Teens ignore advice, but only when they know better

Teenagers are more likely than younger children to ignore advice, but only when the advice is bad, because adolescents are better at judging their own decisions, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The researchers found that between the ages of nine and 12, young people improve their ability to make decisions independently by learning when they should or shouldn't trust their own judgements. The study, published in Developmental Science , shows the development of metacognition may be a key driver of adolescent independence. PhD candidate Madeleine Moses-Payne (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience), first author of the study, said: "Metacognition describes your insight into your own decisions and your ability to judge whether the decisions you make are good or bad. Some people have great insight into their own decisions and know exactly when they made a good or bad decision, while others are less able to reflect on the quality of their decisions." The research team, led by Dr Tobias Hauser, investigated children and teenagers' metacognition and advice taking behaviour using a computer game. In the 'Space Explorer' game, children and teenagers had to make simple decisions about whether there were more blue or orange aliens on a planet. Once they had decided, they were asked to rate how certain they were from 'total guess' to 'totally certain'.