What were you thinking?
Many a parent or teacher has asked the teens they know this question. Often, the teens simply can't answer—and recent studies on the brain suggest why.
It appears that adolescents are programmed to take risks but are unequipped to think rationally in emotional situations, says Pat Wolfe, an education consultant who has given presentations on the adolescent brain. The part of the brain that allows for sound judgment, goal setting, and impulse control—the prefrontal cortex—is not fully developed in teens, she explains. At the same time, the part of the brain that activates the fight or flight instinct—the amygdala—is fully active. As a result, irrational behavior is perfectly ordinary for the adolescent.
The challenge, of course, is how to protect teens in this stage of development from making foolish choices that may impair their brains' continued development. Wolfe opts for education. Teach students about their brains, she says. Let students know that they are biologically inclined to be risk takers—they may feel a strong urge to drink alcohol or experiment with drugs, for example. Show students what will happen to their brains if they indulge that temptation, Wolfe urges. Doing so, she asserts, will "empower students" to think twice when their brains tell them to just try something once.