Running Head: PEPSI Screening Paper

Christina Flatley
PEPSI Screening Paper
Educational Psychology 220
Doctor Hooks
Saturday, November 5. 2016

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Biography
The person I have interviewed is my cousin Amber Bethancourt. She is a highly
independent, perky, and motivated adolescent female who has just turned 13 years old. She was
born in the United States at the Saint Rose Dominican Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003.
Her ethnic background is Mexican American, and she is raised by two highly traditional
Mexican parents who immigrated to the United States over 28 years ago in 1988. Her mother,
Analisa Bethancourt is currently a home-maker and provider who takes care of the house and the
children she had through multiple pregnancies. While her father Julio Bethancourts current
occupation is a greenskeeper for one of many Las Vegas country golf clubs here.
She has multiple siblings; she has two older brothers, one older sister, and a younger
brother. Amber and her family mainly live in a lower middle class neighborhood located close to
the famous Las Vegas Strip casinos which are the Rio and The Palms. Ambers mother stated
that she had,quite a difficult pregnancy with Amber. Her doctor told her that Amber was going
to have Down Syndrome after taking PCV genetic test. But the test proved to be wrong because
she grew up typically, and this proved that the test wasnt completely accurate.
When she was born, her birth weight was at 6 lbs and 4 oz. Amber also had a case of
Neonatal Jaundice, or yellowing of the skin after her birth. Because she was born by 37 weeks,
she was considered a preterm-baby. It is a medical term most doctors use to describe an infant
born before 38 weeks time. After Ambers birth, she had to get some phototherapy for two days
before she was released from the hospital to be reunited with her family. She has gone through
many physical changes in her lifetime, but I will list the physical aspects and other parts of her
down below.

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Physical
Amber was last measured in height and weight by January of this year. She is 5 feet tall,
and her current weight is 118 pounds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (2016), she is considered overweight and at the 86th percentile for girls aged 13
years and 4 months. Another fact about Amber is that she reached puberty by the age of 11.
Snowman and McCown (2015) has stated, girls mature more rapidly than boys, their growth
spurt begins at about age eleven, reaches a peak at about age fourteen, and is generally complete
by age fifteen. (p. 93) Which means that Amber is developing at a normal rate, and is going
through puberty at a typical age.
Besides the usual colds and flus Amber gets once a while, there is one disorder that
persists with her once a month which is Acute Bronchitis. Acute Bronchitis is a disease that
consistently goes throughout her childhood,and is caused by respiratory viruses that infect the
upper respiratory tract (Chamberlain, 2014). Symptoms often include a shortness of breath, a
sore throat, and a headache. Despite the illnesses she goes through annually, she can still engage
in other physical activities to an extent.
Amber doesnt participate in sports, but she works out 3 days a week in her P.E. class at
her middle school. Amber is considered shorter and clumsier than her peers, but Snowman and
McCown (2015) states she is considered much more confident compared to girls who live at
poverty level. (pg. 94) She tends to overeat and has a fast metabolism. She does skip breakfast
frequently due to a risk of running late for school, but she tries to make up for it by eating her
two meals of the day in larger portions which are lunch and dinner.

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Emotional
Amber is very confident with her image and body. The reason why is because she said
she loves her body the way it is, and she doesnt care how fat or skinny she gets as long as she
loves herself. Her statement is a huge key factor for her emotional state because it strongly
correlates to Eriksons Theory of personality development based on Epignetic Principle
(Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 30). In her role of Identity vs. Role Confusion, she takes a
strong positive turn into the identity phase. According to Ellsworth (1999), The child might be
summed up as, I am what I imagine myself to be . Only in this case, she doesnt imagine
herself to be anything other than who she is right now.
While she does have a strong sense of self efficacy and high self esteem, she does portray
most of the characteristics of a typical early adolescent. Amber is no exception because she has
developed a sense of adolescent egocentrism (Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 98). As the
continued influence of egocentric thought, middle school students are typically self conscious
and self centered (Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 98). This is mostly proven through her
answers regarding the way she dresses. In my interview, she said that she loves to dress uniquely
but she doesnt show off her body due to showing respect to her parents who are conservative in
fashion.
Many adolescents have had problems regarding social, emotional, and behavioral
difficulties. However, most of the risky behaviors that adolescents develop dont really persist
with them throughout their life (Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 97). She mentions that she
wasnt diagnosed with a mental illness, but she had an imaginary pet hippo to keep her company
in her childhood. Then she grew up a little more and made real friends later on in her life.

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Philosophical
When I asked Amber about how much she accepted her role and identity in society, she
told me she was very comfortable with herself. Her statement gives full proof that she is fully at
the Identity part of the Identity vs. Role Confusion section in Eriksons psychosocial
development stages. He emphasized that people are best able to adapt to their world when they
possess both the positive and negative qualities of a particular stage, provided that the positive
quality is significantly stronger than the negative quality(Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 28).
The more the individual is confident enough in different endeavors in life, the more likely theyll
be able to develop a strong sense of self. And Amber, in this case has already developed a strong
sense of identity.
Amber also has developed a sense of moral relativism in Piagets morality theory. Some
of the characteristics of her morality shows; bending of the rules and awareness of different
viewpoints regarding rules. Her form of morality is similar to Kohlbergs stages of moral
reasoning at postconventional morality. She is currently at Stage 5: social contract orientation
(Snowman & McCown, 2016, p. 61). She believes that certain rules should be broken to protect
the individual, and that authority should be obeyed only on certain circumstances. This level of
moral reasoning, I believe, is much more mature and atypical compared to her peers.
She doesnt really adopt Carol Gilligans view on caring, understanding, and sharing of
experiences(Snowman and McCown, 2015, p. 63). Rather, she prefers to adopt more of her
individualistic views similarly to Kohlbergs and Eriksons moral theories. Her way of thinking
proves that, Instead of remaining loyal to adult authority, individuals as they mature shift their
loyalty to abstract principles (e.g., self reliance, independence, justice, and fairness).

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Social
When it comes to making friends, Amber believes she is completely confident in doing
these endeavors. According to her she can befriend anyone; and she does this often through
friendly physical contact and verbal conversations. However, Amber is completely aware of her
behavior and will withdraw if people feel uncomfortable towards it. Robert Selman states
that,Toward the end of the elementary school years and increasingly during adolescence,
children become capable of taking a somewhat detached and analytical view of their own
behavior, as well as the behavior of others. (Snowman & McCown, 2016, pgs. 95-96) Amber
has developed a strong sense of interpersonal reasoning; and is currently at the fourth stage of
Selmans Interpersonal Reasoning table. Meaning that she understands,actions are judged by
how they influence all individuals, not just those who are immediately concerned (Snowman &
McCown, 2016, pg. 95).
While Amber retains a strong sense of individuality, she still wants to fit in with much of
her peers. Ellsworth (1999) quotes,The peers are the important referent for a youngster,
and,belonging and being accepted take on looming proportions. She has a quite a large group
of friends, and most of them belong in after school clubs she participates in such as the Anime
Club. The activities that they all participate in range from watching anime and Korean dramas to
drawing. However, she has also mentioned to me that there have been tensions arising since she
has developed a strong sense of identity confirmation. Some of her friends have abandoned and
isolated her in the past. Fortunately, she has a few friends that are loyal enough to help her
progress socially. Because her sense of identity is very strong, her running away, May be a
symbolic tuning out according to Ellsworth (1999) in her early social adolescence diagnostics.

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Intellectual
Amber has developed a typical rate of intellectual growth. She has stated that she works
hard in school. Amber has a mix of As and Bs on her progress reports. This indicates she has
developed self efficacy, as well as mastery or performance goals. This is relative to Carol
Dwecks achievement goal theories (p. 99). According to Snowman and McCown (2015),
Students with a moderate to strong sense of self efficacy will persist at a task long enough to
obtain the success or corrective feedback that leads to expectations of future success. (p. 100)
It takes Amber quite a bit to master abstract theories. However, she does fine when it
comes to concrete thinking. She has told me she prefers to be more practical when it comes to
doing classwork, but she would like to be more creative if given the chance. Amber does struggle
with theoretical thinking, but shes willing to involve,using psychological tools to learn
scientific concepts (Snowman & McCown, 2015, pg. 53). Ellsworth (1999) has stated in
observation of early adolescent development,During the initial period of early adolescence the
child is too fractionated to really add depth here. This means that she may need more depth in
her thinking to give her more intellectual growth.
Her strongest subjects include science and math, but she considers her weakest subject to
be health education. She is very good at understanding scientific concepts within her classroom.
Vygotskys scientific concepts according to Snowman & McCown (2015) are,the psychological
tools that allow us to manipulate our environment consciously and systematically (p. 53). Her
classroom must be thoroughly structured in order for her to attain clear instructions and
guidelines. That way, her knowledge will develop, to stimulate and guide cognitive
development(Snowman & McCown, 2015, pg. 53).

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Bar Graph

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Recommendations
Physical: What I physically recommend is that Amber should participate in more after school
clubs that allow her to become more active. Her weight tends to flux unpredictably, and she
either gains or loses weight due to previous eating habits. I also recommend that Amber eats
breakfast as much as she can; whether it be at her own school, or earlier on at home. Sports clubs
such as the Volleyball club, Lacrosse club, or even a swimming club will be an excellent chance
for her to balance her body and mind.
Emotional: She is in a very healthy state of mind. However, one recommendation I would have
for her is to be less preoccupied with herself, and learn how to take in other points of view from
family and friends.
Philosophical: What I recommend for Amber is to develop a more realistic view on life. Instead
of focusing on the spiritual, she should focus a little more on practical and realistic ideas. She
should especially learn to be more caring and considerate when it comes to authority in question.
Since they control most of her environment, she should take care to be more tactful when
conversing with them.
Social: Amber seems to have a natural knack for making friends. She is at the typical rate of
socializing compared with her other peers. What she needs to do is not make friends just for the
sake of it. Instead, she should seek out individuals who will truly be loyal to her, and look out for
her when needed.
Intellectual: She is an intelligent girl who developed her cognitive thinking at a typical rate.
What she needs to develop is more abstract thinking when it comes to academic pursuits.
Furthermore, she needs to push herself to be more enthusiastic about her schoolwork.

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Resources:
BMI Percentile Calculator for Child and Teen: Results. (2016, November 19). Retrieved
November 19, 2016, from
https://nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Result.aspx?&dob=9/7/2002&dom=1/1/2016&age=160&ht=60&
wt=118&gender=2&method=0&inchtext=0&wttext=0
Chamberlain, N. R. (2014, August 21). Respiratory Airway Infections. Retrieved November 07,
2016, from https://www.atsu.edu/faculty/chamberlain/website/lectures/lecture/reairin2.htm
Ellsworth, J. (1999, January 01). Early Adolescence. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/reading2-1-1.html
Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th ed.). Stamford,
CT: Cengage Learning.