Adolescent Risk-Taking: What Neuroscience is Uncovering re: Adolescents & Risk

1. Adolescent Risk-Taking:What Neuroscience is Uncovering re: Adolescents & Risk October 12, 2012 Nebraska Association for Middle Level Education Julie Crotty, jcrotty@cfu.net

2. With a partner, discuss the three quotes. In your own words… what point is the author trying to make?

3. It should come as no surprise that ‘howto do it’ capabilities mature before ‘whetherto do it’ capabilities. Therefore, many adolescents can successfully do things that they shouldn’t. Robert Sylwester

5. Some of the researchers… Dr. Jay Giedd (NIMH) Dr. Laurence Steinberg (Temple University) Dr. Adriana Galvan Brain Institute, UCLA Dr. Valerie Reyna Professor of Human Development & Psychology, Cornell University

6. Why does it matter? It’s possible that our current approaches to educating adolescents about avoiding certain dangers… might not “match” the way their brains tend to think. The new research findings present a good opportunity for reviewing current educational programming and approaches to keeping kids safe.

7. A bit of Brain Vocabulary: Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) (the brain’s pleasure center) n. accumbens VTA Synapse Exuberance Pruning Myelination Neurons Dopamine ( a feel good chemical)

8. In neuroscience, “adolescence” begins around 11-12 years of age, lasts until mid-late 20’s • Findings describe adolescents “collectively” • generally speaking… • adolescents tend to… • most/many adolescents… • adolescents often… • Guiding Question: • How might this new information about adolescent risk-taking be used to keep our kids safe?

9. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Humans are “hard-wired” for risk-taking.

10. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Adolescents are highly sensitive to the rewards associated with risk. (more so than are most adults)

11. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Adolescents are generally more impulsive than adults. [ ] Hot cognition vsCold cognition

12. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Adolescents often overestimate the risk in given situations. Microsoft Clip Art: 2011

13. The Adolescent Brain: Risk-Taking Scientific American Mind: Dec. 06-Jan. 07 254 9th-12th grade students were asked to estimate the likelihood that a sexually active teenage girl would contract an STD

14. The Adolescent Brain: Risk-Taking Scientific American Mind: Dec. 06-Jan. 07 254 9th-12th grade students were asked to estimate the likelihood that a sexually active teenage girl would contract an STD

15. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Adolescents often overestimate the risk in given situations. Could this result in a sense of complacency among adolescents- a sense that the risks are not as great as they thought... and a reinforcement of that complacency each time a risk is taken, and the worst does NOT happen? Microsoft Clip Art: 2011

16. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Adolescents tend to weigh the benefit more heavily than the risk. iCLIPARTfor Schools, 2011

17. What do we know about adolescents and risk-taking? Cons Pros Adolescents tend to think too rationallywhen it comes to assessing risk. Microsoft Office Clipart, 2011

18. For what amount of money would you be willing to participate in a game of Russian Roulette? $$$ $$$ Google Images: http://www.newarkymca.org Microsoft Office Clipart, 2011

19. Risk-Taking: Adults vs. Adolescents The Fuzzy-Trace Theory Gist vs.Verbatim Valerie F. Reyna, Cornell University; Frank Farley, Temple University; Charles Brainerd, Cornell University, Scientific American Mind, Dec. 06-Jan. 07

20. Valerie Reyna, Department of Human Development, Cornell University WHAM Channel 13 News, Rochester, NY December 2006

21. So… does it matter? Is it possible that our current approaches to educating adolescents about avoiding certain dangers… might not “match” the way their brains tend to think? Do these new research findings present a good opportunity to review current educational programming & approaches to keeping kids safe? Who else needs to know this information? Discuss these questions with someone near you.

22. What can we do… because of what we know? • Educate… students, parents, colleagues • Review… current practices re: prevention, health, and safety programs- begin discussions about possible updates, based on the new information • Encourage… “healthy” risk-taking activities • Provide… risk-taking practice in “cold cognition” situations • See to it…that EVERY student engages in “safe” risk-taking through extra-curricular activities • Continue to learn… follow the research, and use it to better understand the brains of our adolescent learners

23. “As it turns out, teenagers may, indeed, be a bit crazy. But they are crazy according to a primal blueprint. They are crazy by design.” Barbara Strauch, The Primal Teen

24. Julie Crotty 319-239-8941 jcrotty@cfu.net Thanks for attending!