Abstract reasoning skills

Adolescents develop skills in thinking about multiple options and possibilities and pondering hypothetically, such as the "what if?" questions, in a logical and more systematic way. Despite this expanding ability, most adolescents will still seek guidance from adults to develop their rational decision-making in areas such as attending college, finding a job or handling finances.

Adolescents may also be accused of arguing for the sake of arguing or taking a side in an argument for no apparent reason, but for adolescents, exercising their new reasoning capabilities can be exhilarating and they need opportunities to develop these new skills. Part of gaining new thinking skills includes making mistakes and learning from them.