Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Adolescent risk-taking and reward-system development

Adolescent risk-taking and reward-system development:
How does reward circuit maturation influence adolescent sensation-seeking and impulsive behaviours?

Overview

Figure 1. Teenagers Dangerously Driving Scenario It is Friday night, and 16-year-old Mia is out with a group of friends. Someone suggests taking the family car for a late-night drive. Mia knows she does not have permission to drive, and knows that driving without a license and with multiple people in the car could be dangerous. For a moment, she considers saying no. Her friends are excited, encouraging her, making the idea of doing something spontaneous and slightly dangerous, feel thrilling. The idea of consequences seems distant and Mia eventually agrees to take the car.

Adolescence is a developmental period characterised by increased sensation-seeking and risk-taking behaviours (add citation). Young people may be more likely to engage in behaviours that provide immediate rewards, such as experimenting with substances, risky driving, or seeking social approval, despite potential long-term consequences. Understanding why these behaviours increase during adolescence is important because risk-taking can contribute to negative health, social and educational outcomes, while some forms of exploration and novelty-seeking are also a normal part of development. One influential explanation is Steinberg's Dual Systems Model, which proposes that adolescent risk-taking results from the interaction between a rapidly developing socioemotional reward system and a more gradually developing cognitive-control system (Steinberg, 2008). Similarly, the Maturational Imbalance Model suggests that reward-related regions become increasingly sensitive during adolescence before the brain systems are responsible for regulating impulses and considering future consequences are fully mature (Casey et al., 2008). These theories suggest that adolescents are not lacking self-control, rather, their developing reward and control systems can make immediate rewards particularly difficult to resist. Behavioural research indicates that sensation-seeking increases during adolescence, while impulse control develops more gradually (Steinberg et al., 2008). Furthermore, other research demonstrated that the presence of peers can increase adolescents' reward-related brain activity and risk-taking, highlighting the importance of social context (Chein et al., 2011). Psychological science therefore helps explain adolescent risk-taking by examining how reward sensitivity, cognitive control, impulsivity and social influences interact during brain development. Combining developmental theories with behavioural and neuroscience research provides a more comprehensive understanding of why adolescents may be particularly sensitive to rewarding experiences and how this can influence risky behaviours.

💡 Focus Questions How does the reward system develop during adolescence? How does increased reward sensitivity influence sensation-seeking? How does the development of the reward system interact with cognitive control to influence impulsive and risky behaviours? How do social and environmental factors, affect adolescents' reward processing and risk-taking behaviours? How well do psychological theories and research explain the relationship between reward-system development and adolescent risk-taking?

Adolescent risk-taking: the developmental problem

What is adolescent risk-taking?

• What is risk taking and why does it increase during adolescence?
• What makes adolescence a unique developmental period?
• Why is understanding adolescent risk-taking important?
• Risk taking is any consciously or non-consciously controlled behaviour with a perceived uncertainty about its outcome, and/or about its possible benefits or costs for the physical, economic or psycho-social well-being of oneself or others (Trimpop. M, 2008).
• Adolescence is the phase of life between childhood and adulthood, from ages 10 to 19. it is a unique stage of human development and an important time for laying the foundations of good health (World Health Organisation, 2026).
• adolescence represents a period of strength and resilience, and is a distinct period of neural development with different brain sensitivity and responsivity (Jaworska and MacQueen, 2015).
• Dual systems model: Steinberg (2008) proposes that adolescent risk-taking is influenced by the interaction between a rapidly developing socioemotional/reward system and a more gradually developing cognitive-control system.
• understanding adolescent risk-taking is important because it is a normal developmental drive that helps teenagers build identity, independence, and real world decision making skills. understanding risk taking can help educators or supporters guide adolescents towards the healthier path, such as pushing them to play sport, rather than continue performing dangerous behaviours.
• according to the australian institute of family studies, in 2025, one-third of teens aged 14-19 years have experienced suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the past 12 months. this is a significant issue in Australia. if we can push teenagers to a healthier lifestyle and encourage them to not engage in risk taking behaviours, these rates may increase as they are not purposely putting themselves in a situation that is going to hurt them, either emotionally or physically.

Why does reward matter?

• why are immediate rewards particularly influential during adolescence?
• How might reward sensitivity contribute to risky decision making?

Purpose: establish the problem and introduce the connection between reward, sensation-seeking and impulsivity

• spear (2011) - rewards, aversions and affect in adolescence: key argument is that adolescents experience changes in reward and emotional systems that make rewarding experiences especially salient, particularly when they are exciting or socially relevant
• o'Brein et al (2011) - studied 100 late adolescents aged 18-20. adolescents showed a greater preference for immediate rewards when their peers were watching them compared with when they did the task alone.
• reward sensitivity is how strongly a person responds to rewarding or pleasurable outcomes. in adolescence, increased sensitivity to rewards can contribute to risky decision making because the immediate benefits of a behaviour may become more salient than its potential negative consequences
• research by Chein et al (2011) found that peer presence increased adolescents risk taking and activated reward-related brain regions, suggesting that social contexts can amplify the rewarding value of risky behaviour
• link to main question: this section establishes the problem and introduces the central idea that changes in reward sensitivity may help explain why risk taking increases during adolescence

The adolescent brain and reward-circuit development

Development of the adolescent brain

• What major changes occur in the adolescent brain?
• How does the Prefrontal cortex develop?
• Why is adolescent brain development relevant to behaviour?

Reward-circut maturation

• What is the brains reward circuit?
• what role do dopamine and reward-related regions play?
• How does reward sensitivity change across adolescence?

What does the research show?

• what evidence demonstrates change in adolescent reward processing?
• what have neuroimaging studies found?
• adolescence involves changes in brain structure and function, particularly in system involved in reward processing, decision-making and self-regulation
• the prefrontal cortex continues developing throughout adolescence and into early adulthood, contributing to improvements in planning, inhibitory control and decision-making (Casey et al., 2008)
• the developments of cognitive control systems occur alongside changes in emotional and motivational systems, meaning adolescents are developing the ability to regulate behaviours while simultaneously becoming more sensitive to rewards (Steinberg, 2008)
• sommerville et al (2010) found that adolescents show heightened sensitivity to appetitive and emotionally significant cues, particularly during a developmental period of substantial neural change
• link to main question- the adolescent brain provides the developmental context for understanding why reward sensitivity and behavioural control do not mature at the same time.

Which brain region is most closely associated with reward processing during adolescence?

	ventral striatum.
	Cerebellum.
	Medulla.
	Occipital cortex.

What role does dopamine play in adolescent reward processing?

	It is responsible exclusively for cognitive control.
	It prevents adolescents from responding to rewards.
	It contributes to motivation and sensitivity to rewarding experiences
	It eliminates sensation-seeking.

Reward sensitivity and adolescent sensation-seeking

What is sensation seeking?

• what is sensation seeking?
• how is it different from impulsivity?
• why does sensation-seeking increase during adolescence?

Reward sensitivity and novelty

• why do adolescents become more attracted to novel, exciting and rewarding experiences?
• how does heightened reward sensitivity influence motivation?

Evidence from psychological research

• what behavioural research demonstrates increased sensation-seeking?
• how does research connect reward sensitivity with sensation-seeking?
• the brains reward system plays a central role in motivation, reinforcement and learning, and it's development during adolescence can alter how strongly young people respond to rewarding experiences.
• reward processing involves regions which are involved in anticipating and responding to rewards. dopamine is important for motivation, reward learning and the anticipation of rewarding experiences, making dopaminergic development relevant to adolescent behaviour (Galvan, 2006-2010)
• crone and Dahl (2016) provide a more contemporary interpretation, arguing that heightened sensitivity to rewards and social experiences can facilitate exploration, learning and goal flexibility, rather than being inherently problematic

Reward, cognitive control and impulse behaviour

Understanding impulsivity

• what is impulse behaviour?
• how is impulsivity different from sensation-seeking?
• why might immediate rewards be difficult for adolescents to resist?

Development of cognitive control

• how does the prefrontal cortex support inhibition, planning and decision making?
• how does cognitive control develop throughout adolescence?

The reward-control imbalance

• what does steinberg's dual systems model propose?
• what does the maturational imbalance model suggest?
• what evidence supports the idea that reward sensitivity develops before cognitive control?
• impulsive behaviour involves acting quickly for an immediate reward without fully considering future consequences.
• adolescents may find immediate rewards harder to resist because reward-related brain regions become highly responsive during adolescence, while systems for self-control are still developing (Galavan et al., 2006; Steinberg, 2008)
• cognitive control develops gradually throughout adolescence and early adulthood, with increasing ability to inhibit impulses, plan ahead and make decisions based on longer-term consequences.

Social rewards, peers, and risk-taking

Why are social rewards important?

• why does peer approval become particularly rewarding during adolescence?
• how does social acceptance interact with the developing reward system?

Peer influence and reward processing

• how does the presence of peers affect adolescent decision-making?
• what does research demonstrate about peer influence and reward circuity? (look at chein et al., 2011)

When does reward-driven behaviour become risky?

• why might sensation seeking and impulsivity be stronger in social situations
• why do individual adolescents respond differently to peer and reward cues?
• During adolescence, peer approval, acceptance, and social status become increasingly rewarding because social relationships become more important to teens developing identities and goals. gaining peer approval may activate reward-related processes and make socially valued behaviours particularly motivating (Crone and Dahl, 2016)
• chein et al (2011) found that adolescents took greater risks in a simulated driving task when they believed their peers were watching.
• sensation-seeking and impulsivity may become particularly risky when adolescents are in emotionally stimulating or social situations, where immediate rewards such as excitement or peer approval are highly salient. however, individual differences in reward sensitivity, self-control, personality, and social experiences can influence how strongly adolescents respond to peer rewards (Shulman et al., 2016; Kwon and Telzer, 2022)

Implications: understanding adolescent risk-taking

What does the research tell us?

• does the evidence support the dual systems model?
• what are the strengths and limitations of current research?
• can reward-system development alone explain adolescent risk-taking?

Positive and negative sensation-seeking

• is sensation-seeking always harmful?
• can reward-seeking support exploration, independence and learning?

Psychological implications

• How can understanding reward sensitivity help explain adolescent behaviour?
• how could interventions redirect reward-seeking towards healthier behaviours?
• research generally supports the dual systems model (however research suggests that the model is a useful framework, not a complete explanation of adolescent risk taking)
• reward-system development alone cannot explain adolescent risk-taking.
• sensation seeking is not inherently harmful
• interventions should not aim to eliminate sensation-seeking but instead redirect it towards positive opportunities
• understanding reward sensitivity helps explain why adolescents nay behave differently depending on the reward and emotional context.
• rather than simply telling teens to use more self control, interventions could provide alternative sources of rewards and excitement
• overall, psychological science suggests that effective approaches should work with adolescent reward sensitivity rather than against it

Conclusion

• adolescent risk-taking is best understood as a result of a developing reward system interacting with developing cognitive-control abilities and the social environment.
• reward-circus maturation contributes to increased adolescent sensation-seeking by making novel, exciting and immediately rewarding experiences particularly motivating
• reward sensitivity contributes to impulsive behaviours because adolescents may place greater value on immediate rewards while their ability to inhibit responses, consider consequences and plan for the future is still developing. the maturational imbalance model similarly suggests that differences in the timing of reward and cognitive-control development can create a period of increased vulnerability to impulsive and risky behaviour (Casey et al., 2008). however, individual differences and contact influence how strongly adolescents respond to rewards
• reward-circus maturation does not cause harmful behaviour, increased reward sensitivity can support exploration, learning, independence, and social development.
• adolescence risk-taking is not simply a consequence of an 'immature brain'.

• Arguably the most important section
• Provide at least three bullet-points for this section even at the topic development stage, based on preliminary thinking
• For the book chapter, develop clear take-home message(s) that address the focus questions based on psychological theory and research
• Together, the Overview and Conclusion should summarise the problem, its significance, and how psychological science contributes to understanding and addressing this problem
• Recommended length: 150 to 330 words

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See also

• Behaviourism (Wikiversity)
• Dual systems model (Wikipedia)
• Peer influence in adolescence (Book chapter, 2011)
• Peer pressure (Wikiversity)
• Risk-taking motivation (Book chapter, 2024)

Internal (wiki) links to the most relevant Wikiversity pages (esp. related motivation and emotion book chapters) and Wikipedia articles. Use sentence casing and alphabetical order. For example:

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• Self determination theory (Wikipedia)

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References

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2025, August 19). One-third of teens experience suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Growing up in Australia. https://aifs.gov.au/growing-australia/media/one-third-teens-experience-suicidal-thoughts-and-behaviours

Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1440.010

Castellanos-Ryan, N., & Conrod, P. J. (2013). Personality and addiction processes. Principles of addiction: comprehensive addictive behaviours and disorders, 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-398336-7.00028-0

Chein, J., Albert, D., O'Brien, L., Uckert, K., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Peers increase adolescent risk taking by enhancing activity in the brain's reward circuitry. Developmental Science, 14(2), F1–F10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01035.x

Crone, E. A., & Dahl, R. E. (2012). Understanding adolescence as a period of social-affective engagement and goal flexibility. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 13(9), 636–650. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3313

Galván A. (2010). Neural plasticity of development and learning. Human brain mapping, 31(6), 879–890. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21029

Jaworska, N., & MacQueen, G. (2015). Adolescence as a unique developmental period. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN, 40(5), 291–293. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.150268

Kwon, SJ., Telzer, E.H. Social contextual risk taking in adolescence. Nat Rev Psychol 1, 393–406 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-022-00060-0

O'Brien, L., Albert, D., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Adolescents prefer more immediate rewards when in the presence of their peers. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(4), 747–753. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00738.x

Shulman, E. P., Smith, A. R., Silva, K., Icenogle, G., Duell, N., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2016). The dual systems model: Review, reappraisal, and reaffirmation. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 17, 103–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.010

Somerville, L. H., Jones, R. M., & Casey, B. J. (2010). A time of change: behavioral and neural correlates of adolescent sensitivity to appetitive and aversive environmental cues. Brain and cognition, 72(1), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2009.07.003

Spear, L. P. (2011). Rewards, aversions and affect in adolescence: Emerging convergences across laboratory animal and human data. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 1(4), 390–403.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2011.08.001

Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002

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External links

• Adolescent risk behaviours (London family court clinic)
• Speaking of psychology: understanding the teenage brain, with Eva Telzer, PhD (American Psychological Association)
• The surprising science of adolescent brains (TED talks)
• Risk taking in teens (ABC listen)
• Why you should encourage teens to take risks (The Conversation)

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• Six top tips for writing a great essay (University of Melbourne)
• The importance of structure (skillsyouneed.com)

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