Mommy's Time Out: What Are They Thinking?

Many and teachers are constantly attempting to grasp what thoughts and logic drive teenage behavior. New research just might give us a glimpse into the teenage brain. The age old question, “What were you thinking?” may actually get a reasonable answer.

The area of the brain that regulates emotion and the ability to self-regulate behavior and control impulses is not fully developed or mature until the mid-twenties. While cognition related to academia may be mature much earlier, emotional maturity takes far longer.  Adolescents have greater difficulty thinking logically and rationally when faced with an intense emotional response.  These findings better explain the stereotypical “risk-taking” behavior that many adolescents engage in.  The ability to weigh out consequences for actions is blinded by the drive for the emotional stimuli they are seeking. 

The level of teenage intelligence has no correlation to the area of the brain that regulates emotion. This often adds to the confusion. How could an academically intelligent student engage in such risky behavior?  Academic intelligence and emotional regulation are controlled by different areas of the brain and are impacted by varying levels of dopamine.

Dopamine is the chemical responsible for feeling pleasure.  Adolescents are able to think reasonably when emotion is taken out of the equation, for instance, academics.  When intense emotion becomes involved, thinking reasonably flies out the window to make room for the increased level of dopamine.  Dopamine levels are at the highest in early adolescent making pleasure-seeking behaviors at the forefront of the teenage brain.  Due to these increased dopamine levels, teenagers rarely think about consequences for their actions.

This information may prove beneficial to parents and educators attempting to comprehend adolescent thinking in both academic and social situations. Using this information as a guide, we can now focus on teaching adolescents strategies to improve self-regulation and emotional control. 

What are they thinking?  The answer is–they aren’t.