How do cognitive changes contribute to decision-making during adolescence? How does cognition contribute to risky behaviors?

LUDMILA VLADINO POST:

      Cognitive is the process that underlies how people think. During adolescence, changes in thinking abilities are one of the fundamental changes that occur at this stage. Adolescents are better equipped to think and get solutions to hypothetical situations. For instance, an adolescent may be able to anticipate things that have not yet occurred but could occur or things that may not happen but could happen in the future. Adolescents may also be able to think and make decisions on concepts such as friendships, morality, or democracy. During this stage, the brain is developing and resulting in a certain level of maturation, and therefore the adolescent can experience certain changes in thinking that help them reach a certain level of logical decision making. In this paper, therefore, we examine how these cognitive changes contribute to decision-making during adolescence and how cognition contributes to risky behavior.

         Each adolescent develops in their way and follows a different course of thinking depending on the environment they grow in. this plays a major role in determining how they approach complex situations and how they apply logic to solve their problems. When they face emotional situations, cognitive reasons kick in and the complexity of the situation coupled with different possibilities and facts may influence the decision making of the adolescence whether positively or negatively. For instance, in early adolescence, they begin to show and apply formal logical operations in school work and they also start to question the order in the society. They also begin forming their thoughts and views on different topics. During the middle adolescence stage, adolescents begin to focus on solving more complex hypothetical situations e.g. on futuristic concerns including their goal, developing their code of ethics, and how they relate to others in the society. Additionally, during late adolescence, the thinks process becomes more self-centered, and the focus shifts to making personal decisions such as career, democracy, and other complex situations.

          Cognition in the adolescence stage may lead to risky behaviors. This can mainly be caused by the environment they find themselves in. For instance, if an individual develops sensitivity towards rewards such as money or peer approval, it might lead them to demonstrate high-risk behavior to achieve this goal. These stimuli coupled with perceptions of risk and reward may influence the level of risk an adolescent is willing to take. How well they’re able to control the levels of stress, excitement and emotions contribute to the decision they make. Additionally, as a result of this complex situation they find themselves in, they may result to use drug abuse and violence as a reward. Therefore, the timing of these cognitive changes in the brain of adolescence is very critical in determining the behavior of an adolescent