“Turkeys know their names, come when you call, and are totally affectionate. They’re better than teenagers,” (Elayne Boosler). While the previous quote is rather humorous, it illustrates the frustration impulsive, ego-centric teenage behavior causes. Time has shown that teenagers are impulsive, confusing creatures. They lie to their parents. They declare strong emotions like love and hate without a second thought. They do things that they will regret later on in life. However, research states that the key to the bad decisions made by teenagers may be related to “brain construction” that takes place during these years. The irrationality of teenagers, especially in dealing with “love,” is affected by the underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex (thinking), so teenagers are left to primarily use the limbic system (emotional part of the brain); good parenting is crucial for the proper formation of the pre-frontal cortex.
A prime example of the irrationality of teenagers is the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this play, the two title characters are approximately sixteen and t...
In the essay “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?” psychologist Alison Gopnik explores the issues surrounding young minds in today’s society and why they’re hitting puberty sooner and adulthood later. Gopnik suggest poor diet and lack of exercise could be a potential issues, she also presents various studies blaming brain circuitry and even speculating that the cause of today’s youth problematic mentality could be a result of an “evolutionary feature” in which humans have a prolonged childhood. Gopnik’s main concern about today’s adolescent mind, is a neurological one, Gopnik speculates that there’s an inability to sync their “control system” and their “crucial system”. Gopnik proposes a few solutions to the problem, such as more hands-on experience
In “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare explains the idea that parental support is needed for teenagers. In the play two teenagers secretly get married and then commit suicide. Parents should let their kids do what they want but they can’t let them run loose..The amount of parental guidance in a teens life affects them greatly.
In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a quintessential pair of teens fall in love, but their fate ends in misfortune. The pair falls in love in a time where women are seen as unimportant and insignificant. In spite of this, Romeo breaks the boundaries of male dominance and shows a more feminine side. Throughout the play, there is an interesting depiction of gender roles that is contrary to the society of the time period.
The teen years is an emotional time for teenagers. One of the many responsibilities as one grows is for a teen and parent to understand one another. Relationships are hard for many teens, but being in a relationship is even harder when their parents do not support them. In the play , Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows what could possibly happen if parents do not accept the relationships of their children.
As Paul Thompson states in his article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains from the Sacramento Bee, published on May 25, 2001, “.These frontal lobes,which inhibit our violent passions, rash action and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years.” He also says that “The loss[of brain tissue] was like a wildfire, and you see it in every teenager.”. This loss of brain tissue plays a role in the erratic behavior of teens, who cannot properly assess their emotions and thoughts. During this period of brain tissue loss, teens are unpredictable, adults do not know what their teen’s next move will be, teens themselves do not even know what their next move will be. As we grow our brains develop, therefore teen brains are not fully developed, so they cannot be held to the same standards as adults.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two lovers from different families that have an internal feud between them. It ends in both lovers, Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide as they could not openly live with each other. An important idea in this play is that of the impetuosity of youth and the rash decisions that young people may make. This idea is continuously brought up throughout the play and is explored through the concepts of overreacting and being blinded by anger, desperation in forbidden love and taking your life for love.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two lovers from different families that have an internal feud between them. It ends in both lovers, Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide as they could not openly live with each other. An important idea in this play is that of the impetuosity of youth and the rash decisions that young people may make. This idea is continuously brought up throughout the play and is explored through the concepts of overreacting and being blinded by anger, desperation in forbidden love and taking your life for love.
During the adolescents, stage evidence shows that teens emotions height during this age and therefore they become more emotionally active. This is due to the development of brain centers and signaling molecules of the brain's reward system. This is how the brain encourages or motivates behavior with the feeling of pleasure. “ These age-related changes shape how much different parts of the brain are activated in response to experience and in the terms of behavior, the urgency and intensity of emotional reactions.” As the brain matures throughout the teen years many of them face the challenge of emotional change for the first time. The parts of the brain that deals with emotions and allows for
One of the most complicated puzzles that have faced our society and you, the parents, is that of the teenage brain. The reason that this has been stumping our heads is because this puzzle isn’t even complete. The adolescent brain is developed from back to front creating many complications for their decisions. This both helps and damages us. With this ability, we have an easier ability to learn new things, easier time adapting to our environment, and we seek new thrilling experiences. The ways this hinders us is that we have bad decision making, emotions controlling our decisions, sensitivity to social and emotional information, and the seeking of immediate rewards. Although a teenager’s brain is not fully
Final Essay “I went from adolescence to senility, trying to bypass maturity”.-Retired American musician Tom Lehrer. Adolescents often show lack of maturity. Romeo and Juliet is a story about two kids who meet and fall in love on the same day, only to get married a few days later. Then Juliet is supposed to marry another person named Paris after a day of being married to Romeo which then leads to all three of them being dead. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses figurative language to display that adolescents can make decisions that are not thought through.
The Development of the human brains can affect our behavior in many ways. The teenage brain or adolescent brains does not process the
It has been found that juvenile brains are not yet fully developed. The parts of the brain specifically still changing during the teen years include the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses and impulsive responses. Teen emotional reactions are intense and urgent (National Institute
Ultimately, Romeo and Juliet become embodiments of impulsiveness. Through their rash words and actions in the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare sets forth that both are too hasty in their decisions, leading them into unfortunate events. As the plot unfolds, Romeo and Juliet’s futile love is torn apart by their family’s hate and animosity towards each other. Despite their constant struggle to let their love survive, it is doomed from the beginning of the tragedy. It is plain that lack of foresight and wisdom leads to disaster all around.
During adolescence emotional reactivity is heightened, and the social environment is changing as adolescents spend more time with their peers than adults (Casey, 2008). To an adolescent, the value of positive information, as well as negative information may be exaggerated which leads to greater emotional reactivity and sensitivity during this growth period (Casey, 2008). This can heighten the incidence of addiction and the onset of psychological disorders (Casey, 2008). There are various theories that attempt to explain why adolescents engage in risky behaviour. One of these theories by Yurgelun-Todd stems from human adolescent brain development, and proposes that cognitive development during the adolescent period is associated with increasingly superior efficiency of cognitive control and affective modulation (Casey, 2008). This theory also suggest...
New York: The Free Press, 1973. Cox, Marjorie C. “Adolescent Processes in Romeo and Juliet.” Psychoanalytic Review 63 (1976). 379-392. Faber, M.D.