The psychology of adolescence: brain and behaviour

Adolescence is a unique period of life characterised by biological, psychological, and social development. We look at the impact the brain, puberty and the environment may have on our behaviour and cognitive functioning. We also consider what drives teenagers to engage in risky behaviours and what makes them vulnerable to mental health problems.

Adolescence is a unique period of life when our bodies, hormones, and social environment are rapidly changing, our brains are developing, and our cognitive capacities become more refined. Physical changes that happen in our brains during adolescence manifest themselves into behaviour, and these changes lay down the blueprint for our self-identity and the adults we become. Throughout the course we look at the impact the brain, puberty and the environment may have on our behaviour and cognitive functioning. We also consider what drives teenagers to engage in risky behaviours and what makes them vulnerable to mental health problems. We will finish off by discussing the potential impact that the evidence for adolescent brain and sociocognitive development has on the law and the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to have a go at the tasks that are commonly used in the studies that we’ll discuss. 

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• Be able to discuss the different trajectories of adolescent brain development and what implications this has on thinking and behaviour, such as risk taking.  
• Be able to discuss the process of emotion regulation.
• Be able to discuss why mental health problems often emerge during adolescence. 

Classes

1. Adolescent brain development and risk taking This session covers brain development during adolescence and discusses why adolescents take risks and in which contexts.
2. Social influence and social cognition  This session discusses social influence in adolescence and the behavioural and neural basis of social cognitive processes such as theory of mind/perspective taking.
3. Emotion regulation  This session describes the process of emotion regulation and discusses behavioural and neural evidence on the emotion regulation abilities of adolescents and adolescents with mental health problems.
4. Mental health This session explores why mental health problems are so common during adolescence, the role social media is playing in depression and conduct disorder.
5. Recap, legal implications and COVID-19 The final session discusses the potential impact that the evidence for adolescent brain and sociocognitive development has on the law. It also covers new research on the impact of COVID19 on adolescents. 

Required reading

Bedwell S. (2017). Do teenagers really make bad decisions? Frontiers for Young Minds, 5(53).  https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00053  

Blakemore, S J. (2019). Adolescence and mental health. The Lancet 393(10185), 2030-2031. https://www.dropbox.com/s/2lerbsdhywknzt8/BlakemoreLancet2019.pdf?dl=0   

Hoyos, P, Kim, N and Kastner, S. (2019). How is magnetic resonance imaging used to learn about the brain? Frontiers for Young Minds, 7(86).   

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00086  

Mills, K L, Goddings, A-L and Blakemore, S-J. (2014). Drama in the teenage brain. Frontiers for Young Minds, 2(16), 1-5.   

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2014.00016

Typical week: Monday to Friday

For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.