CASE STUDY 1

Case Study

Sabrina Lopez

College of Southern Nevada

CASE STUDY 2

Case Study

Introduction

For this observation, I observed one of my younger cousins Orlando Deppner. Orlando is

an 11-year old boy who is the oldest of three other siblings. He and his family live all together in

a four-bedroom house. Orlando was born here in Las Vegas and only speaks English. His father

was born in Argentina, but did not teach any of his children to speak Spanish, so Orlando would

not understand anything said in Spanish. When Orlando was seven, he was diagnosed with

autism disorder. At such a young age, it was noticeable that he did not like to interact with his

family nor with fellow classmates at school. If there was a great deal of people at the dinner table

he would go eat in his room, and would not make eye contact with me or any other family

members. After his parents found out he was autistic, they placed him in a program where he

would receive help and would later learn how to be comfortable around people and be more

interactive with them. Now, Orlando is a completely different person: He is very social with not

only friends at school but with his family as well. With regards to socio-economic status, the

family would be considered middle class. Both his parents are very hard workers who have done

nothing but make sure their children have everything they need and want.

I happened to observe Orlando when I would go over to his house a couple times a week.

I spent about 30 minutes to an hour watching him do his homework and asking him questions

regarding the material and about the PRISM developmental areas.

Physical

Right away I noticed Orlando is a very impatient young boy who wants to get stuff done

the right way and get it done fairly quickly. He does, however, have well-developed motor skills.
CASE STUDY 3

He loves to talk about video games and YouTube videos that he watches on his mothers phone,

but he does stutter a bit and occasionally, it is difficult to understand him. On the other hand, he

is exceedingly active, and likes to run around in the backyard and play by himself. One milestone

he does not meet is the roughness in his play. He does not enjoy playing rough with his siblings

at all: hell just walk away, complain when one of his siblings hit him, attempt to hit back, or

sometimes cry out of anger (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993).

In the text, it reads Early-maturing boys are likely to draw favorable responses as where

late-maturing boys may feel inadequate (Snowman, p. 59). Snowman proposes that boys who

mature quickly are most likely to have older friends, draws better responses from adults, and are

more likely to be popular amongst their friends. Whereas boys who mature later are

characterized with attention-getting behavior and can possibly be slightly bossy. Orlando does

not seem to fall in either categories. For example, although he as three siblings and he is the

oldest out of everyone, he still prefers to be left alone.

Abraham Maslow came up with the theory of human motivation, that was primarily

based on the distinct kinds of needs that humans require (Snowman, p. 248). Maslow went into

further depth about his theory by creating five levels of hierarchy of needs: Physiological, safety,

belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization needs. The lower 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, p. 248).

An essential motivation that displays one of these categories is the physiological needs

that deals with the fear for ones physical safety. In DSHS Fosterparentscope, it mentions that
CASE STUDY 4

children of the age ten to eleven are most likely to engage in roughness when they play with kids

their age. As I have mentioned earlier, Orlando does not seem to have this trait for a child of his

age. Although he is extremely active, he prefers to stay away from unsafe/dangerous activities so

he will not get harmed. Simply based on the time I have observed Orlando, I can conclude that

he does meet the physiological needs that naturally deal with the basic essentials to everyday life.

A recommendation that I do have for the childs further development is to engage in

more physical activity with children his age, that way he can interact and comprehend that

getting rough is a natural part of playing at his age. Orlando is not considered an early-maturing

nor late-maturing young boy, which means that he has not gone through a growth spurt. A

growth spurt is the rapid uneven physical growth that besets adolescents during the middle

school years (Snowman, p. 59). Once he undergoes his growth spurt, it would be best to have

him refrain from playing alone and have him connect with boys his age.

Emotional

After a couple of visits and some time observing Orlando, I noticed that he is not

concerned with his style at all, like similar boys at his age typically are. Style is not one of his

main concerns; video games are his one and only priority at the moment. A milestone in the

Child Development Guide that he does reach is the casual and relaxed characteristics of a ten

to eleven-year old. Orlando enjoys being on the sofa relaxing, watching videos on the phone, or

watching his favorite cartoons in peace. In the Child Development Guide, an unreached

milestone with Orlando is the concern with academics and peer relationships. Orlando likes

school but does not enjoy homework, and in terms of peer relationships, he only has one close

friend named Michael. I noticed that Orlando is only a private person after one of his siblings

annoy him. He enjoys their company, but after a while he has had enough of them and leaves to
CASE STUDY 5

his room to be alone. This age is said to be the not so angry age, but Orlando occasionally acts

out. As I have mentioned earlier, he can be violent when his siblings hit him and he sometimes

cries out of anger. Once he cried when he was angry, and when I asked him why he was sobbing,

he replied, She wont leave me alone.

In middle school, it seems that the desire to conform reaches an all time peak (Snowman,

p. 60). In regards to fitting in, Orlando seems to be the complete opposite. Not only could he

care less about fitting in fashion wise, but he also has no desire to reshape his own views to relate

to his classmates. Orlando is a very independent person who does not have the need to portray

himself as someone he is not to have his classmates accept him.

According to the textbook, Teenagers experience different degrees of emotional

turmoil (Snowman, p. 62). Snowman continues by saying that at the middle school levels, it is

normal to view a child between the ages of 11 13, to have feelings of confusion, anxiety,

and/or have mood swings. In Orlandos case, he does not show any signs of confusion, but he did

seem to have a bit of anxiety. His anxiety displayed more when his siblings began to agitate him

while he would focus on a certain task. The book expresses that the reason for anxiety,

confusion, and mood swings is due to the fact that adolescents are at an age that their bodies are

beginning to expand in height and weight, as well as an increase in the production of hormones.

While it is normal for a child of ten to eleven-years old to show signs of anxiety, I feel

that as Orlando gets older he will not know how to handle it and continue to act out. I know that

this is the age where children transition to a more mature life stage, but it is still one of the

crucial stages. The traditional view of adolescence, which is still widely held among

nonpsychologists, is a dark one (Snowman, p 61). A recommendation I have to further develop

CASE STUDY 6

him in this emotional stage is to find ways to control his anxiety as well as his outburst. This will

help in the long run as he grows up.

Intellectual/Cognitive

Orlando is a very intelligent boy. He is alert with the things he cares about, such as food

or when the next new episode of his favorite TV show airs. He can argue logically and back up

his facts exceptionally well. When conversing with him about video games, he would explain to

me why a certain character has certain moves, and how they came about in the video game. He is

remarkably passionate about his video games, and he intends to learn everything about them.

Additionally, he has exhibited individual talent in the past. He was in his schools talent show

and decided to be a comedian. Orlando always has jokes to tell me and our family when we have

get-togethers. Despite the developmental milestones he has met, he does not meet one, which is

reading (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Orlando does not favor reading anything unless it is on

the phone or on the TV.

One of the many psychologists discussed in this section happens to be Jean Piaget.

According to Piagets four stages of cognitive development, I was able to determine that Orlando

falls into the last stage, which is formal operational (Snowman, p. 25). Orlando presents to be

able to deal with abstractions, form hypothesis, and solve problems systematically as the final

stage announces. When I observed him playing video games, I noticed that he would use a

combination of distinct moves in order to win the game, and that was when I knew he could

solve problems systematically. Orlando puts in all his efforts into video games, he performs

hypothesis based on an outfit that a particular character is wearing and will tell you an unlimited

amount of information why he feels so strongly about his hypothesis. Students at the age of

formal operations can also mentally manipulate relationships and variables (Snowman, p. 27).
CASE STUDY 7

When he was able to show me multiple approaches to win a certain video game, I knew he

belonged to the formal operational stage.

Lev Vygotskys theory was referred to as a sociocultural theory because it maintains

that how we think is function of both social and cultural forces (Snowman, p. 32). Vygotsky

believed that psychological tools aid and change the thought process. I thought this was true

when Orlando plays video games because his entire thought process changes and accommodates

to the knowledge he needs in order to win or to achieve a higher score. Vygotsky thought

different from psychologist Piaget and Vygotsky believed, That children gain significantly from

the knowledge and conceptual tools handed down to them by those who are more intellectually

advanced, where they are the same-age peers, older children, or adults (Snowman, p. 34). I do

not necessarily consider this being true because Orlando seemed to learned these basic skills on

his own; he taught himself how to play video games and his wins are based on his knowledge of

the certain type of video game.

Another similar psychologist is Robert Sternberg. He characterized his views on

intelligence as The Three Components of Sternbergs Triarchic View of Successful Intelligence,

it describes, intelligence as being a composed of practical, creative, and analytical components

(Snowman, p. 74). Based on my observations, I can conclude that Orlando does meet the

majority of these abilities. He can apply knowledge to everyday situations, shape his own

environment, select a different environment, solve unfamiliar problems, use prior knowledge and

cognitive skills to solve problems and learn new information (Snowman, p. 74). As stated before,

Orlando is an intelligent young boy that can find solutions to any obstacles that come between

him and his video games.

CASE STUDY 8

Howard Gardener also came up with his intelligences, but instead of three like Sternberg,

Gardener came up with eight intelligences. The intelligences that Gardener describes is logical-

mathematics, linguistic, musical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and

naturalist (Snowman, p. 75). The proper definition of body kinesthetic is the ability to control

ones bodies movements and handle objects skillfully. Out of all the eight intelligences listed, I

strongly believe that Orlando falls into the body kinesthetic section simply due to the fact that he

handles a game controller with such ease and understands which buttons do what. Not to

mention, he does not need to visually see the controller in order to know where to place his

fingers. He knows the exact time he needs to move his fingers and where to place them with each

different move he plans to make in the video game.

As mentioned before, Orlando seems to meet a various amount of the intellectual

milestones except for reading. A concern I have has to deal with his rejection towards reading

due to the fact that in school it is important to be able to read fluently and be able to comprehend

what one has read. Although he does read what is displayed to him on the T.V or phone, that is

not enough to enhance his intellectual abilities. Gardener demonstrates different intelligences

which implies that, these intelligences are presumed to be independent of one another

(Snowman, p. 75). Furthermore, individuals would model different levels of skill in each section,

which is why Orlando strongly dislikes reading. A recommendation I have to engage Orlando in

reading is to allow him to begin reading school magazines that will have an education purpose

and then into books that he is interested in.

Social

His social developments are not as well established as the other milestones in the Child

Development Guide (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). He is not very affectionate with his
CASE STUDY 9

parents even though they are always around and show love and affection. Although he does not

show much love, he still a very nice boy. It simply seems that he is very neutral with his feelings

and his social skills. He also does not feel the need to have a group of friends into which he must

try to fit into. He is more content with only having one close friend.

The psychologist that falls under psychosocial development is Erik Erikson. Eriksons

theory encompasses the life span and highlights the role of the person and culture development

(Snowman, p. 17). According to Eriksons theory, Orlando should be in Industry Versus

Inferiority. In this stage of psychosocial development, it says that if children are encouraged to

make and do things well, helped to persevere, allowed to finish tasks, and praised for trying, then

industry results (Snowman, p. 19). This information seems be consistent with the observation I

performed on Orlando. As mentioned earlier in the first paragraph, Orlando has the need to do

things the correct way and that portrays a positive sense of industry because a teacher or his

parents must have praised him for doing a good job; therefore, he has the need to do things the

right way.

Furthermore, James Marcia continued Eriksons observations by the notion of identity

statuses. Marcia came up with four identity statuses: Identity Diffusion, Foreclosure,

Moratorium, and Identity Achievement that vary in their degree of crisis and commitment

(Snowman, p. 21). Regarding these four statuses, Orlando seems to display moratorium,

although some of these attributes do not exemplify him. The reason Orlando falls into this status

is because it says partially experienced. Has given some thought to identity-related questions

(Snowman, p. 21). Orlando is still in middle school and has given thoughts about his own

identity, but a few of the characteristics given under this status are not accurate because he still is

only eleven years old. A few of the other characteristics in the moratorium stage are anxious,
CASE STUDY 10

dissatisfied with school; changes major often, daydreams, engages in intense but short-lives

relationships; may temporarily reject parental and societal values (Snowman, p. 21). Since he is

an adolescent, he does not need to know what he wishes to major in nor has he had a

relationship. I asked him if he liked any girls in his class, and he replied, Ew no, haha. A few

of these characteristics fit in as well as others do not.

Identity was defined by Erikson and he said that, identity involves acceptance of ones

body, knowledge of where one is going, and recognition from those who count (Snowman, p.

21). Orlando does not care for his appearance, as I have mentioned before. He does accept

himself for who he is; because, as I have said, he will not try to fit in into a group where he feels

he does not belong. A way to improve Orlandos further development, would be to enhance his

social skills not only with classmates, but also at home with his parents and siblings. In the

future, this will help him be open with his feelings as he grows up and would also allow him to

create relationships.

Moral

Orlandos morals are quite stable at this age. He knows what he should and should not do

and is aware of insubordination. Also, he knows that cheating in a video game is unmoral and

that one cannot win like that, so he has the potential to apply those morals to real life. The Child

Development Guide says that children of ten to eleven years-old are more concerned with what

is wrong than what is, but I believe Orlando is quite the opposite (DSHS Fosterparentscope,

1993). He does not dwell on why certain behaviors are wrong, he simply accepts the rules as

they have been presented.

CASE STUDY 11

Piaget not only did four stages on cognitive but also did moral developments. Around

the middle school age (10 to 12 years old), rules became a set of agreements reached by mutual

consent (Snowman, p. 40). This is true because when I was observing Orlando, he knew right

from wrong and did not try to ask his parents why rules were made nor why should he follow

them. Piagets table of Morality of Constraint Versus Morality of Cooperation informs us that

typical 12 year olds are aware of different viewpoints regarding rules, believes that rules are

flexible, and considers the wrongdoers intentions when evaluating guilt (Snowman, p. 42). I do

not necessarily believe Orlando falls into all of these descriptions, but it is true when Piaget said

that children from the age 10 and up see rules as a mutual agreement among equals. Orlando

understand consequences of ones actions but also takes in the guilt. For example, one day when

I was observing him, I watched him observe his little brother get in trouble for dropping a basket

of cookies, but Orlando did not want his younger getting in trouble because it was not intentional

and knew how guilty he felt after his actions.

Lawrence Kohlberg, another psychologist, elaborated Piagets ideas on moral thinking.

Kohlberg believed that 1) more reasoning proceeds through fixed stages and 2) more

development can be accelerated through instruction (Snowman, p. 41). He came up with six

stages that are based off of moral reasoning. By looking at all six stages, I could determine that

Orlando fits in the conventional morality stage. Kohlberg stated, older children (beginning

around age 10) and adolescents tend to conform to the rules of society because they are the

convention (Snowman, p. 41). Given examples in this stage are coming to a mutual agreement

and that rights of individuals should be protected because we all matter. Orlando understands the

meaning of mutual agreements and to respect authority, that is why he doe not intentionally do

anything unacceptable because he knows there would be consequences.

CASE STUDY 12

Carol Gilligan argued that, Eriksons view of identity development and Kohlbergs view

of moral development more accurately describe what occurs with adolescents males than with

adolescent females (Snowman, p. 43). Gilligan advised that many adolescent females have

different primary concerns, they do not care for separation and independence, but more about

remaining loyal to others through caring, understanding, and sharing of experiences (Snowman,

p. 43). Kohlbergs views represent Orlando exceptionally well simply because Gilligan focuses

more on females.

The final psychologist in the moral category is Nell Noddings. Although slight

differences do exist, both males and females use caring and justice orientations to resolve real-

life moral dilemmas (Snowman, p. 44). It is true that males, as well as females, use caring as a

problem solver because, as I have mentioned, before, Orlando cared about his younger brother

and how guilty he felt about dropping the basket of cookies. The care theory focuses on the

whether a caring relationship exists. I strongly believe Orlando cares about everyone and

everything. Just like in previous paragraphs, he cares about morals, and how it it not okay to

cheat even if it is in a video game. Noddings theory is correct because of Orlandos behavior

and actions.

Orlando seems to have very well balanced morals, where he knows right from wrong and

not question his parents authority. He is the opposite of what a ten to eleven year -old boy

should be at this moral stage; but, I do not believe he is behind nor does he not meet this stage.

Once again, it has been said that Kohlberg believed that, moral development can be accelerated

through instruction (Snowman, p. 41). I believe this is a perfect example of Orlando not being

concerned with what is wrong than what is as the Child Devlopment Guide suggests. I do not
CASE STUDY 13

have any recommendations for Orlando in this final stage due to the fact that I believe he is

doing strikingly well.

Summary

Based on the amount of time I spent observing Orlando, I can conclude that although he

did not meet all of the Child Development Guide milestones, he achieved a significant amount.

He is very different from children the same age as him, but that does not mean he is behind nor

underdeveloped. For being an eleven-year old, he achieved most of the milestones in the moral

category which qualifies him to know right from wrong, and that is an excellent attribute to have

at such a young age.

CASE STUDY 14

References

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

Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/cdevguid/cdg12.htm

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

Observation Notes

Orlando Deppner

11 years-old

Male

3 younger siblings (2 sisters, 1 brother)

Family lives all together

Half Argentinean, Half Caucasian

Socio-economic: Middle Class

Fluent in English, does not understand Spanish at all

Observed him in his house

Observed him a couple days a week

Physical

Very active, likes to play by himself

Very impatient

Likes to get things done right and quickly

Motor skills are great but stutters

Does not like rough play or being rough in general, hell act out if hurt

Emotional

Not concerned with with style

Really casual and relaxed, does what he wants in his free time
CASE STUDY 16

Needs privacy sometimes, especially from his siblings

Not an angry child until is bothered or hurt from one of his siblings, then hell hit them

back or cry when hes angry

Isnt to concerned with school or friendships with his classmates

Intellectual/Cognitive

Only alert to the things he cares about

Very intelligent

Can argue very well and back up his facts

Is not a big fan of reading

He was in his schools talent show and he presented the audience with jokes

Social

Not a very affectionate person

He does have one best friend named Michael

Doesnt find the need to fit in with people/group of people

Very nice kid even though he doesnt show affection

Moral

Has good morals

o Ex.) in video games, cheating is unmoral

Knows good from bad

Knows consequences of his actions

CASE STUDY 17