Impulsivity
One’s teenage and young adult years are a time of growth and discovery, but are also often correlated with a phase of impulsivity and poor decision making. The prefrontal cortex is the section of the brain that influences things like decision making, social behavior, and cognitive processing, but it does not fully develop until one’s mid to late 20s. On the other hand, the amygdala- the area of the brain that processes intense emotions, pleasure, anxiety, and which triggers the “fight-or-flight” response- matures faster than the prefrontal cortex. A mature prefrontal cortex will regulate the amygdala and promote rational thinking patterns in response to intense situations where the amygdala might trigger impulsive responses. Thus in high emotion situations, it is more common for adults (who have a mature prefrontal cortex) to have clearer thinking than a teenager (whose amygdala has more control over their reactions). Neuroscientists have also observed that when the amygdala is activated during emotional experiences, it disrupts the prefrontal cortex’s rational thinking, especially when the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. This explains why teenagers are often more impulsive and emotional than the average adult; the part of the brain which regulates decision making and social behavior has not yet caught up to the area that triggers intense emotions and causes people to act without hesitation.