Elizabeth Korbert The Terrible Adolescents Summary

Mascarelli, Amanda Leigh. " The Teenage Brain." Student Science. Society for Students & the Public, 17 Oct. 2012. Web.

David Dobbs in the Article “Beautiful Brains” proves the theme that it takes teenage brains longer to mature due to the recent change in impulsivity and adolescent behaviors.

The author of the article states that there is no better time than now to review how we are raising teenagers for many reasons. First and foremost there have been many strides taken recently to understand how the adolescent brain develops, strengthening ones understanding, and in turn, shedding light on errors made in the way adolescents are being raised in relation to their neuro-development. This means that because scientists have learned substantial information about the brain recently, it is important to reevaluate how parents are raising teenagers now more than ever. Second, according to the article it is a good time to review how we are raising teenagers because children are becoming adolescents earlier based on their physical maturation increasing faster each year, therefore it is important to examine why this is occurring. Finally, the author states that there is no better time to review how we are raising teenagers because of the recent discovery that the brain is malleable during adolescence due to neuroplasticity, meaning that the brain is able to be transformed during this time period solely based on the environment in which these individuals are exposed to, as per the article (Steinberg, 2014).

For instance in Epstein’s study. The author makes a case that society’s attempt to treat a teenager as a child is limiting their ability to become an adult. He argues that part of the reason that young adults now struggle with growing up and assuming responsibility is because adults insist on infantilizing teenagers. His belief is that teens do and show tiny of what they are capable of because instead of learning to be responsible adults during adolescence, they continue playing as if they were still young children.

When it comes to the teenage brain it’s obvious that they aren’t fully developed. According to Frances Jensen “a mother, author and neurologist” (83), a teenager is missing the frontal and prefrontal lobes of the brain in which adults possess. “The frontal lobes are the seat of what’s sometimes called the brains executive function and is responsible for planning, for self-awareness, and for judgement” (84). Being that a teenager lacks planning, self-awareness and judgement due to a missing brain function, they are subject to not thinking and being aware of circumstances in a difficult situation. For example, Kolbert states that her adolescent sons participate in a “fun pastime known as a ‘case race’” (83). A case race is when “participants form two

Dobbs states that, “These traits may seem to add up to nothing more than foolish new stuff with friends. Look deeper, however, and you see that these traits that define adolescence makes us more adaptive, both as individuals and as a species.” During adolescence, the traits that make teens seem so erratic actually makes them more flexible which allows them to become smarter more successful adults. Dobbs then goes on to state that, “This long, slow, back to front development wave, completed only in the late teens and in the mid-20s, appears to be a uniquely human adaptation. It may be one of four most consequential. It can seem a bit crazy that we humans don’t wise up a bit earlier in life. But if we smartened up sooner, we’d end up dumber.” If humans matured faster than what is normal, it would only hurt children in the end. By allowing adolescents to mature at a natural rate allows them more time to mature which helps them to be smarter and more successful in the end. In conclusion, the time it takes and the traits acquired during adolescence helps individuals to become smarter and more successful members of

Teenagers. People find them to be crazy just by looking at the way they dress and act. In modern days, they dress with pop culture and most of the time, it’s provocative, but it is what all of their peers are wearing. They act in the craziest way, from “hooking up with strangers, [to] jumping from high places into shallow pools, [to] … steering a car with … [their] knees” (83) it is a wonder that they grow up to become “civilized, intelligent adults” (83). In Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Terrible Teens,” she asserts that teenagers take risks because of their brains. Teenagers are known for making impulsive decisions that may lead to tragic events. Kolbert believes that teenagers make rash decisions because their frontal lobes are immature, nucleus

During the age of adolescence, the teenager’s frontal cortex is still not fully developed and will not be until their twenties.

Given the discussion on adolescence in our text, the standards for adult activities do somewhat coincide with what we know about human development (Cacioppo & Fregberg, 2013 ). Limiting access to many activities based on age is advisable considering the cognitive development of adolescents

What variables influence the adolescent developmental process? Does biology outweigh the effect of environment? Do teenagers mature in a continuous or discontinuous fashion? What effect do early verse later experience influence the young people’s maturity into adulthood? Through the ages, researches have investigated these questions to better understand the growth adolescent experience between the ages of ten to twenty-one. The intermingling of the biological, cognitive, and socioemotional process constitutes the development of an adolescent. By examining the effects of nature verse nurture, continuous verse discontinuous development, and early verse later experiences, we will conclude that the developmental process in an adolescent is the intertwining of all these variables and not a result of one over the other.

Adolescence is a turbulent time in every individual’s life, containing marked behavioral and biological changes as the brain rapidly develops into its mature form. This period overlaps with puberty, the process of attaining sexual maturation, and throughout its progression intricate differences between the two sexes are revealed that were not previously apparent. (Spear, 2000; TEXTBOOK) It is thought that adolescence is a necessary process, a period of transition through which individuals prepare for living independently in adulthood. Adolescents begin to emulate adult behaviors and seek novelty, with an inhibited regard for danger, as they accumulate the skills needed to provide for themselves. (Spear, 2000)

The purpose of this issue paper is to compare and contrast two different articles one written by L.E. Berk in 2010 that explores lifespan development. The other article was written by the staff and research team at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford in 2012 that addresses what cognitive development is and the progress of adolescence cognitive development. Cognitive development begins from the moment of birth and continues throughout life. However, this student finds the cognitive abilities are more complex during the adolescent years. Therefore, the issue this paper will address is adolescence cognitive development.

There are five characteristics that all adolescents have. These characteristics are biological growth and development, an undefined status, increased decision-making, increased pressures, and the search for self. The brain and the endocrine system control biological growth and development. During the early stages of adolescence, individuals experience growth in height and weight, changes in the body, the development of sexual characteristics, and skin problems. For example, I started getting curves in my body when I hit puberty. My body started to develop changes. Our society’s expectations for children and adults are clear, but for the adolescent, expectations are inexplicit. Some adolescents are treated like children, but some are treated like adults. There is an undefined status. For example, my parents pay for my lunch, but I have to have a job so I can support myself.

The development of a person is composed of all the biological and environmental processes that make that person who he is. From personality to cognitive maturity, every aspect of his development influences who he becomes. Psychologists such as Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson have attempted to explain different facets of the cognitive development of humans in stages. However, this may not as clearly demonstrate cognitive development as personal experiences and observations. I asked my sister, Joanna, a series of questions pertaining to different aspects of her cognitive development including parental and peer influences during adolescence, increasing independence, and moral reasoning.

Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the