According to the dual systems model, adolescence is a period
of imbalance between cognitive and motivational systems that
results in increased tendency towards risk. In the study, we
investigated the effects of rewards on risk-taking and
cognitive control in 90 adolescents (13-16) and 96 adults (18-
35). Our results challenge the assumptions of the model as we
observed that rewards lead adolescents to more conservative
decisions in one of the risk tasks used in the study. We also
observed that in cognitive control tasks, rewards influenced
reaction latencies, but not the efficiency of control processes.