Jean Twenge
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Jean Marie Twenge (born August 24, 1971) is an American psychologist researching generational differences, including work values, life goals, and speed of development. She is a professor of psychology at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, author, consultant, and public speaker. She has examined
generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...
al differences in work attitudes, life goals, developmental speed, sexual behavior, and religious commitment. She is also known for her books '' iGen'' (2017), ''Generation Me'' (2006, updated 2014) and ''The Narcissism Epidemic'' (2009, co-authored with W. Keith Campbell). In the September 2017 issue of ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', Twenge argued that
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s were the most likely cause behind the sudden increases in mental health issues among teens after 2012. Twenge co-authored a 2017 corpus linguistics analysis that said that
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercu ...
's "
seven dirty words The seven dirty words are seven English-language curse words that American comedian George Carlin first listed in his 1972 "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" monologue. The words, in the order Carlin listed them, are: "shit", "piss", " ...
you can't say on television" were used 28 times more frequently in 2008 than in 1950 in the texts at
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. Twenge said the increase is due to the dominance of self over social conventions.


Reception

Speaking to ''The New York Times'' in 2013, Professor
Jeffrey Arnett Jeffrey Jensen Arnett is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Massachusetts. His main research interest is in "emerging adulthood", a term he coined, which refers to the distinct phase between adolescence and young adu ...
of
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...
was critical of Twenge's research on narcissism among young people, stating: "I think she is vastly misinterpreting or over-interpreting the data, and I think it's destructive", and that her conclusions on narcissism among young people were not backed up by statistical analysis of teen behaviour. His criticisms of her work also included that she relies on the
Narcissistic Personality Inventory The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was developed in 1979 by Raskin and Hall, and since then, has become one of the most widely utilized personality measures for non-clinical levels of the trait narcissism. Since its initial development, t ...
(NPI), which Arnett claims is inherently flawed at measuring narcissism. Twenge has responded to this criticism by declaring of the NPI: "...it is employed in 77% of studies of narcissistic traits," and that it "...is also the best self-report predictor of narcissistic traits derived from clinical interviews." She also argued that "Documenting trends in young people's self-reported traits and attitudes is empirical research, not a complaint or a stereotype." In 2017, Twenge wrote an article in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' asking "Have smartphones destroyed a generation?" which presented findings from her book ''iGen''. Sarah Rose Cavanagh in ''
Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. It began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The ''Psychology Today'' website features therapy and health professionals direct ...
'' disagreed with Twenge's negative view, arguing that Twenge had ignored data supporting positive findings, presented correlation as causation, over-generalized and not taken social contexts into account. Twenge responded to Cavanagh in the same publication, citing a meta-analysis and controlled experiments in support of her theories, and stating that her article and book had also highlighted positive trends. She also denied that she was outright opposed to technology: "Smartphone or internet use of up to an hour or two a day is not linked with mental health issues or unhappiness... It's two hours a day and beyond that that's the issue."


Works

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References


External links

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Faculty page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Twenge, Jean Marie Living people American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists San Diego State University faculty University of Chicago alumni University of Michigan alumni 1971 births 21st-century American women