Maturity of Judgment in Adolescence 
Psych 412
Penn State
Dr. Love
When i was in high school, I skipped school one day in order to go to my boyfriends house (whom my parents didn’t know about because they didn’t approve of me dating anyone), and i faked a note and called them to tell them i was sick from my parents phone pretending to be my own mother. This was a risk-taking behavior because, as i later found out, the school figured out that I wasn’t actually sick and called my parents. Then, my parents found out about my boyfriend. This had very high risks on my social and personal life. Although some might call this a reckless behavior, i think it is more of a risk-taking behavior because i did have control over what happened after. I pretended like i was actually sick, even after they found out i wasn’t (i know, i was dumb in high school), and this made the punishment greater not only from my parents but also from the school. I actually got suspended and went from a straight A’s student to a suspended one!
Gardner’s Rational Choice Theory basically says that when you’re an adolescent you are more likely to outweigh the benefits of engaging in a risk taking behavior than you are when you’re an adult. Also, when you’re older there actually are more negatives and you have more to lose when you engage in a risk taking behavior.
Gardner would see my example of skipping a day of high school as me looking at hanging out with my boyfriend right in the moment as a greater benefit than the slight risk of getting caught and suspended for it in the future.
Apter would basically look at in a a biological and physiological way. He would say that when i woke up that morning i was in the safety zone, not worrying about skipping school or anything. When i decided that I wanted to skip school, I was in the danger zone, getting excited and anxious. When i got called from the school and my parents and they told me that they figured out I was skipping and that I was getting suspended, I was in the trauma zone. He
Penn State
Dr. Love
When i was in high school, I skipped school one day in order to go to my boyfriends house (whom my parents didn’t know about because they didn’t approve of me dating anyone), and i faked a note and called them to tell them i was sick from my parents phone pretending to be my own mother. This was a risk-taking behavior because, as i later found out, the school figured out that I wasn’t actually sick and called my parents. Then, my parents found out about my boyfriend. This had very high risks on my social and personal life. Although some might call this a reckless behavior, i think it is more of a risk-taking behavior because i did have control over what happened after. I pretended like i was actually sick, even after they found out i wasn’t (i know, i was dumb in high school), and this made the punishment greater not only from my parents but also from the school. I actually got suspended and went from a straight A’s student to a suspended one!
Gardner’s Rational Choice Theory basically says that when you’re an adolescent you are more likely to outweigh the benefits of engaging in a risk taking behavior than you are when you’re an adult. Also, when you’re older there actually are more negatives and you have more to lose when you engage in a risk taking behavior.
Gardner would see my example of skipping a day of high school as me looking at hanging out with my boyfriend right in the moment as a greater benefit than the slight risk of getting caught and suspended for it in the future.
Apter would basically look at in a a biological and physiological way. He would say that when i woke up that morning i was in the safety zone, not worrying about skipping school or anything. When i decided that I wanted to skip school, I was in the danger zone, getting excited and anxious. When i got called from the school and my parents and they told me that they figured out I was skipping and that I was getting suspended, I was in the trauma zone. He