RUNNING HEAD: PRISM CASE STUDY

Prism Case Study

Shalyn Helman

Edu 280

College of Southern Nevada

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Introduction

Cassidy Reed is a seventeen-year-old female; she is the second oldest of five children to a

single mother. The culture in home is that of a German family, due to her grandparents. The

grandfather was stationed in Germany while in the military. The grandmother a natural born

citizen of Germany. Her mother was born in Germany, but given dual citizenship. She currently

lives with her three sisters, one brother, two great grandparents, grandfather, uncle, mothers

roommate, and mother. This seems like a lot of people in one house; to the contrary, they all live

in three separate apartments, all within a 30 second walking distance. Overall, they are a close-

knit family who try and encourage one another.

Cassidy has always grown up in a lower income family. For majority of her life Cassidys

mother has never held a job and was previously a drug addict. She was in and out of the foster

system her entire life. The last time Cassidy was in foster care was when she was thirteen. At this

point in time, two of her family members are still on drugs. They do not share the same

apartment; however, it still deeply impacts her life. The money spent on drugs and gambling

continues to make the family live in lower income circumstances.

Physical Development

At the age of seventeen the physical maturation of Cassidy should be complete (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). When asking her about weight and height gain in the last year, she has

told me that both her height and weight have increased and are still increasing. This is not

completely out of the ordinary because some people do experience body development at later

stages. Within her senior year and at the age of seventeen she should and does feel as if her
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sexual drive has increased; however, she has not actually had intercourse yet; she has only kissed

a couple of different boys. She fears the consequences of engaging in intercourse, such as

pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

As far as both Snowman and the child development guide describe physically, Cassidy is

developing at a slightly slower rate than most seventeen-year-old girls. She should be finished

physically maturing (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.65). However, her sexual drive meets where

she should be as she should be, feeling or indulging in sexual desires and she is as far as I can see

and have been informed by her older sister (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993).

Per Snowman adolescent males and females add pounds and inches at a prodigious rate.

The peak year for girls is about 12, when the average girl adds 14 pounds or so and about three

inches (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 65). As I have known Cassidy since about the age of

twelve I can say that she did not peak at the age of twelve, but it has occurred just recently at the

age of seventeen. This is abnormal due to both Snowman and the child development guide

reporting that adolescents at the age of seventeen have essentially stopped physical maturation

(DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Cassidy recently has felt an increase in sexual desire. per

Snowman many adolescents become sexually active (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 65).

Although she has felt her sexual drive increase she has not engaged in sexual intercourse, due to

fear of pregnancy and or sexually transmitted diseases (S.T.D). The rate in adolescents between

fifteen and nineteen with S.T.D is higher than any other age group due to lower sexual education

standards (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 66). This means Cassidys fear is rightly placed.

Overall the fact that Cassidy is still physically maturing is a little odd, but she seems to be

healthy and happy with her body. Her sexual drive is normal for her age and will only increase

from here.
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Maslows theory of growth motivation is built on the idea that humans have different

kinds of needs. Some of these needs are very basic, some are more intellectual and some would

say spiritual (Snowman & McCown 2013 P.248). Maslow created a five-level hierarchy of needs

in order they are physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization

(Snowman & McCown 2013 p. 248). The order reflects the levels of strength each need has, the

lower the need the higher the strength. This is because when a lower level need is activated

people will stop trying to satisfy the higher-level needs (Snowman & McCown 2013 P.248). An

example of this could be that someone is not feeling or receiving as if they belong or are loved,

so they are not able to focus or think about esteem. The first four needs are often called

deficiency needs because when unmet to some degree they motivate people to act. Self-

actualization is often called a growth need this is because people often try to satisfy it (Snowman

& McCown 2013, p.248). Throughout life we are always changing and striving to do better.

With Cassidys familys lack of money, it is hard for any of them to provide food and a

stable place to live. Many times, I have gone over to her house I see a lack of food and her

mother stressing on how to pay rent or other bills. I believe that Cassidy is bouncing back and

forth between safety and physiological needs. This is because at times Cassidy has food water

and shelter, when this happens she moves to safety however with money always being an issue

she can never move past safety and proceed further in Maslows hierarchy of needs (Snowman

&McCown 2013 P.252).

Cassidys physical development is almost done she is now reaching the height she will be

for the rest of her life, her weight will still fluctuate throughout her life, but with proper care and

nutrition stay around the same. As she ages her sexual desires will grow and she will know what
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she wants. Her physical development seems to be coming along perfectly and I have no

recommendations.

Emotional Development

Cassidy was recently taken to jail for a fight with one of her younger sisters; she was told

she needed to take counseling for anger management and impulse control. While in counseling

she has now also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. With her

emotions vary day to day, more so than a normal 17-year-old girl. She has told me she fears

failing and wants to try harder, said she goes forward and does not put forth the actions to do

better.

Many psychiatric disorders either appear or become prominent during adolescence.

Among these are eating disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia, and suicide (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 67). As mentioned above Cassidy is struggling with many different

psychiatric disorders. This can make her emotional state even more irregular than it is supposed

to be. May appear moody, angry, lonely, impulsive, self-centered, confused, and stubborn

(DSHS Fosterparentscopre, 1993). Though this may be normal and most of the time she reacts

with normal adolescent emotions other she is extremely full of one emotion or extremely

impulsive. Cassidy has tried stabbing her mom, younger sister, older sister, and uncle over small

arguments, one of which resulted in Cassidy going to jail. These are not the normal emotional

behavior for a girl her age. In conclusion, I think if she works hard in the therapy she is doing

now she may reach the point of normal emotional development. However, she is not quite there

yet.
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Cassidy does have a lot to work on emotionally. One recommendation I would suggest is

for her to continue doing her counseling and working on the psychiatric disorders she deals with

daily. I would also recommend that Sabrina (her mother) listen to Cassidy and really be there for

her and to accept her feeling (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). I believe these things could help

Cassidy be more emotionally stable than she is.

Intellectual Development

From what I have read and observed, I do not think Cassidy is where she needs to be at as

far as intellectual and cognitive development go. Throughout high school, she has missed many

days of school and has fallen behind in the credits she needs to graduate. This is her final year of

school and she isnt sure she will graduate; she is becoming slightly more serious about attending

school almost every day within the week. When observing her, I noticed most the way she acts is

that of a child. I asked about her world views and feelings about the upcoming presidential

campaign. She has not given any thought to the questions and when asked had no solid answers.

Cassidy has given no thought to the future living in the now as most of her family does.

However, unlike everyone she lives with she has given thought to obtaining a job, not to

seriously but she has entertained it. Overall Cassidy lives in the present, and acts that way. She

has no abstract thinking or liberal thinking, and just thinks about having a good time.

Per the Child Development guide Cassidy is not meeting the normal intellectual

development of a child age sixteen to nineteen. She should be concerned about the future;

beginning to integrate knowledge to decisions about the future (DSHS Fosterparentscope,

1993). Cassidy as I mentioned still acts like a child not like a young adult about to finish high
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school. She has no idea what she is going to do with her future and does not seem to worried

about it. I do not believe this is all her fault because of the people surrounding her influence her

thoughts. No one in her home has a job or has tried to excel intellectually, therefore I believe this

has affected her development.

Per Piaget within middle school, high school, and beyond people should be in the formal

operation stage. Within this stage students can generalize from an instance to a general form

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 28). An example given by Snowman is a student recognizing

that an algebra problem belongs to the general class of quadratic equations (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 28). I believe that Cassidy is in the formal operation stage, however this does

not apply to school. The lack of attendance to school I think would make it hard for Cassidy to

be able to use formal operations like the other students with English, science, and math.

However, I do believe that she is street smart this means that she does use formal operations in

her everyday life outside of school.

Vygotskys theory of cognitive development is often referred to as a sociocultural theory

because it maintains that how we think is a function of both social and cultural forces

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 32). As mentioned earlier Cassidys family is not the best

influences to have around. Many people within her family are drug addicts or jobless with no

long-term goals. This is not good for her cognitive development because it is said that parents

and schools shape childrens thought process to reflect that which the culture values (Snowman

& McCown, 2013, p. 32). Cassidy rarely attends school therefore most of her thought process is

coming from her mother and other adults around her. Majority of whom are on drugs or have

many other addictions. Cassidy is not forming helpful psychological tools which help aid and

change the thought process (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 33). All of this means that Cassidy
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is not developing at the rate that she needs to be because of her environment and will likely fall

further behind.

Sternberg triarchic theory of intelligence is unlike both Piaget and Vygotsky and I believe

fits Cassidy better. There are three main parts to this theory which are, practical ability which

involves applying knowledge to everyday situations, using knowledge and tools, and seeking

relevance, creative ability involves inventing, discovering, imagining and supposing, and

analytical ability involves braking ideas and products into their component parts, making

judgments, evaluating, comparing, and contrasting and critiquing (Snowman & McCown, 2013,

p. 74). Although Cassidy is not excelling at school and may not understand what she is being

taught. She takes what she is learning through her parents and life and applies it to her everyday

environment. Therefore when it comes to Sternbergs intelligence Cassidy developmentally still

has plenty of room for improvement but she is by no means behind, because she knows how to

apply different knowledge to everyday life to achieve personal goals.

Gardner theorizes that there are eight different mostly independent intelligences they are

logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal,

and naturalist. (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 75). When observing Cassidy, I did not notice

any of the intelligences mentioned. I decided to talk with her older sister (they spend a lot of time

together) I named each one and gave a description and some examples. She too did not find any

that described Cassidy.

Cassidy will soon be turning eighteen years old. I do have recommendations for her

intellectual development, but she will not listen to them no matter who they come from. I believe

she needs to start attending school every day. Retaking classes that she has failed, and really try
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to understand what is being taught to her. She has missed so much her intellectual development

is extremely lacking. Therefore she needs to take the time to learn the information she hasnt yet

and finish high school. Her mother need to step up and make her go to school as well because

she is not really doing so.

Social Development

Cassidy and her mother fight frequently. Their fights can be about school to normal

household chores. Cassidy does struggle with anger issues; normally she becomes violent, she is

seeing a counselor to work on that now. Overall she feels that her mother is too pushy, wanting

her to get a job, finish school, help clean, and many other things. I had a chance to experience

one of their arguments first hand. She has no respect for her mother or any choices she has made

thus far. Cassidy unlike most teenage girls has a very small number of friends, none of which she

considers her best friend. She is close to one male friend, who has been in and out of jail since he

was fifteen. She does not talk of any serious relationships, nor is she in one from what I can tell;

she has only had one serious relationship and that was when she was fifteen.

Cassidy does not meet the social development of an adolescent described by both

Snowman and the Child Development Guide. Cassidy should have many friends and few

confidence (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). As sated before Cassidy has little to no friends and

certainly no one she confides in. She should be turning to parents for long-term goals and advice

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 66). However, she does not she tends to keep to herself and

often fights with her mother not asking her for advice.

Eriksons theory on psychosocial development is that your personality grows out of

successful resolution of psychosocial crises (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 18). Cassidy has
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gone through several major life crises such as having a drug addict mother, going to foster care,

and having her close family members sell and do drugs. Although Erikson doesnt describe

psychosocial crises as extraordinary events that threaten well-being; but simply as when people

feel compelled to adjust to the normal guidelines and expectations that society has for them

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.18). I believe that these life changing events were huge

psychosocial crises that shaped Cassidys social development. Per Snowman, Cassidy should be

at a stage where she is developing roles and skills that will prepare her for a place in adult

society (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 19). From what I observed Cassidy is not developing

these skills and has no idea where she will fit into adult society. As of right now she will not

obtain her high school diploma, she spends her time doing drugs and staying in her room. It

seems to me because of the events places in her life, Cassidy has not developed a sense of

identity. Instead she has developed role confusion which means she has no clear conception of

appropriate types of behavior that other will react to favorably (Snowman & McCown, 2013,

p.19). This could be why her and her mother argue so frequently because Cassidy thinks that the

behavior she has now shouldnt be reacted to negatively, because it is a norm in their family and

neighborhood. As far as Erikson theory on social development Cassidy is at the normal stage for

her age. However, she has developed negatively and now she must work so that her self-identity

can develop and she may find her skills and roles in adult society.

James Marcia has extended Eriksons observation on identity with Marcias notion of

identity statuses of which there are four, are styles or processes for handling the psychosocial

task of establishing a sense of identity (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.20-21). Cassidy would

fit into the third identity status which is moratorium. Moratorium is described as her crisis being

partially experienced, and that she has given some thought to identity-related questions.
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Cassidys commitment being weak and has not achieved satisfactory answer (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p.21). As mentioned previously Cassidy is having problems in school, she has

anxiety, fights with her mother often, and she often daydreams. All listed are characteristics of

someone is within the identity status of moratorium (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.21). Unlike

Erikson, Marcia doesnt specify what age each identity status should correlate with, to me this

means each person is unique and grows as they should.

I only have one recommendation for Cassidy. This is that she needs to take time to find

herself and what she wants to do. This could help her move towards finding her identity and role

in adult society. Right now, I see her being lost with what to do after high school is over and she

has no one to turn to as an adult. Finding herself and figuring out what she wants to do next will

help her start a plan on what steps to take and what she wants the end goal to be.

Moral Development

When observing Cassidy, I didnt notice any moral development at all. She has no actual

real views of her own on things. As far as moral development goes, she has a lot to work on and

improve on. To me this seems as if she is way behind where she should be as far as moral

development goes and I plan to look further into her moral development.

When observing Cassidy further and reading Piagets ideals on moral development of a

child I realized she is developing morally. Per Piaget Cassidy has the thinking of a child eleven

years or older called morality of cooperation, meaning that when thinking if something is right or

wrong you base it on flexible rules and consideration of intent (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

40). When observing Cassidy, I could see that she does understand that not every rule must be
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followed and have the same consequences. Cassidy is at the right stage and is developing

correctly with Piagets theory on moral development.

Kohlberg theory states that there are six stages of moral reasoning based on how a person

reacts to different moral dilemmas (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). When observing

Cassidy further and re-thinking her moral development, I decided to ask the common question

related to Kohlbergs work. This is question is about a mans (Heinz) sick wife whom is dying of

cancer, and a large company has the cure but it cost too much. Heinz ends up stealing the cure;

should he have done that? Cassidys response was that of someone in the stage of either social

contract orientation or universal ethical orientation. She realized that sometimes stealing is

needed especially when a company like this is doing something morally wrong. However, I do

not believe she weighed all the factors just knew if the drug didnt get to Heinzs wife she would

die, therefore she is most like social contract orientation. This means that she understands that

in some circumstances laws may have to be disregarded (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 42).

This means that she is ahead of people in her moral development because a small amount of

adult reach this stage and it seems as if Cassidy already has (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41).

Carol Gilligan argued that both Eriksons view on identity and Kohlbergs view of moral

development more accurately described what occurs for adolescent males (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p.43). Gilligan believes that overall females are more loyal to other through

expressing caring, understanding and sharing experiences. Given Gilligan views she believes that

overall females are more likely to resolve Eriksons crisis of identity role vs. role confusion

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). For Cassidy, this is not true she has not resolved the crisis

of identity role v. role confusion as earlier stated. Gilligan argued that because females are

socialized to value more highly the qualities of understanding, helping, and cooperation they are
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less likely to be placed in Kohlbergs two conventional stages and be judged at a lower level of

moral development (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.43). As to Cassidy none of this seems to be

true because she doesnt have the same characteristics as mentioned in Gilligans theory. Gilligan

would find her moral development slightly skewed and not that of an average adolescent female.

Noddings care theory starts with the idea that there is human desire for goodness which

she called a moral attitude. From the starting point care theory, has come to focus on

relationships and how those relationships function (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 44). As

stated before Cassidys has very few relationship and the ones she does have such as family and

small number of friends there is a lot of arguments and physical fights. Noddings care theory

doesnt just look at how the relationship functions but also if a caring relationship exists

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.44). when observing Cassidy, I do not believe she makes moral

calls on caring or understanding, but on what she believes is right or wrong. It does not see like

she cares to much for anyone but herself so I believe that Nodding would find her moral

development lacking when pertaining to her own theory.

Cassidy understands what she finds right and wrong her morals have developed in a way

that suits her and her beliefs. She knows there is a right and wrong and reasons as to why people

do the wrong thing or make mistakes. I have no recommendations for her moral development.

Summary

Based on my observation of Cassidy I can safely say that she is not meeting half of the

developmental milestones. I believe that this is because of the environment that she is in. The

fact that she has always dealt with drugs, gambling, alcohol, foster care, and more has stunned

her development to where she is behind or not at the same place as people her own age. What she
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deals with at home has not let her move pass safety on Maslows hierarchy of needs. I believe

that if her family was to become sober and steady Cassidy could grow as a person and her

development could be where it needs to be.

References
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DSHS Fosterparentscope Training (n.d.) Child Development Guide. Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/cdevguid/cdg10.htm

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2013). Ed psych. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Appendix A

Observation notes
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Cassidy

Female
Seventeen
Caucasian/German
Parents split/lives with mother and many other relatives
Lowe-income family
Fluent in English and knows some German

Observation

Have known Cassidy since she was eleven

Best friends younger sister so I see her often
I spent about three different days at her house
She came to mine once
Talked and asked questions at the end for about 20 minutes

Physical

Body is still maturing and growing

Sexual desire is increasing
Has not engaged in sex yet fears doing so

Intellectual

Rarely attends school

Scared what the future holds because she has not tried hard enough in school
Does not use knowledge for future
Has little to no views of her own

Social

Has no close friends few people she hangs around with?

Argues often with her mom and other family members
Becomes violent when arguing
No long-term relationship
No desire for boyfriend

Emotional

Uncontrollable anger
Impulsive
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Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder

No motivation
Often uses Marijuana

Moral

Didnt display any moral development

Later asked her questions providing answers to her moral development
Weighs the good and bad and makes decision
Doesnt seem to caring or understanding

Questioned Asked

Have you engaged in sexual activity if not do you have the desire to do so? Not she has

not engaged in any sexual activity except kissing, and yes she would like to but she fears

getting an S.T.D or getting pregnant.

Who do you turn to for long-term advice, and short-term advice? She has no one for

long-term advice and friends for short-term advice.

Do you argue with your mother what about? Yes, she does about school, drugs,

employment and many other things. Was there for a fight later.
How do you feel about making new friends? She told me it was easy for her to make new

friends. However, she didnt like to do so.

Do you use any drugs? Yes, pills and Weed.
Have any mental disorders? Yes, impulse control, anxiety, depression, anger issues,

bipolar.
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