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Risk-taking in Adolescence

In his lecture, Michael Hoerger explores the complexities of risk-taking behavior in adolescents, highlighting how developmental milestones influence decision-making. He explains the phenomenon where smart teens often engage in seemingly "dumb" actions due to a gap in skill development, particularly in complex tasks requiring multiple skills. As adolescents seek novelty and independence, they may experience heightened emotionality and decreased ability to regulate emotions, which can lead to reckless behaviors. The maturation of the frontal lobes and increased planning capacities contribute to a clearer understanding of such behaviors in late adolescence.

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Risk-taking in Adolescence

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  1. Risk-taking in Adolescence Michael Hoerger Why smart teens “act dumb”

  2. Why smart teens act dumb • “A little knowledge can be dangerous” …an incomplete set of skills can too • Complex tasks require multiple skills • Gap in developmental milestones: some skills develop before others • Sometimes problems result from not having all skills at once

  3. Many tasks require multiple skills • Rollerblading: requires ability to move and ability to stop • What happens when people learn to move but have not yet learned to stop? • Other examples: • Playing basketball, eating Halloween candy, cheerleading

  4. Adolescent Milestones • Early adolescence • Increased levels of stimulation and novelty seeking, more risk-taking • Late adolescence to adulthood • Mature frontal lobes (decision-making center), increased planning, reasoning, caution, and error monitoring

  5. Risk-taking & Novelty-seeking • Increases start around age 10-13 • Common across species • Motivates establishment of new territories, development of own family • Increased independence • “Young male syndrome” • Increased number of arrests and murders • More car accidents and reckless driving

  6. Changing levels of dopamine associated with increased novelty seeking and emotionality • More activation in the amygdala (“gut reactions”) than the frontal cortex early in adolescence • Greater difficulty in interpreting emotions, regulating emotions, planning, understanding motives

  7. Frontal Lobe Maturation • Doesn’t occur until age 18-25 • Planning and reasoning • Override “gut reactions” • Increased error-monitoring • When people make a mistake but it’s too late to override the decision, there is an abrupt shift in brain wave activity

  8. Why? • Why do novelty-seeking and risk-taking develop earlier than error-monitoring? • Humans are not perfect • Adolescents is an awkward time • Confront new challenges • Face rejection without caring • Persist despite errors

  9. Michael Hoerger To cite this lecture: • Hoerger, M. (2007, March 14). Risk-Taking in Adolescence. Presented at a PSY 220 lecture at Central Michigan University.

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