Are Immature Brains the Answer to the Teen Culture Problem?
A FoxNews story today asserts that the violent, irresponsible, and criminal behavior that peaks in the adolescent years is due to the immature teen brain. On the contrary, it is this kind of thinking, not the teen brain, that is the problem.
As I pointed out in my previous post, “Extended Childhood“, the interpretations of the brain research upon which the assertaion is based have been questioned on several fronts. First, the brain-scan research cannot show which comes first, brain differences or cultural-behavioral differences. Second, a quick look into our own history as a country shows that such irresponsible, violent “adolescence” is a recent phenomenon. Third, a look at other cultures indicates that adolescence is by no means a universal phenomenon.
December 17, 2007 at 9:30 pm
[...] I was monitoring the detention hall after school. It is typically a place where one can observe the teen culture problem closely, but today was different. Today there was a young man in the hall who caught my eye first [...]