Rebels without a pause! New study explains why teenagers ignore motherly advice

Why do teenagers mute their mothers' voices in their heads? Why do the repeated requests for cleaning up their rooms, or showing up on time go ignored when these instructions come from their mothers? While we commonly blame it on their rebellious spirit or the sudden spike of hormones in their bodies, a new study has a different explanation for it.

According to a study conducted by the Stanford School of Medicine that was published in the Journal of Neuroscience, around the age of 13, teenagers’ brains stop finding their mothers’ voice ‘uniquely rewarding’ and tune into other unfamiliar voices. Perhaps that explains why teenagers are more open to new ideas and thoughts as well as social signals coming from different people.

Also Read | Our special coverage on Mother's Day 2022


The study in fact showed that this age group is more susceptible to varied voices – including that of their mother’s, however, in their brain center, where they prioritise stimulus, they give importance to new and novel voices rather than their mother’s tune.

Talking about the study Daniel Abrams, PhD, lead study author, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences was quoted by News Medical Life Sciences saying “Just as an infant knows to tune into her mother's voice, an adolescent knows to tune into novel voices. As a teen, you don't know you're doing this. You're just being you: You've got your friends and new companions and you want to spend time with them. Your mind is increasingly sensitive to and attracted to these unfamiliar voices."

It is in stark contrast to how pre-teens react to their mother’s voice. According to another study conducted in 2016 by the same Stanford researchers it was found that kids under the age of 12 have unique responses to their moms’ voices. They find their mother’s voices accurate and have a special attachment to it, since it is their mom’s voice that is the sound source through which they learn all about the social-emotional world and language development.