[evolveme]

Originally Posted by Selenay

Right, that's entirely accurate and may full well explain why I, and so many other teenagers and early twenty-somethings are more apt to say, "Well. It seemed like a good idea, at the time..." than are our older counterparts.


However, there is a large difference between an impulse decision and a series of impulse decisions. If I decide that it's a really good idea to skip class and take a nap, that's an impulse decision that may not be the right one. If I decide it's a really good idea to skip class every monday for the rest of the semester, I do not think that falls under the category of my poor frontal lobe connectors.

There is a huge difference between the postulation that teens are unable to appropriately judge the consequences of their actions in the moment, and being unable to judge them in the long term--and this article does not confirm or deny that it applies to long term decisions, it focuses on singular decisions (with the exception of the goth change, which could also be attributed to the studies done on the effects of peer pressure on teenagers, in regards to their underdeveloped frontal lobe; i'd be happy to look for that article if someone is curious about it. )

I like the way that you're thinking (usually do; you know this) and while I see the validity of your point here, it's also true that repeated behaviors (good, bad or otherwise) can create neuron pathways in the brain, leading to automatic behavior (as opposed to in-the-moment creative behavior). It's fascinating that our brains can literally be changed by our behaviors, yeah? I'm not necessarily suggesting that the choice to cut class every Monday could become an example of such a brain change toward auto-pilot behavior, but I do believe that regularly chosen poor behaviors (and corresponding attitudes) can be.