The human race has a distinct variety of people and systems that make it almost impossible to group everyone into one category, but one of the few common factors is the ultimate desire to fulfill specific goals. For teenagers, this can be something like getting accepted into a good college or making a change in the world. How teenagers go about achieving these goals, however, depends on how their brains process motivational information and rewards.
Learning specialist Dana Miller has seen firsthand how students’ self-discipline changes throughout the teenage years.
“As a teen, you have a lot of distractions in your life,” Miller said. “Your brain’s still developing, and you’re still kind of figuring out the world yourself. So I think if you’re older and you have more experience in your life, it’s easier to stay disciplined.”
During adolescence, the ability to respond to motivational stimuli is influenced by the mesolimbic pathway, a part of the limbic system that deals with instant gratification. It is also defined by the still-developing prefrontal cortex, responsible for long-term decision-making and impulse control. This continuum between the two parts of the brain explains the variety of motivations teenagers experience, whether it’s due to academic pressure or the desire to fulfill a personal goal, and reflects how the developing brain can affect a teenager’s behavior.
According to the National Library of Medicine, there are two main categories of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Younger teenagers often rely on extrinsic motivation, which is driven by fear of consequences or a desire for some sort of reward. Meanwhile, older teenagers tend to rely not only on extrinsic, but also intrinsic motivation, which is rooted in interest and a desire to complete a task for personal gain.
Freshman Chloe Kang demonstrates this change, as she starts to find motivation in her knowledge in various subjects and the desire to make an impact on society.
“Most people know that grades are pretty important to me,” Kang said. “But my overall outlook is not just for the letter, but it is also for the impact that I can have and the knowledge which I can acquire, and that is definitely something that’ll stay with me for a while.”
The logical aspects of the prefrontal cortex don’t fully develop until the mid-to-late 20s. As adolescents continue to grow, the separate parts of the brain begin to reach similar levels of development, and teenagers often find their priorities shifting as they begin to look towards the future and more permanent goals.
Sophomore Sophie Matusiak has noticed this change in her long-term decision-making as she matures throughout high school.
“I’d say as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more independent,” Matusiak said. “During middle school, I had a lot of missing assignments, and I didn’t really do my work much. But I think just as you get older and you have goals like getting into a good college, you realize you need to change your habits to make it better for yourself.”
While the brain’s imbalance can create problems for teenagers when it comes to the regulation of gratification, the plasticity of the brain at this age makes it easier to shape habits that can be beneficial to learning and growing as a person.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the brain is consistently strengthening its neuron pathways through a process called synaptic pruning, where it discards any unused pathways to allow the used ones to thrive. This means that when a teenager practices good discipline, they are helping to make gaining motivation easier in the future.
Miller acknowledges the benefits of building up to success through hard work and effort.
“On average, I do think motivation is just training,” Miller said. “Teenagers are all similar in the fact that their brains aren’t fully developed, so I think it stems from building those good habits and sticking to a routine, or finding whatever works for you.”
