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Within-Person Imbalance of Reward Sensitivity and Executive Functioning across Adolescent Development: A Longitudinal Examination of the Dual Systems Model from Childhood to Adulthood

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Title: Within-Person Imbalance of Reward Sensitivity and Executive Functioning across Adolescent Development: A Longitudinal Examination of the Dual Systems Model from Childhood to Adulthood
Language: English
Authors: Vanessa Lozano Wun (ORCID 0000-0002-1224-119X), Samuel D. Klein, Paul F. Collins, Monica Luciana
Source: Developmental Psychology. 2025 61(12):2375-2395.
Availability: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (DHHS/PHS)
National Science Foundation (NSF), Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
Contract Number: R01DA017843
T32DA050560
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Adolescent Development, Rewards, Executive Function, Age Differences, Children, Adolescents, Young Adults, Individual Development, Cognitive Development
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001969
ISSN: 0012-1649
1939-0599
Abstract: The dual systems model of adolescent development asserts that the neurobiological systems underlying reward/motivational processes and cognitive control mature at different rates, resulting in an "imbalance" during adolescence whereby adolescents are biased toward rewards but unable to exert sufficient executive control in risk-taking contexts. While a hypothesized imbalance between these systems is central to the dual systems model, few studies have investigated longitudinal trajectories within and between each system with age. Therefore, this validation study assessed the developmental trajectories of the reward and control systems, and directly quantified within-person differences between these systems using an accelerated longitudinal design, including up to five biennial assessments per participant. The sample included 166 predominately White individuals from middle-class to upper-middle-class backgrounds, aged 9-29 years, of which 54% were female at birth. Results indicate that both self-reported reward sensitivity and laboratory-based executive functions increase rapidly during early adolescence and plateau by early adulthood. Findings provide evidence for a unique period of developmental imbalance with heightened reward sensitivity relative to executive control present in early adolescence and imply that most adolescents demonstrate top-down regulatory control over incentive-reward motivation by mid-to-late adolescence. However, some individuals deviate from this mean-level trend, suggesting that individual differences in neurodevelopment must be considered as important determinants of decision-making in later adolescence. Further research into how developmental differences between reward and control systems relate to decision-making processes, including risk-taking tendencies, is an important future direction for this research.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503168
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Within-Person Imbalance of Reward Sensitivity and Executive Functioning across Adolescent Development: A Longitudinal Examination of the Dual Systems Model from Childhood to Adulthood
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vanessa+Lozano+Wun%22">Vanessa Lozano Wun</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1224-119X">0000-0002-1224-119X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Samuel+D%2E+Klein%22">Samuel D. Klein</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paul+F%2E+Collins%22">Paul F. Collins</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Monica+Luciana%22">Monica Luciana</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Psychology%22"><i>Developmental Psychology</i></searchLink>. 2025 61(12):2375-2395.
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  Data: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
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  Data: 21
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (DHHS/PHS)<br />National Science Foundation (NSF), Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
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  Data: 10.1037/dev0001969
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  Data: 0012-1649<br />1939-0599
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The dual systems model of adolescent development asserts that the neurobiological systems underlying reward/motivational processes and cognitive control mature at different rates, resulting in an "imbalance" during adolescence whereby adolescents are biased toward rewards but unable to exert sufficient executive control in risk-taking contexts. While a hypothesized imbalance between these systems is central to the dual systems model, few studies have investigated longitudinal trajectories within and between each system with age. Therefore, this validation study assessed the developmental trajectories of the reward and control systems, and directly quantified within-person differences between these systems using an accelerated longitudinal design, including up to five biennial assessments per participant. The sample included 166 predominately White individuals from middle-class to upper-middle-class backgrounds, aged 9-29 years, of which 54% were female at birth. Results indicate that both self-reported reward sensitivity and laboratory-based executive functions increase rapidly during early adolescence and plateau by early adulthood. Findings provide evidence for a unique period of developmental imbalance with heightened reward sensitivity relative to executive control present in early adolescence and imply that most adolescents demonstrate top-down regulatory control over incentive-reward motivation by mid-to-late adolescence. However, some individuals deviate from this mean-level trend, suggesting that individual differences in neurodevelopment must be considered as important determinants of decision-making in later adolescence. Further research into how developmental differences between reward and control systems relate to decision-making processes, including risk-taking tendencies, is an important future direction for this research.
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        Value: 10.1037/dev0001969
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      – Text: English
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        StartPage: 2375
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      – SubjectFull: Rewards
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      – SubjectFull: Executive Function
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      – SubjectFull: Age Differences
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      – SubjectFull: Children
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      – SubjectFull: Adolescents
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      – SubjectFull: Individual Development
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive Development
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