Twenge, Jean M. 1971-

PERSONAL:

Born 1971; married. Education: University of Chicago, B.A., M.A., 1993; University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1998; postdoctoral study at Case Western Reserve University. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming, reading, sunbathing.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Psychology, Office LS-110B289, College of Sciences San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA 92182-4611. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN, visiting assistant professor, 1998; Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, OH, postdoctoral researcher, 1999-2001; San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, assistant professor, 2001-05, associate professor of psychology, 2005—.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Merit Scholarship, College Honors Scholarship, and Alumni Association Award for Extracurricular Achievements, all from University of Chicago.

WRITINGS:

Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before, Free Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of articles to journals, including Personality and Social Psychology Review, Psychology of Women Quarterly, Review of General Psychology, Journal of Research in Personality, and Journal of Marriage and the Family.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jean M. Twenge is a psychologist and sociologist whose primary areas of interest include social psychology and the personality, particularly with regard to social rejection, birth cohort differences over time, and gender roles. She has done extensive research on the current younger generations, having noted that each successive generation appears to be less contented than the previous one. Her Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before discusses the results of her research. It addresses ways in which a more egocentric, inward-turning attitude has led young Americans to a discontented, unhappy existence. Twenge proposes that by concentrating on building children's self-esteem, parents and other adults have actually taken things too far, producing young adults whose only focus is on their own pleasures, success, advancement, and desires, while discounting the interests of those around them. She notes that ultimately this leads to an unsatisfying lifestyle, where individuals fail to bond or connect with others and have poor relationships. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked: "Though Twenge's opinionated asides may occasionally set Gen-X and -Yers' teeth on edge, many of her findings are fascinating." Aaron Shulman, writing for the AARP Web site, made this observation about the book's critical pronouncements: "Twenge only occasionally makes an outright judgment, letting her research instead speak for itself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, "Generation Debt: Why Now Is a Terrible Time to Be Young," p. 24.

Futurist, March 1, 2007, review of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before, p. 52.

HR Magazine, June 1, 2006, Leigh Rivenbark, review of Generation Me, p. 196.

Library Journal, April 1, 2006, Lynne F. Maxwell, review of Generation Me, p. 113.

Publishers Weekly, January 23, 2006, review of Generation Me, p. 194.

ONLINE

AARP Web site,http://www.aarpmagazine.com/ (May 23, 2007), Aaron Shulman, review of Generation Me.

Chicago Tribune Online,http://www.chicagotribune.com/ (April 10, 2007), Emilie Le Beau, "It's (Really Not) All about You."

Daily Nebraskan Online,http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/ (March 9, 2007), Steve Scharf, "Study Finds College Students Most Narcissistic Generation."

Generation Me Home Page,http://www.generationme.com (May 23, 2007).

MSNBC.com,http://www.msnbc.com/ (April 20, 2006), "Why Are Younger Americans So Miserable?"

San Diego State Department of Psychology,http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu/ (May 23, 2007), faculty biography of Jean Twenge.

San Francisco Bay Guardian Online,http://www.sfbg.com/ (May 23, 2007), Paul Reidinger, review of Generation Me.