I wouldn't say that fear of getting in trouble would trigger my conscience. That specifically would trigger a rush of adrenaline and a feeling of panic. To me, my conscience would be triggered when an action I did would hurt or badly influence someone else - especially if it was unnecessary or if I didn't exhaust all other options first. To me, a triggering of my conscience feels like a deep cringing. I hesitate and immediately second guess what it is that I'm about to do.
I began to feel these things too when I reached early adulthood I think.
Though, I may have had some of it earlier but only for those I personally knew; the people of my "tribe".
When in most of my teens, I was depressed and full of hate.
I remember clubbing a young goose to death once, I just wanted to kill something.
This point in my life really felt like a moral intersection in hindsight.
Part of me felt disgusted with myself, because for some inexplicable reason it just felt wrong.
Abstract fantasies and sensations in my mind made me feel guilty about what I had done.
Another part of me made me feel like I was finally successful at something, and that I wasn't a wimp because most others wouldn't dare doing such a thing.
On the contrary, the idea that it would frighten and outrage others and saw me as something alien and/or monstrous was, in a way, appealing to me.
I think the fear of permanent change in my life and the fear of losing even that little I felt I still had left prevented me to embrace that thought.
Is this a universal thing, or does everyone experience something different?
I guess this thread may help us answering that question.