What clearly peaks in adolescence is an interest in exploration and novelty seeking. Adolescents are by necessity engaged in exploring essential questions about themselves — who they are, what skills they have and who among their peers is worth socializing with.
But these explorations are not necessarily conducted impulsively. Rising levels of dopamine in the brain during adolescence appear to drive an increased attraction to novel and exciting experiences. Yet this “sensation seeking” behavior is also accompanied by increasing levels of cognitive control that peak at the same age as adolescents’ drive for exploration. This ability to exert cognitive control peaks well before structural brain maturation, which peaks at about age 25.
Researchers who attribute this exploratory behavior to recklessness are more likely falling prey to stereotypes about adolescents than assessing what actually motivates their behavior.
If adolescents were truly reckless, they should show a tendency toward risk-taking even when the risks of bad outcomes are known. But they don’t. In experiments where the probabilities of their risks are known, adolescents take fewer risks than children.

The author believes that teens’ actions are…

A. more exploratory than thoughtless.
B. never truly putting them at risk.
C. risky to themselves and others.
D. driven by their hormone levels.