It is currently understood that there are areas of the limbic, and endocrine systems responsible for some of these changes in human behavior in this stage of life.
Motivation. Behavioral neuroscientists are interested in the biological components of motivated behavior and have identified three distinct neural circuits: approach, avoidance and regulation. Approach involves reward systems and is housed in the ventral striatum. Avoidance refers to the body’s “fight or flight” system and is housed in the amygdala; this area also “lights up” when processing emotionally charged information and in face processing. Finally, the regulatory system is located in the prefrontal cortex which aids in decision making, specifically helping us delay gratification, or override a short term response for a longer term reward. The structural reorganization of the brain and the complex interaction between these process account for many of the behaviors that we associate with adolescent life:
Neuroimaging shows how these parts of the brain change throughout the lifespan. The standard narrative in neurological terms has been that adolescents are impulsive and emotionally reactive because of the underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. However, if this was the only factor then we would expect to see younger children making more impulsive choices than adolescents. So we know that it is not the prefrontal cortex and decision making alone that accounts for these differences. It is the nonlinear development of the subcortical systems compared to the linear development of the prefrontal cortex helps to explain why adolescents are capable of more complex thought but make riskier decisions than their younger selves.
The subcortical system is nonlinear due to the onset and the corresponding production of hormones that activate these structures; specifically testosterone and estradiol. Production of these hormones can vary dramatically from person to person. Higher levels of testosterone are positively correlated with aggressive behaviors (especially when social status is threatened) and thrill seeking behaviors. To a lesser extent, estradiol is also positively correlated with aggression and reduction in inhibitory control.
Executive Functions are the brain processes needed to sustain problem-solving toward a goal. Executive functions are the products of the central executive network housed in the prefrontal cortex. Executive functions are organized into three domains: working memory (manipulation of stored information), inhibitory control (curb impulses from natural/habitual/dominant responses), and cognitive flexibility (ability to switch thinking between two concepts or hold two ideas together at the same time). Highly developed executive functions are positively correlated with academic success, maintenance of healthy relationships, and overall well-being.
What stops the executive center from functioning fully?
How can you improve executive functions?
Consciousness. Another neural circuit, the default mode network (DMN), is also important to consider when we discuss the growth in consciousness that occurs during adolescence. Neuroimaging shows us that self-identity formation, consideration of others, and narrative memory creation are all housed in the default mode network. The DMN is much more active in adolescence than in childhood. Strong connectivity in this region is positively correlated with quality sleep - an important reason why teens need more sleep than children and adults.
Developmental Processes in Adolescence
While neuroscientists are interested with all matters of the brain, its functionality and structure; psychologists explore behavior and mental processes, including perception, cognition, attention, emotion, intelligence, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, and personality. Important theories originating from highly regarded psychologists help us understand adolescent behavior and develop interventions that help young people succeed:
Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Model explains how children take in and process information as they age. Infants orient to the world through their senses. Toddlers and preschoolers begin to understand and use symbols to represent their world. School aged children can think logically and older children and adolescents begin to think abstractly. Numerous researchers in the fields of education and child development have built on this foundational model to understand mechanisms by which humans learn and process information.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory explains how learning as a cognitive process takes place in a social context. It builds on Skinner’s behaviorism which focuses on positive and negative reinforcement. While behaviors are chosen based on their functionality, there are additional processes at play including vicarious reinforcement, modeling, and reciprocal determinism. Because of the shift from family group to peer that occurs in adolescence, teens are likely to start modeling behaviors that they observe in their peers.
Kohlberg’s Moral Developmental Theory emphasizes the changes in moral reasoning that occur throughout the lifespan. Adolescents move from preconventional moral reasoning (making decisions based around whether or not they will get in trouble) to conventional moral reasoning (where we understand that rules are in place to keep things fair for everyone) and then on into postconventional moral reasoning (that there are rights and responsibilities central to keeping social order/justice). This makes teenagers even more primed to get engaged in social justice concerns.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages is a highly regarded psycho-social model from the 1950s and 60s is still oft cited when explaining both social and emotional development. In each stage of life, he posits that there is an obstacle that the human must overcome resulting in either positive or negative impacts on the personality and its functionality. In early childhood, the challenge is establishing a basic trust in caregivers In childhood, the challenge is developing a healthy sense of self by believing that one is competent to develop realistic goals. Adolescence marks the stage in life where we become increasingly aware of our social status and relationship with the world at large. In this time, our challenge is to develop a core identity. Modern psychologists and sociologists understand that the process is not necessarily linear and much more complex; but understanding identity formation remains an important component to understanding wellness in the middle school student. Self identity can be thought of in two domains: self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept refers to our attributes, personality traits, roles, goals, beliefs, values, and interests. Self-esteem refers to our personal evaluation of our self-concept. A healthy self-esteem is one in which a person's idealized self is congruent with their self-concept. This allows for the process of self-actualization; where achievement of one's quality life goals can occur. Self-awareness, the process of understanding and learning about one’s self-concept and building one’s self-esteem, is the foundation for healthy psychological development.
Attachment Theory posits that the child and caregiver relationship from birth through early childhood is crucial for the development of not only future healthy relationships, but in a person’s overall wellbeing and intellectual capacities. Securely attached children have reasonable belief and expectations that their needs will be met. These children have greater odds of having higher rates of psychological well being and meeting personal goals. Insecurely attached children are more likely to be either emotional reactive or behaviorally disengaged in life.
Motivation. Behavioral neuroscientists are interested in the biological components of motivated behavior and have identified three distinct neural circuits: approach, avoidance and regulation. Approach involves reward systems and is housed in the ventral striatum. Avoidance refers to the body’s “fight or flight” system and is housed in the amygdala; this area also “lights up” when processing emotionally charged information and in face processing. Finally, the regulatory system is located in the prefrontal cortex which aids in decision making, specifically helping us delay gratification, or override a short term response for a longer term reward. The structural reorganization of the brain and the complex interaction between these process account for many of the behaviors that we associate with adolescent life:
- Novelty seeking - we note that the ventral striatum is especially active, possibly due to increase in oxytocin and testosterone. This dopamine flood makes everything more exciting and tied to formation of pleasurable memories (which also means they are primed for addictive behaviors such as gaming, gambling, and pleasurable substances).
- Risk taking - it is not that they lose their sense of fear, but that the basic fear shifts from response to parental separation towards a response to rejection or disapproval.
- Peer focused - the brain is more responsive to faces during this period - they are more likely to perceive neutral faces as negative (aggressive, disapproving). They also show a same-age bias compared to their older and younger counterparts.
- Emotionally reactive -the amygdala is more connected to the prefrontal cortex during this period, meaning that emotional processing is integrated with decision making.
Neuroimaging shows how these parts of the brain change throughout the lifespan. The standard narrative in neurological terms has been that adolescents are impulsive and emotionally reactive because of the underdeveloped prefrontal cortex. However, if this was the only factor then we would expect to see younger children making more impulsive choices than adolescents. So we know that it is not the prefrontal cortex and decision making alone that accounts for these differences. It is the nonlinear development of the subcortical systems compared to the linear development of the prefrontal cortex helps to explain why adolescents are capable of more complex thought but make riskier decisions than their younger selves.
The subcortical system is nonlinear due to the onset and the corresponding production of hormones that activate these structures; specifically testosterone and estradiol. Production of these hormones can vary dramatically from person to person. Higher levels of testosterone are positively correlated with aggressive behaviors (especially when social status is threatened) and thrill seeking behaviors. To a lesser extent, estradiol is also positively correlated with aggression and reduction in inhibitory control.
Executive Functions are the brain processes needed to sustain problem-solving toward a goal. Executive functions are the products of the central executive network housed in the prefrontal cortex. Executive functions are organized into three domains: working memory (manipulation of stored information), inhibitory control (curb impulses from natural/habitual/dominant responses), and cognitive flexibility (ability to switch thinking between two concepts or hold two ideas together at the same time). Highly developed executive functions are positively correlated with academic success, maintenance of healthy relationships, and overall well-being.
What stops the executive center from functioning fully?
- Neuro-atypicalities such as autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorders (both ADD and ADHD), sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities or disorders, emotional disturbances, mood disorders can all affect the approach system in the brain
- The amygdala hijack - anytime the body’s “fight or flight” system (avoidance) kicks into gear, the executive center takes a back seat
- A dopamine tidal wave - especially in adolescence, if the reward center of the brain is highly activated, accessing the approach center becomes more challenging
How can you improve executive functions?
- Working memory -- memory games, telling stories; fight capacity limit with brain breaks; mnemonic devices; lists
- Cognitive flexibility -- sorting activities; sports; music; multi-age play; moral dilemmas
- Inhibitory control -- mindfulness
Consciousness. Another neural circuit, the default mode network (DMN), is also important to consider when we discuss the growth in consciousness that occurs during adolescence. Neuroimaging shows us that self-identity formation, consideration of others, and narrative memory creation are all housed in the default mode network. The DMN is much more active in adolescence than in childhood. Strong connectivity in this region is positively correlated with quality sleep - an important reason why teens need more sleep than children and adults.
- Self identity includes autobiographical information (memories of collection of events and facts about one's self), self-reference (referring to traits and descriptions of one's self), and emotion of one's self (reflecting about one's own emotional state).
- Consideration of others includes theory of mind (thinking about the thoughts of others and what they might or might not now), emotions of other (understanding the emotions of other people and empathizing with their feelings), moral reasoning (determining just and unjust result of an action), social evaluations (good-bad attitude judgments about social concepts), and social categories (reflecting on important social characteristics and status of a group).
- Finally, narrative memory creation includes remembering the past (recalling events that happened in the past), imagining the future (envisioning events that might happen in the future, episodic memory (detailed memory related to specific events in time), and story comprehension (understanding and remembering a narrative).
Developmental Processes in Adolescence
While neuroscientists are interested with all matters of the brain, its functionality and structure; psychologists explore behavior and mental processes, including perception, cognition, attention, emotion, intelligence, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, and personality. Important theories originating from highly regarded psychologists help us understand adolescent behavior and develop interventions that help young people succeed:
Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Model explains how children take in and process information as they age. Infants orient to the world through their senses. Toddlers and preschoolers begin to understand and use symbols to represent their world. School aged children can think logically and older children and adolescents begin to think abstractly. Numerous researchers in the fields of education and child development have built on this foundational model to understand mechanisms by which humans learn and process information.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory explains how learning as a cognitive process takes place in a social context. It builds on Skinner’s behaviorism which focuses on positive and negative reinforcement. While behaviors are chosen based on their functionality, there are additional processes at play including vicarious reinforcement, modeling, and reciprocal determinism. Because of the shift from family group to peer that occurs in adolescence, teens are likely to start modeling behaviors that they observe in their peers.
Kohlberg’s Moral Developmental Theory emphasizes the changes in moral reasoning that occur throughout the lifespan. Adolescents move from preconventional moral reasoning (making decisions based around whether or not they will get in trouble) to conventional moral reasoning (where we understand that rules are in place to keep things fair for everyone) and then on into postconventional moral reasoning (that there are rights and responsibilities central to keeping social order/justice). This makes teenagers even more primed to get engaged in social justice concerns.
- Punishment and obedience: right and wrong is defined by what can be punished
- Instrumental relativist : right and wrong is determined by rewards
- Interpersonal concordance: right and wrong is determined by what pleases others
- Law and order: right and wrong is determined by following the rules agreed upon in society
- Social contract: right and wrong determined by personal values within the social construct
- Universal ethical principles: right and wrong is determined by deeply held personal moral system
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages is a highly regarded psycho-social model from the 1950s and 60s is still oft cited when explaining both social and emotional development. In each stage of life, he posits that there is an obstacle that the human must overcome resulting in either positive or negative impacts on the personality and its functionality. In early childhood, the challenge is establishing a basic trust in caregivers In childhood, the challenge is developing a healthy sense of self by believing that one is competent to develop realistic goals. Adolescence marks the stage in life where we become increasingly aware of our social status and relationship with the world at large. In this time, our challenge is to develop a core identity. Modern psychologists and sociologists understand that the process is not necessarily linear and much more complex; but understanding identity formation remains an important component to understanding wellness in the middle school student. Self identity can be thought of in two domains: self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept refers to our attributes, personality traits, roles, goals, beliefs, values, and interests. Self-esteem refers to our personal evaluation of our self-concept. A healthy self-esteem is one in which a person's idealized self is congruent with their self-concept. This allows for the process of self-actualization; where achievement of one's quality life goals can occur. Self-awareness, the process of understanding and learning about one’s self-concept and building one’s self-esteem, is the foundation for healthy psychological development.
- Trust vs mistrust
- Autonomy vs shame/doubt
- Initiative vs guilt
- Identity vs role confusion
- Intimacy vs isolation
- Generativity vs stagnation
- Ego integrity vs despair
Attachment Theory posits that the child and caregiver relationship from birth through early childhood is crucial for the development of not only future healthy relationships, but in a person’s overall wellbeing and intellectual capacities. Securely attached children have reasonable belief and expectations that their needs will be met. These children have greater odds of having higher rates of psychological well being and meeting personal goals. Insecurely attached children are more likely to be either emotional reactive or behaviorally disengaged in life.