Stan and Marcus,close friends,grew up in the same neighborhood.Both were exposed to chronic poverty,gang violence,and family dysfunction.By the time they were in high school,Stan was flunking most of his classes,had a child,and had been arrested numerous times for drug-related crimes and theft.Marcus,on the other hand,was a good student,played football,and had aspirations to attend college.These diverse developmental trajectories,despite similar environmental influences,illustrate the concept of:
A) "epigenetics."
B) a "critical period."
C) a "sensitive period."
D) "differential susceptibility."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Differential susceptibility refers to the idea that individuals may vary in their sensitivity or susceptibility to environmental influences. In this case, although Stan and Marcus grew up in similar environments, their differential susceptibility may have led to their different developmental trajectories. Marcus may have been more resilient to the negative environmental influences and/or had positive experiences that outweighed the negative ones, while Stan may have been more vulnerable to the negative influences and lacked positive experiences to offset them.

Stan and Marcus,close Friends,grew Up in the Same Neighborhood