New perspectives on adolescent motivated behavior: Attention and conditioning
Open accessAbstract
Adolescence is a critical transition period, during which fundamental changes prepare the adolescent for becoming an adult. Heuristic models of the neurobiology of adolescent behavior have emerged, promoting the central role of reward and motivation, coupled with cognitive immaturities. Here, we bring focus to two basic sets of processes, attention and conditioning, which are essential for adaptive behavior. Using the dual-attention model developed by Corbetta and Shulman (2002), which identifies a stimulus-driven and a goal-driven attention network, we propose a balance that favors stimulus-driven attention over goal-driven attention in youth. Regarding conditioning, we hypothesize that stronger associations tend to be made between environmental cues and appetitive stimuli, and weaker associations with aversive stimuli, in youth relative to adults. An attention system geared to prioritize stimulus-driven attention, together with more powerful associative learning with appetitive incentives, contribute to shape patterns of adolescent motivated behavior. This proposed bias in attention and conditioning function could facilitate the impulsive, novelty-seeking and risk-taking behavior that is typical of many adolescents.
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There is a relative dearth of research on avoidance behavior in incentive contexts; available evidence maps onto a quadratic function indicating a dip in avoidance response during adolescence when reward is possible.
“There is a relative dearth of research examining avoidance behavior in the context of incentives; however, the available evidence seems to map onto a quadratic function indicating a dip in avoidance response during adolescence when there is some probability of reward (Ernst et al., 2011).”
From A systematic review of fMRI reward paradigms used in studies of adolescents vs. adults: The impact of task design and implications for understanding neurodevelopment (2013) · cites this paper as Ernst et al., 2011
Adolescents tend to process incentives differently than adults, leading to suboptimal and often risky decision-making.
“Evidence suggests that adolescents tend to both process incentives differently than adults (for reviews see: Geier and Luna (2009; Ernst, Daniele et al. 2011)), leading to suboptimal and often risky decision-making.”
From Developmental imaging genetics: Linking dopamine function to adolescent behavior (2014) · cites this paper as Ernst, Daniele et al. 2011
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References 131 · Cited by 73
Research works printed but not linked: 8
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- Authors
- Ernst, M., Daniele, T., & Frantz, K.
- Affiliations
- United States Department of Health and Human Services (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- ORCID
- Frantz, Kyle
- Venue
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-10
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 377-389
- ISSN
- 1878-9293 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3184422
- OpenAlex
- W2002410798
- Cited by
- 73
- References
- 131
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- attention, conditioning, bottom-up attention, goal-driven attention, associative learning, appetitive stimuli, aversive stimuli, reward and motivation, cognitive immaturity, impulsivity, novelty seeking, risk-taking
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Animals, Attention, Conditioning, Psychological, Humans
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