Skarp wrote:Also, it strikes me as somewhat patronizing to assume that teen-aged kids don't understand the dangers of the sport. They've all been beaned, taken bad hops to the face, and had enough close calls with rocket shots to be well aware of what could possibly happen to them. Lots of kids decide that the sport isn't for them at a much earlier age. Those who stick with it know exactly what they are dealing with....probably better than we do.
Adolescents process risk differently than adults do; their brains are still developing.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994126-1,00.html
That is especially so because the brain regions that put the brakes on risky, impulsive behavior are still under construction. "The parts of the brain responsible for things like sensation seeking are getting turned on in big ways around the time of puberty," says Temple University psychologist Laurence Steinberg. "But the parts for exercising judgment are still maturing throughout the course of adolescence. So you've got this time gap between when things impel kids toward taking risks early in adolescence, and when things that allow people to think before they act come online. It's like turning on the engine of a car without a skilled driver at the wheel."
At Temple University, Steinberg has been studying another kind of judgment: risk assessment. In an experiment using a driving-simulation game, he studies teens and adults as they decide whether to run a yellow light. Both sets of subjects, he found, make safe choices when playing alone. But in group play, teenagers start to take more risks in the presence of their friends, while those over age 20 don't show much change in their behavior. "With this manipulation," says Steinberg, "we've shown that age differences in decision making and judgment may appear under conditions that are emotionally arousing or have high social impact."
