Teen brains and decision-making – What teachers should know

It was once thought that human brains develop in a straight line as people grow from children to teens and adults. It was assumed that all brain parts develop gradually at the same pace. With advanced research on brain development, we now know this view is inaccurate. Studies have shown that teen brains are unique and that different parts of the brain develop at very different speeds, meaning that teen brains work quite differently than adult brains. For teachers, it's helpful to understand these unique features of teen brains, as it helps to better understand their decision-making and behavior.

 

There are three main ways in which teen brains differ from adult brains. First, teen brains are more adaptable (or "plastic") than adult brains. Human brains constantly adapt based on what we do and think. For example, it has been observed that the brain areas responsible for spatial awareness are larger in London taxi drivers than in others. If people play musical instruments, certain brain areas grow as well. Brain imaging shows these changes surprisingly quickly after learning new skills.

Plasticity is based on the fact that connections between different parts of the brain either strengthen or weaken depending on what we do and think. The more we practice something, the stronger the connections in our brain become for that activity, making us better at it. Unused connections fade away. Brains are adaptable at all ages, but their plasticity is greater because teen brains develop faster than adult brains. This means what teens do and think matters. This plasticity can lead to negative thought patterns if a teen gets "stuck" in a cycle of negative thoughts. On the other hand, creating connections between different brain areas allows for new and broader ways of thinking. The school environment and teaching methods directly impact the development of young people's brains: thought patterns, emotional control, and social interaction provided and supported at school help shape teens' thinking skills and behavior over the long term.

 

The second difference between adult and teen brains involves the prefrontal cortex. This area, which controls emotions and impulses, is less developed in teens than in adults. According to Jay Giedd, this leads teens to take more risks than adults and not fully understand the consequences of those risks. The prefrontal cortex typically becomes fully developed around ages 20-25. In the prefrontal cortex, the brain forms many cause-and-effect relationships almost instantly. People must see the risks of different actions to experience them fully. Because the part of the brain responsible for planning and voluntary behavior is still underdeveloped, teens are more impulsive and prone to taking risks than adults. In schools, this often appears as teens acting on impulses or emotions. Teachers could help students practice different decision-making stages in class, such as planning their actions and considering alternatives.

 

Sarah Blakemore used brain scans to study how teens and adults use different parts of their brains. This is the third main difference between teen and adult brains. Teens use the temporal lobe more, while adults use the prefrontal cortex more. This matters because abilities such as empathy, understanding, guilt, and the ability to consider others are in the prefrontal cortex. These skills are lacking in the temporal lobe, which teens use more, so teens' behavior can sometimes seem exceptionally selfish. (Of course, adults can also be selfish; some more, some less. It's not only a teen trait.) According to Blakemore, the brain does not fully "mature" in this way until around ages 20-30.

 

Therefore, teen self-centeredness may result from an underdeveloped ability to understand others' perspectives. Schools provide many opportunities for students to learn about others' feelings and needs. Teens can practice empathy skills through discussions about emotions, reading stories, and role-playing.

 

In almost every country, children and adults are punished differently for the same actions. In the United States, there has been ongoing discussion for about ten years on whether the neurological development stage of the brain should be considered more carefully in sentencing. Grace Icenogle and her research team believe that the type of crime should also be considered. They argue that cognitive capacity (thinking ability) is often already at an adult level for a 16-year-old. However, if emotions are involved in decision-making (for example, if a crime is committed under strong emotion), teens lack the same psychological and social reasoning as adults. Therefore, they suggest that criminal consequences should differ depending on the type of crime and situation.

References

 

-       Giedd, Jay N. (2015): ”The Amazing teen brain”, Scientific American, June 2015, p. 20-25

-       Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne (2008): ” The social brain in adolescence”, Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 267-277 (April 2008)

-       Steinberg, Laurence (2017): "Adolescent brain science and juvenile justice policymaking." Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 23.4 (2017): 410.

-       Icenogle, Grace, et al. (2019): "Adolescents’ cognitive capacity reaches adult levels prior to their psychosocial maturity: Evidence for a “maturity gap” in a multinational, cross-sectional sample." Law and human behavior 43.1 (2019): 69.