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Running Head: PEPSI SCREENING CASE STUDY

PEPSI Screening Case Study

Stephanie Sutherland

Principles of Educational Psychology

PEPSI Screening

Monday, Dec. 11, 2017

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Running Head: PEPSI SCREENING CASE STUDY

PEPSI Screening Case Study

Biography

I decided to do my case study on my good friend Gianna Morejon who I have known for

4 years now. She was born on May 30​th​, 1999 which makes her 18 years old. She was born and

raised in the Las Vegas/Henderson area and continues to live in Henderson with her mother and

father. Gianna’s grandparents came from Cuba right before her father was born. Having a Cuban

heritage has made her very close to her family. They all like in the same part of town and are

constantly with each other. She has an older sister, Macy, who is 21 years old, but she lives with

their grandparents. Both of her parents are still happily married, both with good paying jobs. A

big setback for her was when her grandma died about 2 years ago. This was very difficult on her

and her family, and still is as she was very close to her grandma. Since family is the most

important thing in her life, school is the second most important. She is currently in her first year

at UNLV, studying to be a dentist. This is not her first year at a college though. She was at CSN

for two years during 11​th​ and 12​th​ grade doing the CSN high school program.
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Physical Development

Gianna is 5’3 and weighs about 160lbs and has stopped growing both in the height and

weight department since middle school. Even though she does not participate in any sports at the

moment and hasn’t in a while, she does go to the gym occasionally with her father. In elementary

school she was on a soccer team, but gave that up when middle school came around. In “Child

Development, Stages of Growth,” it is stated that from ages 12 to 18 is where the most growth

happens, but it happens really quickly in the younger years (Tomonari, 2003). This shows that

Gianna is at the average level as far as the age she reaches her own maximum height, even

though she is overweight for her height.

Regarding puberty and becoming sexually active, Gianna is attracted to her opposite sex.

She is constantly talking about other boys and who is possible boyfriend material. Because of her

strict parents and her focus on school, she has yet to have a boyfriend. In Psychology Applied to

Teaching, by Jack Snowman and Rick McCown, it was stated that “In 2007, close to two-thirds

of students reported having engaged in sexual intercourse by the end of grade 12” (Snowman,

2015). This data puts Gianna slightly under what the normal is considered for her age group. She

is less concerned about sex and boys, and is more concerned about studying for her classes. It

does say in the textbook we just mentioned, that students with higher goals and grades are often

less interested in sexual activity, compared to students with low educational goals.

Gianna; while concerned about what she is wearing or if she has makeup on, she is not

too concerned about what is in style with her age group/peers. Whenever she goes shopping, she
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always buys what she likes, not what other people suggest. She wants the clothes to fit her style

and personality. This is important to her physical development because it puts her at above

average. According to J’Anne Ellsworth, “Primping and discussion of ‘in’ perfume or style is

age appropriate” (Ellsworth, 1999).

Emotional Development

As I stated before, Gianna is very confident in herself. She has her own style and does not

car what other people think about it. She knows who she is and is past trying to find herself.

Instead she is focused on bettering herself, such as going to school to be a successful dentist.

J’Anne Ellsworth says that “There is an emerging sense of self identity, of who and what the

person is becoming” (Ellsworth, 1999). This statement describes Gianna exactly when it comes

to her emotional state; confident, yet still working on it.

Surprisingly, unlike many adolescents, Gianna has not struggled with any psychiatric

disorders. While she deals with a weight problem, she has not developed an eating disorder.

Even though she is still dealing with her grandmother’s death, she has not become depressed or

suicidal. Having a close family that you know you can tell everyone has really seemed to help

Gianna escape those common disorders that teens seem to develop. In the textbook by Snowman

and McCown, it is given that “​Many psychiatric disorders either appear or become prominent

during adolescence. Included among these are eating disorders, substance abuse, schizophrenia,

depression, and suicide” (Snowman, 2015).

The main emotional issues that adolescents deal with are finding a balance of who they

want to be and who their peers will accept according to the journal article stated before, titled
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“Child Development, Stages of Growth” (Tomonari, 2003). Gianna, while confident in who she

wants to be, she is unlike her peers regarding worrying about what others may think of her.

Philosophical Development

It is stated that in the textbook that at this age, adolescents are more likely to think of

laws as a guideline, and that there are different circumstances for every person (Snowman,

2015). Gianna tends to believe that the law is the law. If you break it; no matter how small it is or

what the circumstances were, you have to accept the punishment for it. Her parents are both

strong Republicans and don’t have a very liberal way of thinking, so naturally, neither does she.

She also has never been in a situation where someone she knows broke a minor law and they got

a long jail sentence. Her lack of life experience puts her at below average when it comes to

acknowledging laws.

Now in college, and functioning as a semi-adult, Gianna is aware of her community. She

is aware that she has not only herself to worry about, but what is happening around her. When

the past election was happening, she was very vocal about her views. She knew that who is

elected into office is vital for our country’s future. J’Anne Ellsworth states that at this age “​The

student may begin to identify beyond adolescence and peerage to member of community. If so,

then moral reasoning will focus on protecting the society and following community guidelines”

(Ellsworth, 1999). She is conscious about her community around her and what she believes will

make it a better place.

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In the journal article previously mention, they state that “​Adolescents are trying on new

roles, new ways of thinking and behaving, and they are exploring different ideas and values”

(Tomonari 2003). This statement of an average adolescent does not fit Gianna’s philosophical

development. As I stated at the beginning of this section, follows her parent’s beliefs instead of

finding her own individual beliefs. This can make it difficult for her socially, as many of her

peers are the opposite, but it doesn’t stop her from believing what she wants.

Social Development

An overall theme in Gianna’s social development is having many friends, yet still putting

herself before her friends. She is always more focused on getting good grades rather than

hanging out with her friends. Also, like in every other development category, she does not worry

about peer approval. While many still search for peer approval, a common finding shared by

J’Anne Ellsworth is that adolescents have a sense of self without relying on external acceptance

(Ellsworth 1999). It is also stated in the journal article that “​During this period, individuals evolve

their own self-concepts within the peer context. In their attempts to become more independent adolescents

often rely on their peer group for direction regarding what is normal and accepted” (Tomonari, 2003).

There is a balance that Gianna handles better than most teens.

Something interesting that was written in the textbook is that “​Parents and other adults

are likely to influence long-range plans; peers are likely to influence immediate status”

(Snowman, 2015). This is something that Gianna is right on target for regarding her age group.

She knows that her parents want her to get a good education and make a lot of money in the

future because that is what they did. She is always concerned about what her parents want from

her, rather than what her peers thinks she should do.
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Intellectual Development

Gianna is in her first year at UNLV studying to be a dentist. She was at CSN for two

years during 11​th​ and 12​th​ grade taking both high school and college courses. In those courses she

received A’s and B’s and still continues to receive those grades at UNLV. In her college classes

formal thought is required. Using deductive reasoning and logical thought is important if Gianna

wishes to maintain her good grades. According to the textbook, “High school students become

increasingly capable of engaging in formal thought, but they may not use this capability”

(Snowman, 2015). She is completely capable of using these thought processes simply by looking

at her success in school. If not average, they are definitely above average based on her going to

college two years early.

Like any other student of this age, she is constantly sharing ideas on how we can change

or help either a community, the country, or even a friend. She is constantly volunteering to feed

the homeless with her family, and she realizes that little efforts like that make a huge difference.
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According to J’Anne Ellsworth, “​The student often wishes to ‘change the world’ based on ideas

and the share will to make a difference, solve problems” (Ellsworth, 1999).

Addressing the term “street smarts” is where Gianna may lack. In the journal article it

says that “​…at this level of development, adolescents benefit more from direct experiences than

from abstract ideas and principles. As adolescents develop more complex cognitive skills, they

gain the ability to solve more abstract and hypothetical problems” (Tomonari, 2003). She does

not have a lot of life experience. She has never had to pay for her own cellphone bill or groceries

with her own money. Instead, she is gaining her knowledge from those abstract ideas in college

that she is taught.

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Recommendations

Physically, Gianna is slightly behind her peers regarding her interest in others sexually

and romantically; however, it is not necessarily a bad thing. If she is interested, but just doesn’t

have time, maybe cutting back on academics and focusing more on her social life would benefit

her. That way she could gain life experience and learn and make mistakes like every adolescent.

Emotionally, she ranked way above the average. This is mainly due to her capability to

work through any emotions whichever way works for her. She does not suffer from any disorders

like many teens. Helping her peers could be a good way to use her abilities to help others out if

they are going through a tough time.

Philosophically, she is slightly below the average because of her sense of the world. Her

view is very juvenile and that people can’t make mistakes. The laws are rigid and can’t be bent.
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Sharing stories of people who have stories of them struggling with the law, drugs, or life in

general could really help her see a different view. Even making new friends of different

backgrounds could help.

Socially, Gianna is above average compared to her peers. She is able to maintain tons of

friends, but they do not run her life. She is more concerned about herself than what others think.

This is not a negative aspect at all, and I do not believe that anything could be changed. She is far

beyond her years and it benefits her mental health.

Intellectually, while she does lack life experience/street smarts, all of the higher

education that she has had has benefited her tremendously. Even though she is above average,

she could work on the life experience aspect. Do more activities that don’t involve textbooks. Go

out into the world and volunteer more or even travel. This will boost her different views of the

world.

References

Ellsworth, J. (1999). Late Adolescence: Being Aware of Being “Real.” In ​ESE 504​. Retrieved

from

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/PEPSIObserv/reading2-1-2.html

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2015). ​Psychology Applied to Teaching 14th​ ​ Edition. S
​ tamford,

CT: Cengage Learning.

Tomonari, D., & Feiler, R. (2003). Child Development, Stages of Growth. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.),

Encyclopedia of Education​ (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 276-280). New York: Macmillan

Reference USA. Retrieved from

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http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/apps/doc/CX3403200106/GVRL?u=las

55353&sid=GVRL&xid=bf474edc