Chunk #107 — The Theory of Urgency — The Role of Positive and Negative Urgency During Adolescence — Heightened Emotionality and Disposition Toward Rash Action During Adolescence
The implication of incomplete PFC development and incomplete brain integration is that adolescents’ ability to engage in affect-guided planning, so as to inhibit impulses and consider consequences before acting, is less consistent than that of adults. It appears to be particularly true that adolescents appear less able to consider consequences, to plan, and to inhibit actions in “hot” situations, i.e., under states of heightened emotionality (Luna & Sweeney, 2004; Nelson et al., 2002; Steinberg, 2004). Researchers have described ill-considered actions by adolescents who are both very happy and very distressed. Steinberg (2004), in his analysis of risk taking during adolescent years, observes that much of the difficulty adolescents have in resisting peer pressure, regulating their emotions and considering future consequences of their actions becomes magnified during states of positive arousal.
