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In reply to the discussion: Child rape is illegal and should be punished even if it is a republican president or congressman. [View all]Clouds Passing
(2,755 posts)Their minds are not fully developed.
Understanding the Teen Brain
It doesnt matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isnt something they can excel in, at least not yet.
The rational part of a teens brain isnt fully developed and wont be until age 25 or so.
In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brains rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.
In teens brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are still developingand not always at the same rate. Thats why when teens have overwhelming emotional input, they cant explain later what they were thinking. They werent thinking as much as they were feeling.
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=understanding-the-teen-brain-1-3051