The Science Behind Adolescent Risk Taking and Exploration
Adolescents are generally more likely to lean into risk and uncertainty than children or adults—and that’s a good thing.
It’s not only normal for adolescents to take risks and try new things, it’s an essential part of learning during these years. Being able and willing to take risks is a part of our natural tendency to explore new things in adolescence—in ways that help us discover who we are, expand our skills, and ultimately leave the safe nest of home.
Recent research on adolescent risk taking helps us understand why we’re more likely to approach things that feel uncertain or scary during these years, and why these risks are so important to learning and development. It also provides insights into how this craving for new and exciting experiences can promote normal and healthy versions of risk taking that adults can support.
The Definition of “Risk”
A risk is essentially just a behavior for which the outcome is uncertain. Adolescence is particularly filled with uncertainty, as young people figure out who they are in the context of shifting social landscapes, new responsibilities, and more challenging schoolwork.
Research has shown that adolescents are more willing than adults to lean into uncertainty and explore situations in which there is a potential for a reward (in whatever form), but the outcome is not assured. This tolerance for ambiguous outcomes is essential to learning and development during adolescence. Attempting to learn a new skill, running for student government, asking someone out, and standing up for a friend all feel very risky—especially during adolescence, when most of us are trying these things in new ways or for the first time.
So although many adults fear the risks their child might take, the willingness to approach the new and unknown is actually an important and adaptive quality, especially during the adolescent years.
How Dopamine Supports Learning
Our brains undergo significant changes during adolescence, adding new connections, pruning away unused avenues, and strengthening frequently used pathways in response to experience.
One of the ways the brain responds to experiences that matter is through a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Dopamine is involved in how the brain processes rewards, but it’s not just a “feel good” chemical. Dopamine is also important to learning and motivation.
A surprising or unexpected reward causes an extra dopamine release. So every time we do something with an uncertain outcome—taking a “risk”—increased dopamine is released while we are determining what happens. This release alerts other parts of the brain that the activity or situation is new and deserves attention. This is a kind of amplified learning that’s actively shaping the connections between neural systems in our brains.
Because adolescent brains release more dopamine compared to children or adults, adolescents are more sensitive to the rewards and good feelings that come from surprises and new experiences. Although not all adolescents are comfortable with risks, in general, the adolescent reward system is more excited by risks (compared to children or adults) which tends to make young people more interested in exploring.
Rational Risks
The increase in dopamine expression during adolescence is not only connected to sensation seeking and risk taking—it also plays a role in executive functions such as attention and cognitive control that help support decision making.
So when we’re talking about risk taking, we’re not talking about out-of-control behavior. In fact, by the mid-to-late teens, adolescents often perform cognitive control tasks as well or better than the average adult.
Peers and Risk Taking
Risk taking doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Research has shown that when peers are in the room, or if adolescents even think peers may be observing them from another room or online, they are more likely to take risks, and the reward response from risk-taking behavior becomes amplified. It’s not so much that friends pressure each other to engage in a risky behavior, but that the rewarding feelings are more intense when their friends are present.
Although adults often associate peers with more dangerous risk-taking behavior, peers can also encourage and motivate youth to take positive risks. Engaging in activism, standing up for causes that they believe in, or sticking up for someone else all happen in peer contexts.
Takeaways
Adolescents are more likely to take risks, and that’s a good thing. What’s important for adults to know is that adolescents can benefit from healthy social opportunities to try new things, without knowing for sure how they will turn out.
We need to support policies and programs that provide opportunities for positive risk taking for all adolescents—not just those whose schools and parents can afford electives and extracurricular activities.
