Teen Brain Model Theory example essay topic

The teen brain consists of four main components that contribute to development. The first component is the corpus callosum, which is a nerve table that joins both sides of the brain. Although it is not completely stated what it is responsible for it is believed that it controls intelligence, consciousness, and self-awareness. This links to the teen brain model because it doesn't mature till your mid 20's which would explain why teens do so called "Dumb" things, because their brains are not fully developed. The second main component is the frontal lobe, which is located in the upper front part of the brain. The frontal lobe is responsible for self-control, judgment, organization, and regulation.

The frontal lobe changes and undergoes a series of pruning. The first growth finishes at age five and then at about the age of 10 the brain begins to grow again. Which explains why most teens do not think things threw because this part of the brain is not fully developed. Another component is the changing in the Parietal lobes.

The parietal lobe put together information and is in charge of senses like tactile or touch and sight, and makes it comprehensible. What happens to the parietal lobes is the long nerve fibers or white matter that is coated in fatty substance called myelin, allows the nerves to carry information faster and more efficiently when the process is finished. This process is developing until late teens early 20's. Which means the teen brain does not send or receive information as fast or effective. The final result of the parietal lobes is that they can't organize or incorporate the different signs that they receive. They do not adapt because the brain cannot react to it.

Like the parietal lobe the temporal lobes are not developed during the teen years. The temporal lobes are responsible for language and emotion; they do not reach full maturity until approximately 16 years of age. The final component of the teen brain is hormones. The female's hippocampus grows more quickly than males because it reacts to estrogen. Females react better to the reward and punishment system. Males however, the amygdala grows more rapidly than females because it reacts to androgen.

Males react better to fears and emotions, which means an adolescent male may be easier to discipline if you put a fear in them. By this I mean if they fear the costs they will not disobey. As I was deciding what topic to do my paper on I thought what I could explain the best. Since I had quite a rebellious teen life I thought this would be the best topic for my paper. When I was 14 my parents had gone on vacation to Las Vegas for a week, now me being the not so perfect teenager seen this as the perfect opportunity to take the car without a license on a week long test drive in my fathers brand new 2 week old Chevy Blazer.

The first day they were gone I decided to take off school and go fishing in the new blazer. Since my sister went to a different high school and wouldn't know if I went to school or not I took this as the perfect opportunity to ditch school and get away with it. Well the first day every thing went great, my buddies and me had a great time fishing and goofing off. So me being the smartest guy in the world ditched the whole week of school to go fishing in my dad's blazer. But the last day I decided to go to a lake that you can only get to with a four wheel drive and that's when the trouble started. I somehow managed to get the blazer stuck on top of a road block like a teeter-totter with the tires suspended in mid air.

So I started walking back to town and I got my buddy to tow me out. So I thought everything would be fine but later I realized a huge dent on the bottom of the car and I was like "oh man what am I gonna do". So then I thought well maybe he wouldn't notice it until he drove it a while and thought he might have done it. Well as soon as they got home he seen it and like any teenager I denied it for about 2 hours then I finally confessed. Now naturally I got the classic beating and yelling that one would expect for taking a $30,000 vehicle on an off-road joy ride without a license. Why did I do this?

Well according to the teen brain model I was using poor judgment lack of intelligence, and lack of auditory senses. Which I truly believe because now I realize how stupid that was but at the time I guess you could say I wasn't "thinking" which the teen brain model suggest. If I were the parent of a young teenager I would emphasize the reward and punishment system because if my parents would have rewarded my good deeds more often I think I would have refrained from deviant behavior. Teens are very emotional and if you emphasize on the bad they have done there are more likely to feel labeled as a bad kid. If my parents would have emphasized on my good things because believe me there were some good things I wouldn't have defied them as much as I did. I feel the teen brain model theory is a good theory because it really hits the nail on the head of how teens act and feel.

When I was a teen I remember the things I did and I know if given the same opportunity now I would never do those things again. If only my parents had known about this theory when I was a teen, it could have saved a lot punishment I received, or maybe not. In closing I think the teen brain will never be totally explained but this theory really helps people understand better.