Self-control—in this case, suppressing a compelling action—showed a different developmental pattern in the context of emotional information than in its absence, especially
for males (Tottenham, Hare, & Casey, 2011). As illustrated in Figure 1 (also see Fig. 1 in Hare et al., 2008; National Research Council, 2011), when no emotional information is
present, not only do many adolescents perform as well as adults, some perform even better. However, when decisions are required in the heat of the moment (i.e., in the presence
of emotional cues; Fig. 2a), performance falters (Fig. 2b). Specifically, adolescents have difficulty suppressing a response to appetitive social cues relative to neutral ones. This diminished ability is not observed in children and adults, who show equal difficulty in suppressing responses regardless of the emotional content of the nontarget. Thus, the
description of teens as “all gasoline, no brakes, and no steering wheel” more accurately reflects their behavior in heated situations than in cool, less immediate, and less emotional ones. In these cool situations, the teen appears to be capable of acting rationally and making optimal decisions.