Risk Taking Behaviors

“The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than among any other age group.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) “The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. The risk increases with the number of teen passengers.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) In the United States motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause death in teens. “In 2010, seven teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 2) This alarming number of casualties could be prevented by educating our teenage drivers prior to them being on their own and operating a couple ton weighing

Research depicts that teenagers fail to notice risks in a situation and completely process other ones when adults thoroughly examine the consequences and focus on the ending outcome. An article by Maia Szalavitz titled “Why the Teen Brain is Drawn to Risk” suggests that teens engage in drunk driving because they don’t completely scan the outcome of the situation, but they fully comprehend the risk of partaking in other activities that adults would immediately dismiss after looking at the possible outcomes such as Russian Roulette(Source F). This shows that adults quickly decide on seemingly dangerous actions because they view the finishing outcome of that activity while teems envision the whole activity and still choose to participate. On top of that, young adults are intrigued by unknown risks rather than known ones. Chris Sharma, a famous rock climber, mentions that he is "looking for new, hard climbs that no one has even thought possible" in a video named “Who Is Chris Sharma?”(Source G). This suggests that, as a young adult, he searches for climbs that have a high risk level that is unknown or ambiguous. Because adolescents have distinct judgment than that of an adults, they handle risky decision-making in another

A teenagers risk taking is a crucial part of their brains development and can significantly benefit their growth as a person. Recent test have shown that in social situations, teenagers are more likely to take risks. In the article, Beautiful Brains, the author, David Dobbs, discussed a study in which teenagers played a game alone, then with people in the room. “When teens drive the course alone, in what Steinberg calls the emotionally ‘cool’ situation of an empty room, they take risks at the same rates that adults do.” (Pbs.org) This shows that teenagers are capable of making good decisions and taking the same amount of risks as a developed adult. So many parents assume that they take unnecessary risk, when really, the teenager knows exactly

In “Beautiful Brains”, Dobbs illustrates there is a method to teenage madness. Through citing several scientific studies in an easily digestible fashion, Dobbs explains the impulsiveness and irrationality of the adolescent mind. Dobbs claims that teenagers are naturally risk takers because it is evolutionarily advantageous, as it allows them to adapt to new situations. Dobbs first draws the reader in with an anecdote about his own son, who was caught speeding over 100 mph. Having a bizarre response to his father, ‘’ He agreed. In fact, he sounded somber and contrite. He did not object when I told him he 'd have to pay the fines and probably for a lawyer. He did not argue when I pointed out that if anything happens at that speed—a dog in the road, a blown tire, a sneeze—he dies. He was in fact almost irritatingly reasonable. He even proffered that the cop did the right thing in stopping him, for, as he put it, "We can 't all go around doing 113."’’

In her Wall Street Journal essay “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?,” author Alison Gopnik restates the words of Psychologist Ronald Dahl to describe the impact of adolescent biology on their decisions: “Adolescents acquire an accelerator a long time before they can steer and brake.” (Gopnik) Dahl stated that adolescents “accelerate,” and develop, emotionally before gaining the necessary experience needed to “steer” and fully control their actions. The fact that biology factors into both the choices adolescents make and the amount of control they acquire is valid. An example of biology in decision-making was shown between the Spring of 2006 and 2007 in Oakdale, California. On March 31, 2006, Amanda Clark, a confident high school senior, crashed into a passing car after running a stop sign in her hometown of Oakdale. Distracted at the time of the accident, Clark was talking on her phone only seconds before the crash--failing to notice the stop sign while she spoke. Despite rolling her vehicle three times, Amanda sustained minimal injury and as a result, swore to now “put her phone away” while driving. However, only a year later, after texting her roommate, Clark experienced a similar, but fatal, accident which resulted in her death. When deciding to use her phone, once again, while driving, Amanda’s biography was such a

Researchers can look at the brain of a teen to examine their behavioral decisions.Teenage brains these years are more active and dynamic which means it’s still developing.Processing in the Limbic system is a result of risky behavior.The construction of a teenage thinking brain is not cable of fully processing necessary to make responsible decisions.At this stage the brain is still developing.The brain changes depending on interactions, helpimg the teen make changes. At this time the brain will need focused and support for a healthy connection.Surrounding impacts the child faces such as challenging situations is an effective technique.Parents need to consider the teens emotional

Copeland’s article is meant to inform parents of their effects on teen’s driving behaviors. Their actions behind the wheel let their children know what is okay to do and what is not. If parents are aware of this then it would help them try to set a good example. This academic journal is a reliable source that comes from the database Academic Search Elite, provided by school’s online database systems.

The article “Inside the Teenage Brain” by Marty Wolner states that recently, brain researchers have been able to do a great quantity of detailed studies on the human brain. Despite previous thoughts about the teenage brain, development of the brain through the teenage years is very dynamic. The teenage brain is still learning how to process certain information properly in the thinking part of the brain, so often teens may not process all the information necessary to make responsible decisions. Nevertheless, the teenage years can be very stressful for both parents and for teens. Getting through the teenage years can be difficult, but with the right amount of healthy communication, discipline and support the road ahead won’t be so rough. At this

When giving the results to an antisaccade task, the author reveals,”Ten-year-olds [fail] about 45 percent of the time… by age 15 [the members taking the task] can score as well as adults… resisting temptation 70 to 80 percent of the time” (Dobbs 2). As the brain transitions from adolescence to adulthood, perspectives and impulses begin to change. The way the brain changes affects the way one sees different situations. Dobbs says, “teens take more risks not because they don’t understand the dangers but because they weigh risk versus reward differently” when talking about specific teenage behaviors (4). Over time, when the brain is evolving, humans begin to think differently; therefore, their perspective of different situations change. The way a person’s brain evolves from childhood to adulthood allows one’s perspective to change in certain

In the United States, Reckless driving is the number one cause of teenage death in the nation. Reckless driving can be classified as anything from speeding and swerving, to purposely trying to run someone over, or hurt them while driving. In America, there are countless organizations calling to help end the high death rate in teenagers that reckless driving takes. People such as Parents, Drivers Education Instructors and even state legislators have realized the problem and are seeking reform. In 2011 alone 2,650 teens between the ages of 16-19 were killed due to reckless driving. (CDC) Reckless driving is a death that is very preventable, with proper education and warning. As well as problem that is not taken seriously by the juvenile’s committing the act. Most juveniles don’t worry what so ever about dying in a car crash because they think that it won’t happen to them. Under Reckless Driving, in Green Bay, speeding, not paying attention and lack of caring are three of the biggest issues with teen drivers and juveniles.

Risk-taking involves making decisions with uncertain good or bad effects. Risk taking among teenagers has psychological and physiological determinants. The most common psychological factors that result to harmful risk-taking are acting brave, not caring for the outcome of one’s actions, thinking that oneself is resistant to harm, wanting to belong to a group, being scared not to take risks, and wanting to feel thrills and excitement.

Overprotectiveness can be beneficial until the child becomes dependent. Independence is an important trait to have but “overprotective parents send the message that their children can’t handle life’s challenges on their own” (Hewitt). By not giving the children room to learn on their own, they slowly become accustomed to following the parent’s directions. Soon, though children lack self confidence and feel they are not capable of doing things on their own. Other times “the limbic system matures earlier, it is more likely to gain an upper hand in decision making. This relationship between the emotional center (limbic system) and control center (prefrontal cortex) helps to explain a teen’s inclination to rush decisions” ("Teens and Decision Making: What Brain

These parts include the prefrontal cortex (especially the medial prefrontal cortex), the neurons and the limbic system. The prefrontal cortex is involved in decision making, planning, social interaction, self-awareness and inhibiting inappropriate behavior. Because this is still developing adolescents are still learning how to properly perform these actions. During adolescents there is an increase in grey matter, then a peak around midway, and then a decrease. This is caused by the increase in synapses by learning new things. The decrease is caused by the strengthening of synapses that are used often and the removal of ones that are not. This way the prefrontal cortex is “pruned” (Blakemore). The prefrontal cortex also inhibits risk taking but because it is still developing in adolescents, it is not fully functional. The medial prefrontal cortex is used to make social decisions and take into account the perspective of others. Like other parts of the brain it is still developing. “The medial prefrontal cortex, is more active in adolescents than in adults when thinking about other people's minds” (Blakemore). This may be the reason why teenagers are more inclined to take risks and to gain peer approval. The limbic system is in charge of emotions and reward processing and is hyper sensitive in adolescent’s brains. This is why when teenagers take those risks there is a heightened sense of approval from their

I stare out the window of my second-floor classroom. My windows face the rear of the building, and offer a bird’s eye view of the empty student parking lot. At the beginning and end of each school day, I watch the students pull in and out of the parking lot. Sixteen to eighteen-year-olds are awful drivers. They should make the driving age twenty-one. All the current research says the human brain doesn’t fully develop until twenty-one, which means sixteen-year-olds are virtually incapable of making good decision. Over the past six years, I’ve seen at least a dozen fender benders, and watched two students take a God-awful tumble out the back of a pick-up truck that they were riding in on the last day of school. The students’ had a cooler filled

Have you ever witnessed a teenager taking a risk? Adolescents are taking more risks than ever, such as drinking, vaping, texting while driving, having unprotected sex, and participating in extreme sports. Research suggests that there are, in fact, specific reasons why teens take risks. Three important effects of the drive to take risks in young people include dopamine, peer pressure, and a parents influence on their children.