teenagers\' brains, choices, and emotions

Teenage Brains, Choices, and EmotionsRiverLakes Community Church

Life Transformation Class: Week 3EMPOWERING YOUR

TEENFOR A LIFE OF PASSION

AND PURPOSE

Teenage Brains, Choices, and

Emotions

A Little Review of Week

#2

• The Bible gives us an impressive list of teenagers who were not mixed up. – They knew what they believed– They were committed – They knew their general direction in life,

by faith

• Young people who stand for something are not likely to easily fall for anything. – 1. Joseph beat sexual temptation– 2. David showed exemplary courage in face

of danger– 3. Josiah stood firm on ethics – 4. Daniel demonstrated that integrity needs

not to be compromised just for a promotion. – 5. The Disciples/Apostles, and Timothy found

the ultimate adventure in the Christian life

What Temptations Do Teens Face Today?

• “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

They are not alone!

7 Teenage Pressure-Points

• Body Image• Personal Identity• Scheduling Priorities• High Parental Expectations• Peer Pressure and Expectations• Teen Health• Role Models and Heroes

Successful Strategies

• Offer teenagers choices• Refuse to accept excuses and make none of

our own• Legitimize behaviors we cannot stop• Use a variety of ways to communicate• Be responsible for ourselves and allow

teenagers to be responsible for themselves• Realize their growing independence• Start fresh each and every day• Friends are important; Include them in

family• Mentor beyond our mistakes

AMIDST IT ALL:WHAT IS GOING ONIN THEIR BRAINS?

Wrestling With Right and Wrong

• One of the more difficult things about making choices is to distinguish between several factors "before" making the choices . . .

IMPULSIVITY

– First, what level of impulsivity is in operation at the height of the decision to be made. • Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be

hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

• An impulsive vow is a trap; later you'll wish you could get out of it. After careful scrutiny, a wise leader makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolts. God is in charge of human life, watching and examining us inside and out. Love and truth form a good leader; sound leadership is founded on loving integrity. Youth may be admired for vigor, but gray hair gives prestige to old age. (The Message)

PROVERBS 20:25-29

MOTIVATION

– Second, what is motivating force behind making the decisions.• John 16:33• Philippians 2:13• Deuteronomy 31:6• Colossians 3:23• Philippians 4:13• Psalm 37:23-24• Ephesians 2:10

CONSEQUENCES

• Third, what are the consequences—if any—associated with the choice, in terms of outcomes. • Galatians 6:7-8• 1 Corinthians 6:16-17

• Choices are made for many basic reasons.

• Fun, frolic, faith, flesh, fibs . . . • One thing we cannot push aside is the

reality that all choices have costs. • When it comes to teenagers, this is a

critical element upon which to center.

What Motivates Teens to Act as They Do?

What is Motivation?

•  MOTIVATION is usually defined as:– “ . . . an internal state that arouses,

directs, and maintains behavior.”

The Battle

• Ephesians 6:12ff• Romans 7:15-25

Motivating Teenagers as Christians

• Recently, there has been a lot of focus on “emotional intelligence.”

• The major implications for parents, in terms of emotional intelligence research are: – Intrinsic Motivation– Impulse Control– Empathy– Social Competence

Intrinsic Motivation

• Intrinsic motivation “emerges out of an environment that encourages the discovery and exploration of personal interests and abilities” (Sylwester 2003).

• Just do it?– Even if you don’t feel like it?

Is There a Strong Desire to Succeed?

• Internal Motivation Can be Stimulated . . .• We can do this by focusing daily on:– Finding ways to produce relevance to the

family, whether blended, or single-parent.– Helping teenagers see how their existence

fits into their world and the larger context of the world of others.

– Discuss, “Who we are in Christ and what is our place in the larger context of the Christian faith?”

Who Are We in Christ?

• In Christ –We are a new creation• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new

creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

– For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.• We are created to do good works (Ephesians

2:10)

– We are blessed with every spiritual blessing• Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  (Ephesians 1:3)

– We are free from condemnation• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  (Romans 8:1)

Contextualization

• We all have experienced the teenage challenge questions: – “Why do we have to do this?”– “Why should I go to church, it is so

boring?”

WHAT’S THE INCENTIVE?

Impulse Control

• Impulse control is something very few teens have a handle on.

• Teenagers often act without giving themselves any time to think through, or reflect on their actions ahead of time

• Teenagers simply act a lot before thinking

• Their boredom can also be an impulse.

• “Teenagers have the passion and the strength but no brakes.”– (Jay Giedd, 2003, Neuroscientist)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKT_09pARN4&feature=player_detailpage

Empathy

• Empathy is an important aspect of emotional intelligence.

• Empathy allows teenagers to act in ethical ways, and to demonstrate altruism

• Parents can help by allowing teenagers to share their thoughts, and allow their expressions to connect with those of others.– Youth Programs– Community Service organizations– Athletics– Families – Missions Trips– University overnighters at Christian colleges

When it Comes to Connecting . . .

• Parents can learn more by listening . . . 

And Singing!

Social Competence

• Social competence is that which allows teenagers to “read” social contexts and respond adequately– Many teenagers seem socially awkward,

particularly when singled out, or in relationships with the opposite sex.

– This is why they find such identity by looking the same as their friends look in attire, hair style, taste in music, youthful language, etc.

– There is security in numbers!

When it comes to respect, consideration of others, and development of manners, adults can play a large positive and negative role.

“Manners do not come naturally but must be taught.”

Parents can assist in the development of manners by allowing teenagers to work, join groups, and debriefing afterwards.

The same works around the dinner tables at home, as we set aside time in our busy lives.

Fruit of the Spirit

• We should point out the Fruit of the Spirit when our teens show evidence of that, and attribute that to God.

• Galatians 5:22-23– But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

AFFECTIVE LEARNING

• Levels of the feel good transmitter “Dopamine” generally decline during the teen years, levels are STILL increasing in the front parts of the brain.

• In an attempt to achieve balance, Dopamine levels decrease in the reward circuitry of the brain. – Therefore, teenagers who are

“dopamine-depleted” in their reward circuits, might need more stimulation and activity to get back to the same “kick, high, or emotional levels” as before.

• Impulsively they are high. But . . . • It is true that students ARE more bored . . .

chemically.

• So, the question:  “Why did you do that?” . . . is best answered by their statement: – “I don’t know.”

Early in Adolescence

• Teens have an abundance of synapses that emit the “excitement-oriented” neurotransmitter called glutamate. – By the end of the teenage years, the ratio of excitatory synapses to inhibitory synapses decreases from 7-1 ratio to 4-1 ratio.  

– This is one reason why most teens calm down across the teen years.  

Female Teen Sizing Up Other Girls

Capturing the Brain Lying• "It's kind of a scary idea," said Stanford University neurobiologist Ben 

A. Barres. "Right now, nobody takes lie detectors all that seriously."• In the study, researchers looked inside the heads of 18 fibbing test 

subjects who had been asked to cheat during a standard laboratory card game. The game, known as a "guilty knowledge test," involves hiding a card, then denying you have it when a picture of the card is flashed on a screen.

• Results of the experiment seemed to confirm what cops, crooks and more than a few little kids have long known: Lying is hard work.

• "When you tell a deliberate lie, you have to be holding in mind the truth," said Dr. Daniel Langleben, a University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist who led the study. "So it stands to reason it should mean more brain activity."God knows our thoughts

and our ways

Why Do Students Seem To Be “Without Brakes”?

• Frontal lobes are still under construction, and these are the areas key to impulse control

• Growth spurts– Ages 10-12– Ages 14-16– Ages 18-20

This Is Confirmed by

• Researchers at Radford University (William Hudspeth) and Harvard Graduate School of Education (Kurt Fischer) have discovered that the teenage brain is still “wiring up” and that there are certain growth spurts that mark this wiring. 

Age 15 . . . 

• At around age 15, students actually begin to “get it” and can begin to relate to abstract things.

But They Are Immature

But They Are Also Growing

Emotional v. Cognitive Maturity

• Researchers now understand that there is a major difference between emotional maturity and cognitive maturity.  

Emotional Intelligence (Goleman)

• The four factors that are tied to brain development and biological maturity are:– Intrinsic Motivation– Impulse Control– Empathy– Social Competence

In other words,

when we say “mature,”

this is some of what we mean!

Teenage Emotions

• What we call “emotions” are actually complex body/mind states made up of four different, overlapping sets of physiological and psychological processes.– Temperaments–Moods– Reactions– Feelings

Let’s take a brief look at

These!

First Process: Temperaments

• These have a range across a continuum – Stemming from ANXIOUS/INHIBITED

people who pull back from uncertainties, sensing danger

– to BOLD/UNHIBITED people who approach uncertainty and sense “opportunity.”FEAR

OF RISK

No Fear of Risk

Second Process: Moods

• Layered on top of our basic temperaments (hours to days in length).

• These are defined as “short term emotional response bias.” (Sylwester 2003)

Third Process: Emotional Reactions

• Shorter than moods and are defined as “unconscious physiological responses to short-term situations.”

• Examples: facial expression, body language tone of voice, etc.

Fourth Process: Feelings

• Defined as conscious representations of our emotions.

• Feelings take place in the mind and are almost always hidden.  

• MOOD SWINGS by teenagers are REAL

Female Teens v. Male Teens

• Ever wonder why some teenage females seem to have their impulses under control earlier than some males?

• The frontal lobes of our brains are those areas where impulses are controlled. – Scientists are telling us that the frontal

lobes are not fully developed until well past the age of 20—and up to 25—according to some studies.

Where are All the Good Ones?

• There are different degrees of biological development for females and males, all which have interesting implications for parents.

• This kind of puts into perspective why some males in their early twenties are not mature enough for females of their same age group.

Closing . . .

•Passion is Persuasive• So Bring it!

•CONFIDENCE IS CONTAGIOUS• SO BRING IT!

Romans 8:37

• But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Next Week’s Topic