To find out what teenagers' lives are like, two psychologists gave beepers to seventy-five adolescents, signalled them at random, and asked them to record their thoughts and feelings as they sat in classrooms, socialized with friends, and ate dinner with their families. The result is a unique and detailed portrait of the day-to-day world of the average American teenager that offers valuable new insights for parents, psychologists, and educators.

A study of the causes of family conflict draws on the Experience Sampling Method to argue that family life breaks down when members fail to experience the same events in the same way.