As a teenager, Leonard often acted on his impulses and played practical jokes on his classmates. Now 21, Leonard no longer engages in this kind of behavior. Which of the following best explains this change in his behavior?
A. a dramatic increase in gray matter
B. prefrontal synapse elimination
C. the maturing of the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex
D. synesthesia

C. The maturing of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Explanation:

The frontal lobe is a crucial part of our brain. It plays a great role in attention and memory. Attention is the worthy part of the frontal lobe. Dorso-lateral-prefrontal-cortex is a very new and recently developed part of the brain. This is the part that does not get the information from the sensory part eye and ear. It does not send information of motor neurons to the brain.

It is only the association between output and the input cortex. The injury and lack of development in this area cause problems in memory, attention.  

Thus here in a teenager, Leonard's behavior is the result to engage in the maturing of the dorso-lateral-prefrontal-cortex.

Scaffolding

Explanation:

Scaffolding is a concept that can be found within the zone of proximal development, a theory developed by Vygotsky. Although indeed, the scaffolding was not developed by the same author but by Brunner, this is evident during the child's learning process.

The scaffolding consists of providing the necessary aids that the child needs according to the learning process in which he finds himself and they are being withdrawn according to the progress he is having. In the zone of proximal development, it is understood that each child does not learn in the same way, so the aid provided must be under the educational needs that they present.