Recent research has shown that human brain circuitry is not mature until the early 20s (some would add, "if ever").
In adolescence, the correlation is much weaker.Įvidence is appearing that these differences have a definite basis in brain structure and functioning. The choices of adults correspond fairly well to their tested reasoning capacity. The "good" deck contains many cards that provide some reward the "bad" one, many cards that provide nothing and insufficient compensation in the form of a few that hold a jackpot. Subjects can choose from one of two decks of cards in the hope of picking a card that provides a reward. Adolescents, but not adults, were more likely to take extra chances when friends were watching.Īnother revealing psychological experiment is the Iowa gambling task. In a psychological experiment, adolescents and adults took a driving simulation test that allowed them to win a reward by running a yellow light and stopping before they hit a wall. Much of their troubling behavior, from gang violence to reckless driving and drinking, occurs in groups and because of group pressure. Resisting social pressure is also more difficult for teenagers. They sometimes seem driven to seek experiences that produce strong feelings and sensations. Adolescents' judgment can be overwhelmed by the urge for new experiences, thrill-seeking, and sexual and aggressive impulses. It is easy for them to say that they would not get into a car with a drunk driver, but more difficult to turn down the invitation in practice. In real life, adolescents, compared to adults, find it more difficult to interrupt an action under way (stop speeding) to think before acting (learn how deep the water is before you dive) and even to choose between safer and riskier alternatives. But the emotional state in which they answer questionnaires is not necessarily the one in which they make important choices. If teenagers are asked hypothetical questions about risk and reward, they usually give the same answers as adults. Most studies show that abstract reasoning, memory, and the formal capacity for planning are fully developed by age 15 or 16. It's not a question of intellectual maturity. Unsettled moods and unsettling behavior may be rooted in uneven brain development. Now scientific research is suggesting a new reason for the clashes between teenagers and their environment. Cultural change heightens incompatibility between the generations. ("What's the matter with the older generation?") They have to cope with disconcerting new sexual impulses and romantic feelings. Adolescents need to assert their independence and explore their limits, taking risks, breaking rules, and rebelling against their parents while still relying on them for support and protection. Plenty of explanations for teenage turmoil are available. Surveys show that everyday unhappiness also reaches its peak in late adolescence. It's the time of life when psychosis, eating disorders, and addictions are most likely to take hold. In every generation, it seems, the same lament goes forth from the parents of adolescents: "What's the matter with kids today?" Why are they so often confused, annoying, demanding, moody, defiant, reckless? Accidental deaths, homicides, and binge drinking spike in the teenage years. Originally published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter, July 2005
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