Running Head: PEPSI SCREENING 1

Case Study: PEPSI Screening of a 15-year-old

Raquelin Galvez

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 22O: Principles of Educational Psychology

Professor Rochelle Hooks

March 18,2020
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Biography

The person I chose to do my case study on is my fifteen years old sister, Ana. She is a

Mexican American female and the youngest of three children. She has two older sisters. Her

parents are part of the working class and she has lived here in Las Vegas her whole life. As a

small child she developed normally and meet all her milestones at the age she was supposed to.

During her elementary school years, she struggled in her academics, but was able to overcome

those challenges. She would occasionally be behind on her reading level when a new school year

started, and she would struggle with a few math concepts. For example, she struggled with

multiplying and dividing, but over time she was able to solve those problems just fine. During

elementary school, she would also miss a lot of days in a school year, which would explain why

she was behind in her academics. Even though sometimes she would be behind in her academics

during her elementary school years, she always seemed to catch up. Socially and emotionally she

developed as any other child would. In the fifth grade, she was in the drama club and performed

in a couple of plays. Then during her middle school years, she improved in her academics. She

had the same friends that she had in elementary school and was not in any extracurricular

activities. Then high school came around and she was able to transition just as well. She kept up

her academics and joined the color guard. She met a lot of her new friends there and she spends a

lot of time with them nowadays. For the next school year, she is even taking her first honors

courses and is very excited about it. Overall, Ana has changed and grown in all aspects

throughout the years.

Physical Development

During adolescence girls start developing breasts and start to grow public hair.

During this time girls also start their menstrual cycles (Medicine Plus, n.d.). Ana is now fifteen
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years old and has gone through most of her physical development. Physically it seems that Ana

has reached her ultimate height. “Many young people will reach their full adult height by the end

of puberty… other physical changes that happen… include body odor, acne, and more body hair”

(Office of Adolescent Health, 2018). Like I said before Ana has not grown anymore in the last

two years. Although, Ana has not had more body hair or acne since starting puberty. “During

adolescence, the body transforms into an adult sexually mature body and physical appearance

becomes increasingly important” (Toddlers to Teens: Developmental Care, 2015). Her physical

development was sudden and rapid, which in turn made her self-conscious about her body. She is

still dealing with those struggles as she continues to develop physically. Lastly, she does not

have the best eating habits and/or sleeping habits.

Emotional Development

Ana was fortunate enough to have a stable family on whom she could rely on.

“Depression and unstable family situations place adolescents at risk for suicide” (Snowman, J.,

& McCown, R.R., 2015). Ana having a stable family whom she could rely on can be extremely

beneficial in that she is less likely to have psychiatric disorders. During a single day, Ana can

experience many intense emotions. One moment she could be happy and the next she is fuming

with anger. “Mood swings and strong feelings are common. Emotions can change quickly, and

they often feel confused” (Adolescence, 1990). Her mood can be very unpredictable, and you

never know when she is going to be a good mood or not. I’ve also noticed that sometimes she is

self-conscious about her body, even though she does not say it directly. For example, she says

things like, “I’m glad I’m getting all this exercise in color guard so that I can lose weight.” She is

also pretty good at understanding other people’s emotions. She knows when others are upset,

happy, excited, etc. and she knows how to handle those situations. For example, one day one of
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her cousins seemed pretty upset, Ana appeared to be concerned but decided to give her cousin

her space. “During adolescence young people generally become more aware of their feelings and

the feelings of others...” (Office of Adolescent Health, 2018). Even though Ana was aware of her

cousin’s emotions she still was not too sure about how to react in a situation like that.

Philosophical Development

Since Ana is fifteen years old this is the time where she is developing her own opinions

and views. “They are able to entertain complex moral thinking and begin to make up their own

minds and choose their own values” (Toddler to Teens: Developmental Care, 2015). She has

acquired her morals and beliefs from her parents but has decided to pick which ones she does not

agree with and decides not to follow them. Also, there was this one time where Ana’s friend was

talking about a certain issue that she was having and Ana decided to stay quiet because she knew

that it was going to hurt her friend’s feelings if she told her the truth. “Adolescents’ values are

formed by interactions with parents and other adults, peers… As they experience a range of

views, they learn to reflect on, question, and refine their own views” (Office of Adolescent

Health, 2018). Ana knew from previous experiences what could happen in her friend’s situation

but decided to let her learn on her own. From what I can see she values her friends and family.

She respects her parents for the most part and knows what things are good for her and which

things are not. “To maintain social order, fixed rules must be established and obeyed. It is

essential to respect authority” (Snowman, J., & McCown, R.R., 2015). She knows that there are

rules in order or her to be safe and that she needs to respect that. For example, she knows that if

she goes out with her friends, she has to be home by a certain time.

Social Development
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Socially Ana is doing pretty well. She transitioned to high school really well due to her

participation in the color guard, which is an extracurricular activity. When she started high

school, she did not know very many people due to it being a new school, but after a few weeks

was able to make new friends. Most of her friends she made through her participating in color

guard. Now, she often talks to her friends through the phone and they spend a lot of time

together. I also noticed that Ana and her group of friends have the same speech patterns. They

use very similar words and phrases. “Acceptance by the peer group is crucial to adolescents,

especially those who are younger. Seeking acceptance might spur the to change the way they

think, speak, dress, and behave to make them feel they belong to the group” (Office of

Adolescent Health, 2018). From what I mentioned before about Ana and her friends we can see

how this is true of her social development. She has the usual conflicts with her parents as any

other teenager would have, but overall their relationship is pretty good. “Parents and other adults

are likely to influence long-range plans; peers are likely to influence immediate status… Not

surprisingly, most conflicts between parents and their adolescent children are about such peer-

influenced issues” (Snowman, J., & McCown, R.R., 2015). This would make sense as to why

most problems that happen between Ana and her parents are about her not eating healthy and

using her phone too much. The problems are minor and do not usually last long. “One of the

many fascinating contradictions in adolescence is that teens desire independence, and at the same

time have a deep need to fit, and belong” (McNeely, 2011).Ana trying new styles of clothes also

shows that she is trying to find her identity in the world. The contradiction stated in the source

recently stated is part of the process that will form her identity. Ana spending more time with her

friends and away from home shows that she wants to be more independent. As for
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responsibilities, she sometimes offers to do things, such as sweeping or cleaning, that she would

have dreaded doing before.

Intellectual Development

In adolescence children also grow a lot intellectually. They become more formal logical thinkers

instead of concrete thinkers. “Specifically, young people gain these advantages as the brain

grows, prunes, and strengthens connections such as enhanced learning, abstract thinking…”

(Office of Adolescent Health,2018). For example, Ana has had thoughts about her future and

what she wants to do after high school, even though she is not sure of exactly what that is yet.

During this time, they also develop their views on the world. Ana is showing this by getting

more involved in what is going on in the world and trying to make sense of it. Also, when

emotional problems arise some teenagers may have problems with thinking in complex ways.

For example, sometimes Ana overreacts and acts without thinking. This shows that she has yet to

learn how to control her emotions and not just act on impulse. Although, sometimes after she

makes a bad decision, she realizes it later on and acknowledges that she made a mistake. “In

adolescence, … young people strengthen their advanced reasoning skills, which includes

thinking about multiple options and possibilities…” (McNeely, 2011). In her English class, they

are reading the book Lord of the Flies and were asked to think about how they would have

established order and created a society if they were in a situation like that. Ana struggles thinking

of other possibilities other than those that she already knows, but after talking about it with her

friends she is able to come up with an answer. “Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, political

thinking becomes more abstract, liberal, and knowledgeable” (Snowman, J., & McCown, R.R.,

2015). From what I have seen Ana had not shown any interest in thinking about politics. I have
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brought it to her attention, since this is a presidential election year, but she seems to show no

interest.

Graph

Pepsi Screening
5.05

4.95

4.9

4.85

4.8

4.75

4.7

4.65

4.6

4.55
Physical (P) Emotional (E) Philosophical (P) Social (S) Intellectual (I)

Average Development My Subject's Development

From our graph, we can see that Ana still has some room for development. Physically she seems

to have reached the average development. As for the other areas, she is still going through

adolescent development and will get to the average or above-average levels at her own pace.

Recommendations

Physical

We as adults can support Ana’ physical development by letting her know that it is normal

and that everyone has to go through that stage in their life. “Beyond reassuring that the timing of
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changes in the body varies from person to person, parents and caring adults can help adolescent

appreciate their own bodies and developmental experiences” (Office of Adolescent Health,

2018). By letting Ana know she is valued and accepted no matter how she looks will help her

appreciate her own body. This can also help her nurture self-respect and feel better about herself.

We can also encourage teenagers, like Ana, to eat well and exercise to stay healthy. For example,

you may get active with Ana so that she is more likely to participate in the activity. Adults in

Ana’s life can also help her have healthy habits so that she can develop physically to the fullest.

For example, making sure that she gets enough sleep and teaching her to maintain good health.

Emotional

One way we can help keep Ana developing emotionally is by “Demonstrating tolerance

and generosity in your thoughts, words, and actions” (McNeely,2011). By doing this we will

help her build empathy and focus on issues larger than herself. Also, by showing her that

prejudices can lead to negative consequences and letting her know how the other person will

feel. We, as adults, can also talk with her about her concerns and feelings, which can lead to

compassion for others who have those same feelings. Also, we can show her healthy ways of

setting realistic goals. For example, when dealing with certain obstacles we can help her focus on

the things that she can control and not focusing on the things that she cannot. Lastly, we can

value the way she is even if we cannot relate or feel the same way that she is feeling.

Philosophical

Philosophically, adults can help Ana grow in this aspect in a variety of ways. For

example, we can talk honestly and openly about our values with her so that she can see what we

think. Then she can choose whether she believes the same or not. We can listen to her and not

judge her for her opinions. “Listening to them and treating their questions as valid will help them
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feel safe…” (Office of Adolescent Health, 2018). By doing just that we can listen to what they

have to say and see what they are concerned about. We can also show her that not everyone is

going to agree with her views, but that’s okay. Lastly, we can let her explore other perspectives

and adopt those values that she believes as well. Letting her explore a variety of movies, shows,

and music to help her get to know other people’s points of view. This can also help her become

comfortable with seeing other ideas and respect them, even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with

them.

Social

Socially we can help Ana develop my helping her get involved in things that she finds

interests in. For example, something that she might feel passionate about. We can guide her

towards the direction of getting involved in the community to make her friendships stronger.

Getting involved in the community can also help her become more empathetic towards other

people. Another way we can help Ana develop socially is by “discussing the meaning of true

friendship, teaching her about the relationship between honesty and tact, and talking about

boundaries” (McNeely, 2011). By talking with her and letting her what healthy friendships look

like we can help her develop to the fullest. Also, by helping get engaged in things that she likes,

she will be able to make new friends and meet new people. Through this, she can be able to learn

about other points of view and develop in other areas as well.

Intellectual

“One of the advantages of educational technology is that it can be readily used to support

the development of such higher-level cognitive skills like inquiry, critical thinking and problem-

solving” (Snowman, J., & McCown, R.R., 2015). According to the textbook to help Ana grow

intellectually she can use technology such as the adventure learning program to interact with
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other peers and adults. By doing this Ana can expand her knowledge by hearing about other

points of view and understanding others. It can also help her problem-solve better. We can also

help her see other consequences that a certain action could have, by helping her see the pros and

cons of a certain situation. By doing this we can help her see the possible risks of a certain

situation and will show her how to make good choices in the future. She could also look for other

opportunities to put her skills to the test and engage in learning. For example, she could join an

extracurricular activity, such as the student council to help her in developing leadership skills.

Lastly, we can help her improve her abstract thinking skills by asking her open-ended questions

and providing nonjudgmental feedback. Or Ana could be asked to plan and organize one family

activity to help her develop higher cognition.

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References

Adolescence [Video file]. (1990). Retrieved March 17, 2020, from https://digital-films-

com.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=97822&xtid=24630

Adolescent development: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002003.htm

McNeely, C. (2011). The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent

Development. U.S.: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg.

Office of Adolescent Health. (2018, July 29). Physical Development. Retrieved from

https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/explained/physical/index.html

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Australia:

Cengage Learning.

Toddlers to Teens: Developmental Care [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved March 17, 2020,

from https://digital-films-

com.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=97822&xtid=116135