ripheral levels of the ecological system. An
adolescent’s perceptions of significant others
include his or her standing with respect to peer
group status, in-group or out-group tensions in a
school context, family cohesion, and member-
ship in a socially devalued group. For some
adolescents, the peer group is the most salient
source of feedback; for others, family influences
Figure 1. Multileveled interactions among mass media,
adolescent identity formation, and adolescent social com-
petence. The identity formation process is mediated by
adolescent cognitive processing of music videos using a

proactive or reactive sociocognitive schema.
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are more central. Adolescents pose a series of
“what if” scenarios that become integrated into
their own sociocognitive schemas. Eventually,
these schemas are thought to influence adoles-
cents’ behavior, specifically their social interac-
tions. These cognitive processes also occur re-
peatedly throughout this developmental period
and contribute to adolescents’ refinement of
their approaches to social interactions. These
refinements are ultimately expected to lead to
higher levels of socially competent attitudes and
behaviors.
To illustrate sociocognitive schemas more
precisely, consider an adolescent of high school
age who watches a music video; this adolescent,
according to Loevinger (1990), would typically
be in the “conformist stage” of ego develop-
ment. He or she would view interpersonal in-
teractions in terms of social acceptance and
belonging, cognitively associating behaviors

with identifying with the group. The adolescent
would interact with the video images as with
any important “significant other”; however,
these interactions are first occurring in a virtual
(cognitive, if you will) context. Eventually, the
adolescent will cognitively determine the atti-
tudes and behaviors that are most valued within
the peer group culture of which he or she is
familiar. Moreover, refinement of the adoles-
cent’s sociocognitive schema occurs following
social interactions with peers that provide the
adolescent with important socialization mes-
sages. Because of the adolescent’s need for in-
formation about the self from others, consider-
ation of music videos or other media formats
with respect to peer relationships is critical in
understanding adolescent identity formation.
The AIMSS model posits the existence of
two major sociocognitive schemas that adoles-
cents use to organize media images. It is hy-
pothesized that some adolescents use a proac-
tive social schema that consists of a cognitive
orientation toward positive peer interactions,
trusting others, getting along with others, dem-
onstrating empathy, and healthy identity forma-
tion. These adolescents interpret their environ-
ment using a positive or adaptive framework
that would lead to successful navigation of key
challenges of the developmental period. In con-
trast, the reactive social schema would reflect a
tendency to organize perceptions of the social
environment based on maladaptive components.
For example, adolescents high in reactivity
might be more inclined to attend to violent

imagery on television, including guns and gang
activity, as well as messages related to un-
healthy attitudes regarding intimate relation-
ships and family interactions. Adolescents using
a reactive social schema would reflect a cogni-
tive orientation toward violence, poor relation-
ships with others, and negative peer interac-
tions. I have argued here that research regarding
the utility and refinement of social schemas
among adolescents is necessary to increase pre-
cision in models that predict proactive and re-
active behavioral outcomes among adolescents.
The presence of both proactive and reactive
social schemas in the AIMSS framework can be
viewed as an elaboration of theorizing offered
within the identity-focused cultural ecological
perspective (Spencer, Dupree, & Hartmann,
1997). The specific theoretical framework de-
veloped by Spencer and colleagues to examine
this transaction between the self and contextual
influences is called the phenomenological vari-
ant of ecological systems theory (PVEST;
Spencer, 1999, p. 44). According to PVEST:
Across the life course, encounters in diverse cultural
contexts (e.g. home, school, peer group, community)
influence how individuals perceive and experience the
“self.” This suggests that one’s own phenomenological
processes involve making inferences about other peo-
ple’s thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and attitudes.
Along with other functions, these processes are critical
for directing behavior, conceptualizing possibilities,
and determining emotional responses.
Spencer (1999) added that perceptual processes

will vary among individuals, often according to
salient characteristics that help define the self,
including developmental level, gender, and cul-
tural background. The PVEST framework ana-
lyzes transactions between self and context ac-
cording to five components: (a) risk contribu-
tors; (b) stress engagement; (c) reactive coping
methods; (d) stable coping responses: emergent
identities; and (e) life stage outcomes: coping
products.
The third component of the framework, reac-
tive coping methods, is conceptualized by Spen-
cer (1999) as a response by the adolescent to a
perceived experience of stress in his or her
immediate environment. Examples include
daily hassles from teachers and disrespect from
a peer. As a result, the adolescent engages in
reactive coping, which, according to the theory,
may be either an adaptive problem-solving
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strategy or a maladaptive problem-solving strat-
egy. It is significant to note that the PVEST

framework considers reactive coping as a tem-
porary response by the adolescent that may or
may not be maladaptive. For example, an ado-
lescent could become more engaged with
school as a result of teacher interaction or could
respond with exaggerated bravado or social
withdrawal (Spencer, 1999). The process by
which these reactive coping strategies progress
to stable coping or emergent identities is a core
feature of research based on the PVEST
framework.
A comparison of the major components of the
AIMSS framework with respect to PVEST cop-
ing methods reveals that proactive social sche-
mas and reactive social schemas could be con-
sidered different problem-solving strategies
used by adolescents during the viewing of mu-
sic videos or other media formats. However,
classification of all styles of adolescent coping
under the broad PVEST label of reactive coping
methods seems misleading. Rather, the AIMSS
framework of adolescent identity formation ar-
gues that reactive social schemas and proactive
social schemas represent two entirely different
pathways toward emergent identities. The sig-
nificant contribution of the PVEST component
of reactive coping is that this model addresses
the immediacy of adolescents’ reactions to en-
vironment stressors and that these “reactions” to
social contexts may change or proceed toward
stable coping methods or emergent identities.
At this stage of research, the immediate cog-
nitive processing of mass media imagery (i.e., a
proactive or reactive schema) may at best be

considered a “snapshot” of coping methods
used by adolescents in interpreting their social
context. In keeping with the music video exam-
ple, the perceptual processes used during view-
ing of videos ultimately determine an adoles-
cent’s tendency to orient toward violent imag-
ery and maladaptive interpersonal choices made
by characters in the videos, as opposed to
awareness of prosocial activity and empathic
actions contained within the videos. A major
question to be resolved between the PVEST and
AIMSS models is the process by which reactive
social schemas and proactive social schemas
influence the adolescent over time. In other
words, are adolescents’ cognitive schemas or
responses to mass media images indicative of a
temporary reactive coping method as defined
within PVEST? Or, perhaps more troubling, do
these cognitive orientations become stable cop-
ing responses that are integrated into adoles-
cents’ personal identity? Future research that
assesses cognitive interpretations of music
video imagery at multiple points in time could
delineate the relative impact of mass media on
core features of identity processes, including
personal identity, ethnic identity, and gender
role orientation.
The extensive literature on mass media influ-
ence clearly characterizes the influential nature
of these images among adolescents. Although
the PVEST perspective recognizes the impor-
tance of ecology, the framework does not ex-
plicitly recognize media influence as an im-
portant feature of the macrosystem. Empirical

literature has supported the salience of phenom-
enological processes as influencing identity for-
mation and adolescent adjustment (see Spencer,
1999, for a review). Yet, failure to integrate
mass media into these theoretical frameworks
produces empirical results that tell only a part of
the story of adolescent development. Specifi-
cally, developmental researchers must incorpo-
rate the social nature of mass media influence
into their investigations of adolescent social de-
velopment and question how various forms of
media contribute to adolescents’ peer group in-
teractions and their views of self. Ultimately,
the utility of the AIMSS framework is depen-
dent on empirical research designed to test the
major tenets of the model.
Several logical steps can be derived from the
AIMSS framework to guide research efforts in
this arena. These steps include the following:
1. Psychometrically sound instruments that
quantify media influences must be developed
and validated with diverse adolescent popula-
tions. Such measures should tap into media out-
lets, such as music videos and the Internet, that
are face valid and attractive to adolescent view-
ers. By developing instruments, we can test
assumptions that drive many public policy and
intervention programs regarding the nature and
extent of mass media’s negative influence on
youths. Efforts are already under way to vali-
date a measure of proactive and reactive social
schemas for use with adolescents.
2. Developmental theory could be used to

further inform the study of mass media by iden-
tifying individual and ecological variables that
are predictive of differential views and con-
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sumption patterns of media. Individual charac-
teristics, including age, gender, and ethnicity,
play a central role in the formation of individual
identity; thus, such factors are likely to be cen-
tral in the cognitive processing of media im-
ages. Ecological variables that might be linked
to media influences among adolescents include
the peer culture and the family culture. Differ-
ences or similarities across these important mi-
crosystems may play a key role in how adoles-
cents perceive media images and ultimately in-
tegrate them into their personal identity.
3. Increased precision in our conceptualiza-
tion of media influences on key developmental
tasks may yield preventative intervention strat-
egies for addressing negative outcomes during
adolescence. For example, a more comprehen-
sive understanding of violence in the media and

subsequent influences on young people could
lead to prevention of reactive, risk-taking be-
havior during adolescence. Measures that tap
into adolescent cognitive processing that is mal-
adaptive (i.e., a reactive sociocognitive schema)
could serve to identify adolescents in need of
counseling or other supportive services.
4. By studying adolescents who identify with
socially competent behaviors or prosocial mes-
sages presented in the media, we may gain
insight into the sophistication of adolescent
cognitive schemas. If theories fail to embrace
the range of positive and negative outcomes that
define the period of adolescence and retain a
narrow focus on storm and strife, connections
with youths are jeopardized. Adolescents
should continue to report their own views and
perceptions of media so that adults can more
fully understand the proactive social schemas
they use in their daily lives.
This article has presented a new perspective
on how adolescents integrate information from
mass media into their daily lives. It has also
posited that these media influences affect cog-
nitive and behavioral processes that ultimately
contribute to social competence among adoles-
cents. Mass communications, particularly the
Internet and television programming, including
music videos, can be reconceptualized as oppor-
tunities for adolescents to identify cues for so-
cial behavior among their peer group as well as
cognitively rehearse their own approaches to
certain social interactions. Finally, it has been
submitted that this process can occur not only

within the adolescent but also between adoles-
cents within a larger peer group. Without an
appreciation for the specific “cultural compe-
tencies” (Ogbu, 1988) of this adolescent cul-
ture, mass media influences are likely to be
overlooked as a significant socialization agent
for this population in the new millennium.
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to
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Received January 29, 2001
Revision received June 19, 2001
Accepted June 20, 2001 �

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INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND GROUP PROCESSES
Social Cognitive Processes Mediating the Relationship Between
Exposure
to Television’s Sexual Content and Adolescents’ Sexual
Behavior
Steven C. Martino, Rebecca L. Collins, David E. Kanouse, Marc
Elliott, and Sandra H. Berry
RAND
This study used multiple-group structural equation modeling to
test a model explaining the association
between exposure to televised sexual content and initiation of
intercourse among an ethnically diverse
national sample of 1,292 adolescents. The authors hypothesized,
on the basis of social–cognitive theory,
that exposure to televised sexual content would influence
adolescents’ safe-sex self-efficacy, sex-related
outcome expectancies, and perceived peer norms regarding sex,
and that each of these would, in turn,
influence intercourse initiation. Findings support a model in

which the relationship between exposure to
TV’s sexual content and intercourse initiation is mediated by
safe-sex self-efficacy among African
Americans and Whites but not among Hispanics. Outcome
expectancies and perceived peer norms may
also mediate the link between exposure and intercourse
initiation among all 3 racial/ethnic groups,
although evidence of this could not be confirmed.
Keywords: adolescent sexual behavior, intercourse initiation,
social cognitive theory, television
By the time they have graduated high school nearly two thirds
of young people in the United States will have had sexual inter-
course (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2002). Al-
though intercourse is common among youth and represents a
key
transition point in sexual development (Delamater, 1981), most
sexually active teens wish they had waited longer to have sex
(National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2002),
suggesting
that youth are having sex before they are prepared for its conse-
quences. Compared with those who postpone sexual activity
until
later, individuals who initiate sexual activity in adolescence
have
an increased risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease
(STD)
and having an unplanned pregnancy (Brown & Eisenberg, 1995;
Koyle, Jensen, & Olsen, 1989). Of the 18.9 million new cases of
STDs that occurred in the U.S. in 2000, almost half (9.1
million)
were among persons aged 15 to 24 (Weinstock, Berman, &
Cates,
2004). Thus, early sexual initiation is an important health issue.

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