Using Developmental Science to Distinguish Adolescents and Adults Under the Law

Posted: 12 Jan 2020

See all articles by Laurence Steinberg

Laurence Steinberg

Temple University - Department of Psychology

Grace Icenogle

University of California, Irvine - School of Social Ecology

Date Written: December 2019

Abstract

A developmental scientific perspective on drawing legal age boundaries begins with the premise that the age at which the rights and responsibilities of adulthood are conferred to minors must align with the psychological capacities and skills necessary to exercise good judgment in specific contexts. This article examines three aspects of development relevant to this analysis: cognitive capabilities, especially those that support reasoned and deliberative decision making; psychosocial capacities, especially those that facilitate self-regulation under conditions of social or emotional arousal; and neurobiological maturation in brain regions and systems that undergird these cognitive and psychosocial skills. We conclude that the maturation of the capacity to reason and deliberate systematically precedes, by as much as five years, the maturation of the ability to exercise self-regulation, especially in socially and emotionally arousing contexts. Legal age boundaries should distinguish between two very different decision-making contexts: those that allow for unhurried, logical reflection and those that do not.

Suggested Citation

Steinberg, Laurence and Icenogle, Grace, Using Developmental Science to Distinguish Adolescents and Adults Under the Law (December 2019). Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Vol. 1, pp. 21-40, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3515836 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-085105

Laurence Steinberg (Contact Author)

Temple University - Department of Psychology ( email )

Weiss Hall
1701 N. 13th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Grace Icenogle

University of California, Irvine - School of Social Ecology ( email )

4312 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway
Irvine, CA 92697
United States

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