Running head: CASE STUDY 1

Case Study

Fabia Tregnan

College of Southern Nevada

 CASE STUDY 2

Introduction

I observed my daughter, Julia, in my house for my case study. Julia only has one older

brother, and she is an eleven- year-old smart and caring girl. She lives with her parents and her

brother in a three-bedroom house. Her mom was born in Brazil, her dad and her brother were

born in California, and she was born in Washington, so she is American. Everyone at her house

speaks English. Julia can understand some Portuguese for listening to her mother and because

her maternal grandparents and relatives speak Portuguese, but she avoids to speak the language.

Her family is considered to be middle class. Her dad is a medically retired Airline Captain and is

currently studying for law school. Her mom is working as a Physical Education Specialist.

I have been able to observe Julia growing up over the years, and I found interesting to

think about her developmental milestones to know if she meets or does not meet the normal

characteristics mentioned on the Child Development Guide, according to her age (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). I asked her questions related to the PRISM areas for about 30

minutes. Therefore, I was able to question her about some issues that I would not ask her on the

daily basis as a mom. I will analyze Julias behavior and age-level development characteristics

from different psychologists. I will also discuss how Julia meets Maslows Hierarchy of Needs,

and give recommendations for her further development.

Physical

First of all are the physical developmental milestones. Julia is a healthy girl. She is active.

She likes to play sports, did dance classes until last year, loves to do gymnastics all over the

house, and she is waiting for her gymnastics teacher to get better to return to her class. She is

increasingly aware of body and show secondary sex characteristics such as developed breasts,
 CASE STUDY 3

armpit hair, and pubic hair comparable to a normal eleven-year-old (DSHS Fosterparentscope,

1993). She will answer questions about her body changes, but she is private and does not want to

go into details. She is growing rapidly and has a good appetite, but she is still a picky eater.

She does not act on sexual desires as said in DSHS Fosterparentscope (1993). She is

not interested in boys at the moment, only as friends. She also does not feel uncomfortable or

embarrassed about learning new skills. She actually likes to try new things. She wants to learn

how to play the guitar now.

According to the textbook, a childs physical growth occurs rapidly throughout middle

school, the average child will grow 2 to 4 inches per year and gain 8 to 10 pounds per year

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 59). Julia can be considered an early-maturing girl because she

started her growth spurt and showed some puberty signs such as developed breasts and armpit

hair even before she was eleven years-old. Per the text, early-maturing girls are taller and

heavier than their peers and dont have a thin and leggy fashion-model look (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 59). This holds to be true about her because she is one of the tallest student on

her grade and not that skinny as some of her peers.

The text suggests that early-maturing girls are likely to have lower self-esteem and are

more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and panic attacks (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 59). I observed that Julia became more shy after she started showing puberty

signs and notice her growing apart, maybe for starting liking different things, from one of her

friends that is a late-mature girl with the skinny look and more popular. But she does not show

any sign of depression or other disorders as said in the book. She also does not show any sexual

desires as I mentioned before.

 CASE STUDY 4

A more humanistic view of motivation is Maslows Theory of Growth Motivation.

Maslows theory is based on the idea that, as human beings, our state of mind and the motives

that drive us to achieve are based on needs that span the human condition (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 248). Basic human needs serve as the foundation for choice making and are

requirements to personal and academic growth. Maslow proposed a five-level hierarchy of

needs: Physiological (food, water, oxygen), Safety (nurturance, money), Belongingness and

Love (acceptance, affection), Esteem (respect), and Self-actualization (maximizing ones

potential). According to the text, Physiological needs are at bottom of the hierarchy, followed

in ascending order by safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization needs

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 248). He believes that a person must satisfy a hierarchical

sequence of deficiency needs before satisfying the growth need for self-actualization. Therefore,

The lower a need is in the hierarchy, the greater is its strength, because when a lower-level need

is activated (as in the case of extreme hunger or fear for ones physical safety), people will stop

trying to satisfy a higher-level need (such as esteem or self-actualization) and focus on satisfying

the currently active lower-level need (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 248). Since Julias basic

needs are met, she is focusing in satisfying her self-actualization needs level.

Julia is growing up in a safe environment and has always been provided of her basic

essential human needs: oxygen, food, water, shelter, and sleep. So, her physiological and safety

needs are met. She is active in the house doing her gymnastics exercises, does physical education

at school every day, and plays sports such as soccer and basketball. Like I said before, Julia has a

good appetite, but she is still a picky eater. Therefore, the only recommendation I would have for

Julias further physical development is to eat healthier food and more vegetables.
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Emotional

Secondly, we will talk about emotional developmental milestones. Julia resents being

told what to do; rebels at routines (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). She does not want to make

her bed every morning, put her clothes in the hamper or put the dishes away, among other things.

It is a constant battle to make her do chores but she is an excellent student. She can be moody,

especially when she did not have enough sleep.

On the other hand, she does not meet the characteristic said on the Child Development

Guide that a child at her age dramatizes and exaggerates own positions (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). She does not have fears. She worries about her dads health and

normal people stuff as she said. She also mentioned that if somebody does not want to play

with her, she goes play with somebody else, it is their problem, not mine.

According to the book, the period of early adolescence can be viewed as a phase of

emotional turmoil with feelings of confusion, anxiety, and depression; extreme mood swings;

and low levels of self-confidence (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 61). She sure demonstrates

some mood swings and had some anxiety when she was entering middle school. However, she is

smart, confident, and an excellent student. Because emerging adolescents are acutely aware of

the physical and emotional changes that are taking place within them, they assume that everyone

else is just as interesting in, and is constantly evaluating, their appearance, feelings, and

behavior (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 62) is partly true for her because she actually does

not care that much about her appearance like having perfect hair and fashion clothes.

In relation to Maslows level of esteem needs, she appears to maintain a good self-esteem

with confidence and respect to others and by others. She puts a lot of effort to achieve the best

she can in everything she does. She is a A student and a great artist. One of the implications of
 CASE STUDY 6

Maslows theory is that the development of self-esteem, for example, is closely tied to

successful classroom achievement for almost all students (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 252).

My recommendation for Julias further emotional development would be for her to

continue to believe in herself and be confident. But she needs to realize that doing chores and

helping her parents is also necessary. Adolescence is phase of our lives full of emotional turmoil.

As said in the textbook, even though many adolescents experience social and emotional

problems from time to time and experiment with risky behavior, most do not develop significant

social, emotional, or behavior difficulties (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 62).

Intellectual/Cognitive

Next, we move on to the intellectual/ cognitive developmental milestones. Julia meets all

the intellectual/ cognitive developmental milestones for her age, according to the Child

Development Guide (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Sometimes she challenges adult

knowledge, for example, when she was wrapping a box incorrectly and I tried to help her and

show her how to do it, she got upset and said that she knew how. She is able to use logic with

good problem-solving skills. She has interest in earn money as long it is not to earn a little

money to do a big job. She is critical of own artistic products. She is a great artist and

sometimes she gets upset when we tell her that she should change something in her drawing

because she is a perfectionist. She also demonstrates interested in world and community since

she always like to help others when needed, help in church activities. So, we can see that she

meets the normal characteristics as in the notes from DSHS Fosterparentscope (1993).

Based on his studies, Jean Piaget concluded that schemes evolve through four stages of

cognitive development: sensorimotor (birth to two years), preoperational (two to seven years),

concrete operational (seven to eleven years), and formal operational (eleven years and older) as
 CASE STUDY 7

seen on table 2.2 of the text (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 25). From my observation and

Piagets suggestions, Julia seems to be in the formal operational stage because students at this

stage can generalize from a particular instance to a general form (Snowman & McCown, 2013,

p. 27), since she is already able to use logic with good problem-solving skills. She exhibits

characteristics such as that she is able to deal with abstractions, form hypotheses, and engage in

mental manipulations (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 28). When asked about the example

given in the book, if she can read the analogies like 5 is to 15 as 1 is to 3 and penny is to

dollar as year is to century (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 27), she was capable of reading

the analogies and identify why they were identical regardless of their difference in topic.

Lev Vygotsky, however, has a different point of view and his 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). Interactions

with parents, teachers, and peers affects an individual cognitive development because children

gain significantly from the knowledge and conceptual tools handed down to them by those who

are more intellectually advanced, whether they are the same-age peers, older children, or adults

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 34). When Vygotsky refers to how instruction can affect

cognitive development, he pointed out that children acquire spontaneous concepts, that is, they

learn various facts and concepts and rules as a by-product of such other activities as engaging

in play and communicating with parents and playmates (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 34).

So, I can understand why Julia does not speak Portuguese because she did not grow up around

her Brazilian relatives and her mom does not speak Portuguese on the daily basis.

Another point of view is Robert Sternbergs triarchic theory of intelligence composed of

three components: practical ability, creative ability, and analytical ability. This theory suggests
 CASE STUDY 8

that people use practical intelligence to adapt to their environment, and each of these abilities

can be improved through instruction and that students learn best when all three are call into play

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 74). I am convinced that Julia has these abilities because she

does apply knowledge to everyday situations, is creative, and can break ideas into parts in order

to evaluate, compare and contrast, and critique them (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 74). Like

as mentioned in Appendix A, she does have interest in earn money doing chores as long she can

earn good money for the amount of work. Consequently, she is evaluating the situation,

comparing the amount of work with the money earned, and criticizing that it is not enough

money.

Howard Gardners multiple intelligences theory holds that each person has eight

independent types of intelligences, and that some are better developed than others. The

intelligences described by Gardner are logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-

kinesthetic, interpersonal (understanding of others), intrapersonal (understanding of self), and

naturalist (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 75). From my observations, of the eight

intelligences, Julia appears to have intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences since the

student who is adept at understanding her own and others feelings and how those feelings relate

to the behavior would be exhibiting high intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence (Snowman

& McCown, 2013, p. 76). She is able to discern and respond to others feelings and understand

her own feelings, such as her own strengths, weakness, and desires.

Furthermore, to the five hierarchy of needs, Maslow described cognitive needs such as

the needs to know and to understand (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 252). Julia possesses an

excellent progress in the intellectual/ cognitive development, as mentioned above. My suggestion

is that her parents continue to encourage her to thrive academically and in life.
 CASE STUDY 9

Social/Psychosocial

After that are the social developmental milestones. Julia sometimes expresses criticism

towards adults like when she does not think that she should do something because her brother

does not have to, for example. She is a sweet girl that is not obnoxious to live with nor she

strives for unreasonable independence (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). She knows her family

rules and values, and she follows them. She does have interest in teams and organized,

competitive games (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). She is playing soccer right now through

the City Recreation Center. She does like to compete even at school and especially with her

brother.

From the psychologists talked about in the text, Eriksons theory is about the social/

psychosocial development and covers the life span. As said in the book, Eriksons theory

portrays people as playing an active role in their own psychological development through their

attempts to understand, organize, and integrate their everyday experiences (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 17) and emphasizes the roles of cultural standards and goals. According to

Ericksons theory, Julia should be in the industry versus inferiority stage that goes from six to

eleven years (elementary to middle school). The textbook says that If children at this stage are

encouraged to make and do things well, helped to persevere, allowed to finish tasks, and praising

for trying, industry results (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 76). She is encouraged to do things

well and is successful at school. Julia can criticize adults if she thinks something she has to do is

not fair. She is not harshly criticized or unsuccessful, and does not have inferiority feelings.

Other psychologist, named James Marcia, extended Ericksons observations about

identity and established four identity statuses that vary in their degree of crisis and commitment:
CASE STUDY 10

identity diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement (Snowman & McCown,

2013, p. 21). Julia seems to be in the foreclosure and moratorium status. The foreclosure identity

status is defined as strong commitment and that he or she has accepted and endorsed the values

of his or her parents (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 21). From my observation, I found that

she demonstrates this identity because she knows her family rules and values, and follows them.

Some characteristics of foreclosure does not apply to her, such as being closed-minded,

authoritarian, low in anxiety; has difficulty solving problems (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

21), but she does feel superior to peers. She is competitive and is proud in telling me that she has

the highest English score in her whole grade.

Individuals in the moratorium stage is partially experienced and has given some thought

to identity-related questions (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 21). She is still growing up and

trying to make the right choices. Being a smart student and having all A grades make her think

about her future and what she is going to do after high school. According to the text,

characteristics of the moratorium stage are being anxious, dissatisfied with school; changes

major often, daydreams, engages in intense but short-lived relationships; may temporarily reject

parental and societal values (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 21). She is satisfied with school

but does change majors often because she is still too young to decide what she will do in the

future.

The need for belongingness and love from Maslows theory falls under the social

category. According to Maslow, if a student needs for love, belonging, and esteem are not

satisfied, she is less likely to be in the mood to learn and to respond to your efforts to help her do

so (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 252). These needs include acceptance and affection, and
CASE STUDY 11

can be fulfilled with a loving family and friendship. Her parents make sure she knows she is

loved regularly and she has a nice group of friends to support her.

My recommendation for Julias social development would be for her parents to create

more opportunities for her to socialize outside school. She becomes somewhat shy with people

and friends that she does not see frequently.

Moral

Last to the developmental milestones is the moral progression. I do think she wants to fit

in and worries about peer relationship even though she does not admit that. She does conform to

peer-group morals (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). However, from my observation, she tries

to find friends that have similar interests and values than her. So, I believe that, according to the

Child Development Guide (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993), she does meet the moral

developmental milestone for her age.

Jean Piaget was one of the psychologists that examined moral development. Piaget

noticed that around middle school age (ten to twelve years old), rules became a set of

agreements reached by mutual consent (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 40). I found that to be

true about the child I observed. According to Piagets analysis of the moral judgement of a child,

Julia is considered to have morality of cooperation which is Piagets term for the moral thinking

of children age eleven or older, based on flexible rules and considerations of intent (Snowman

& McCown, 2013, p. 40).

Another psychologist, named Lawrence Kohlberg, elaborated Piagets ideas on moral

judgement. He believed that (1) moral reasoning proceeds through fixed stages and (2) moral

development can be accelerated through instruction (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41).

Kohlberg suggested six stages (orientations) of moral reasoning: (1) punishing-obedience, (2)
CASE STUDY 12

instrumental relativist, (3) good boy-nice girl, (4) law-and-order, (5) social contract, and (6)

universal ethnical principal. The child I observed would be in the conventional morality stage

that covers stages 3 and 4. Per Kohlberg, this stage is labeled conventional morality because

older children (beginning around age 10) and adolescents tend to conform the rules of society

because they are the convention (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). Like I said before, she

does follows her family rules. She likes to impress others and respect authority.

Carol Gilligan contested that Eriksons view of identity development and Kohlbergs

view of moral development more accurately describe what occurs with adolescent males than

with adolescent females (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). According to Gilligan, females

are socialized to value more highly the qualities of understanding, helping, and cooperation with

others than that of preserving individual rights (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). As I said

above, I do think she wants to fit in and worries about peer relationship even though she does

not admit that. She cares about her family and people around her.

Lastly, Nel Noddings suggested a care theory that focuses on the whether a caring

relationship exists (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 44) in which everyone feels that she or he is

cared for by the other. The child I observed displays caring and concern for others. She shows

kindness to her friends, she worries about her dads health, and cares about everything in general.

She brings things to you if you are sick and try to make you happy.

Since Julia is on course for her moral development, the only recommendation I have is

for her to continue follow the rules and have a good relationship with her family and her peers.

She wants to fit in and worries about peer relationship even though she does not confess to that.

As mentioned before, Piaget said that around middle school age (ten to twelve years old), rules

became a set of agreements reached by mutual consent (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 40).
CASE STUDY 13

So, she has a moral thinking called morality of cooperation, per Piaget, where she believes in

flexible rules and the intentions of the wrongdoers.

Summary

Based on my observation, I determined that Julia meets most of the development

milestones for her age and some more. She seems to be more mature than some peers her age.

She is a smart, loving, and caring girl that should continue to respect others, follow the rules, and

be successful in school and in life if she remains on this course. In despite of her being active and

a good eater, she does need to eat healthier to not become overweight in the future. Her family

provides her basic needs for survival support, per Maslows hierarchy of needs, and is proud of

her accomplishments and the young adult she is turning to be.

CASE STUDY 14

References

DSHS Fosterparentscope Training: Child Development Guide: Eleven to Twelve Years. (1993).

Washington State Department of Health and Social Services. Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/cdevguid/cdg13.htm

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2013). Ed psych. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
CASE STUDY 15

Appendix A

Observation Notes

Julia

11 years-old

Female

1 older brother

Married parents

American, dad is American, and mom is Brazilian

Medium class

English, knows a little bit of Portuguese

Environment & Time Spent

In my house

Observed over the years, spent 30 minutes asking questions, observed her closer

throughout the day

Physical

Healthy

Active, play sports, likes doing gymnastics, did dance before

Is increasingly aware of body

Does not have sexual desires

Show secondary sex characteristics

Rapid growth, good appetite, picky eater

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Does not show self-consciousness about learning new skills

Intellectual

Sometimes challenge adult knowledge, has ability to use logic

Has interest in earn money

I would like to do chores to earn money as long it is not one dollar to pick up

weeds.

Is critical of own artistic products, is perfectionist

Shows interested in world and community, likes to help others

Social

Sometimes is critical of adults

Is not obnoxious to live with

Does not strives for unreasonable independence

Is interest in teams and organized, competitive games, she plays soccer

Does like to compete at school and with brother

Emotional

Does resents being told what to do

Sometimes moody

Does not dramatizes and exaggerates own positions

Does not have fears

CASE STUDY 17

Worries about dads health and normal people stuff

If somebody does not want to play with her, she goes play with somebody else

It is their problem, not mine.

Moral

Does want to conform to peer-group morals