Neurotypical Development Part I

Young people begin to question ideas of what is actually true and to develop the capability to present

logical arguments in their adolescence.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Since the teenage brain has developed greater power of thought, teenagers tend to do all of the following except...

• consider the future and set goals.

• judge options.

• consistently explain later what they were thinking.

• solve problems.

Teenagers start to develop abstract thinking skills, which means that they think about...

• things that cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

• how to best memorize information.

• things with artistic merit, those that are aesthetically pleasing.

• how to best challenge authority.

Researchers have discovered that everything learned after the age of three is retained somewhere in the brain thanks to the billions of neurons and connections in the brain.

• TRUE

• FALSE

The part of the brain known as the prefrontal

cortex is responsible for advanced reasoning, including the ability to plan, understand cause and effect, think through scenarios, and manage impulses. This means that its development likely helps teenagers to ...

• be willing to engage in higher-risk activities since one only lives once.

• stop to consider consequences.

• produce emotions.

• develop more long-term memories.

Teenagers are ... likely than adults to believe poor health will result from experimenting with sex, drinking, drugs, or smoking.

• more

• less

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies (a brain scan) have shown that while winning at gambling, the “reward” center lights up more in teens’ brains than in adults’ brains, indicating that...

• teens experience greater emotional satisfaction when risk-taking produces a desired outcome.

• the teenage brain lacks all common sense and logic.

• teens have a greater natural ability to succeed at risky activities like gambling.

• teens only take risks to gain approval from their friends

  and fellow students.

The positive side of perceiving rewards for taking risks is that...

• teens are more likely to take chances with their lives and therewith reduce the population.

• teens are more likely to offer rewards to others who are willing to take risks.

• teens are more likely to spend income in the field of extreme sports.

• teens are willing to face new challenges like starting a job and leaving home.

Why are anti-drug campaigns or campaigns that attempt to convince teens not to engage in pre-marital sex often ineffective?

• These programs engage youth in using their emerging critical-thinking skills.

• These programs threaten teens' sense of freedom/autonomy.

• These programs allow teens to develop future-thinking techniques and make them feel more in control.

• These programs make it difficult for teens to see shades of gray

  or nuances in arguments and opinions.

Why do parents and children tend to fight over a teen cleaning his or her bedroom?

• Parents think cleaning the room is the right thing to do. For the teen it is a matter of fairness. It's the teen's room!

• Parents think it is a matter of fairness. They clean the rest of the house and the child only needs to clean one room. Teens care about nothing.

• Parents feel it is a matter of personal choice, and teens are trying to hurt their parents on purpose.

• Parents feel that they must control every aspect of their teen's life, if they are not to lose total control over their teen.