Practice question · Multiple choice
Adolescent risk-taking is often explained as poor judgement. The dual-systems account says both brain systems are developing normally. What is actually going wrong?
Hints
- Two systems, two schedules. Ask which arrives first and what the interval between them looks like from outside.
- If the risk came from a defect, it would not close on its own by the mid-twenties.
Show the answer
D. Nothing is faulty; the accelerator matures before the brakes
Why
It is a mismatch in timing, not a fault in a teenager: reward-seeking surges at puberty and regulatory control finishes maturing in the mid-twenties. That is also why the spike is temporary, and why insurers price a 19-year-old differently from a 26-year-old with the same record.
Practise Life Cycle and Health
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