Teens and Rationality

*Notice how in the above picture the brain doesn't truly develop 'till after the teen years where there are still shades of greenish which imply immaturity. It isn't until the 20's where most of the brain is mature.*

Do you remember a time in which hanging out with your friends seem like such a great idea even though you know you needed to study for an exam? Well, teens make reckless decisions because their brains aren't fully developed however, they are expected to act and make rational decisions as an adult would. Even if a teenager acts in an adult manner, their brains are still not as developed and hence are more prone to mess up. Sabbagh in her article "The Teen Brain, Hard at Work: No, Really" argues that even a highly responsible teen is could mess up due to an overload of the frontal cortex. The frontal cortex of the brain is the major part of decision making and behavior. Under stressful conditions, teens tend to use their frontal cortex much more than an adult would and thus this overload causes them to mess up. "The implication is that something unexpected occurs in an already stressful situation, an adolescent may exhaust his or her prefrontal cortex resources" (Sabbagh). This would lead to a teenager messing up in a situation that an adult may have had a better reaction to. It may not be that the teenager is looking to be placed in dangerous situations that adults may believe could be avoided but that their prefrontal cortex is still relatively immature and thus these mistakes in situations occur.

Many aspects of Reyna and Farley article "Is the Teen Brain Too Rational?",which believe an intervention at a young age will completely prevent problems that may result from someone's teenage years, are flawed. Although interventions for harmful habits may be helpful, Reyna and Farley would rather take the decision making part away from the teen and have their life dictated. Although programs are implemented to reduce the rate of certain habits - such as the contraction of STD's, Teenage Drinking...etc - and in many times have helped reduced the rate of such habits it seems as it is not enough for Reyna and Farley. Although many teens tend to behave and indulge in a reckless manner, it is part of their growing up. Guiding a teenager through their teenage years is very different from believing they have absolutely no control over their lives and hence must be hand held until they come of age. Teenagers may weigh the benefits more heavily than the risks only because their brain isn't as mature as an adult's is however, this does not imply that they should be excluded from the decision making process of their lives.

Although both articles agree on the point that the teenage brain isn't mature enough for certain decisions, their approach is completely different. Whereas Sabbagh tries to understand and explain that teenagers can't help but mess up at times, Reyna and Farley want to prevent bad behavior at all costs. Trying to prevent bad behavior is a good thing but not when you have no faith in your subjects. It all comes from an immature prefrontal cortex which will with time develop. Teens do not behave badly because they want to but because at times, they can't help it.