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Physical, Emotional, Philosophical, Social and Intellectual Project

Christal Lockett

EDU 220- 3001

Instructor: Dr. Vincent Richardson

December 9, 2018
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Biography

In this course we have learned about how individuals can be put into a variety of

categories. In this case study, I will be describing and making researched based observations

regarding a 13-year-old boy I have taken data on. I will be describing and comparing his

physical, emotional, philosophical, social and intellectual development to the research I have

accumulated stating where the norm residues for his age bracket.

I decided to do my case study on my nephew Cannon because I know him very well and

can make better connections about him rather than if I were to observe a stranger. He was born

on September 30th, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia peaches have a welcoming personality also

known as southern hospitality. Me and my nephew share this type of personality due to how we

were raised, but also where we were raised. Cannon is growing up in a family where education is

very important, and his parents modeled it for him by both being college graduates. Cannon

loves to play sports and his favorite football team is the New England Patriots. Our family has a

tradition of gathering on Sunday’s to watch football games which is why Cannon seems to be

intrigued at such a young age. Cannon is an only sibling, but he says he doesn’t mind it. The

family consists of mostly females. He is looked at as a golden child due to the lack of males in

the family.

Currently, Cannon lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he recently moved in 2015. He is in

the 6th grade and loves going to school. He states he wants to be a football player when he grows

up. Since Cannon recently turned 13, I based my studies on the early adolescent norm. I expected

him to not match up perfectly to most 13-year old’s, but I imagined him being fairly close to

what I found.

Physical, Emotional, Philosophical, Social and Intellectual Project

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Physical

Cannon is approximately 5 feet and weighs about 90 pounds. Cannon, compared to his

other friends from school, averages out to be the same height as his male peers. Now compared

to his female peers, he is a little shorter than some. Cannon plays sports during his free time. He

likes to play basketball during recess along with engaging during physical activity during

physical education class. As far as his nutritional eating habits, he lacks the ability to see why

some foods are bad for him or simply does not care. According to the Journal of Adolescents,

“Body image concerns represent the crucial cognitive-affective aspect of body image and arise

when the subjective perception of the body differs from an ideal and this discrepancy is

considered to be important to the person” (p. 70). He doesn’t always eat a well-balanced diet

during the week due to the option of buying food at the snack shack from school. His mother

works full time and sometimes does not have time to make a full course meal every night. Not all

of the dinner options are appealing to him which causes him to not eat as much as he should.

Cannon likes to eat chips, grilled cheese sandwiches and fast food such as McDonalds but will

occasionally try to balance it with protein bar, shakes and lots of water. With all of the bad

choices in nutrients his weight seems about normal. His constant involvement in physical activity

allows him to stay at an average height and weight for his age bracket. J'Anne Ellsworth believes

that, “Boys take divergent paths with self-care. Athletes tend to be conscious of diet and health,

even consumed at times, while others may see attention to diet as being babied.” (Ellsworth,

1999). I believe if he didn’t have as much physical involvement as he does, his weight may be a

lot higher than average for his age.

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Emotional

Cannon is a very confident young boy but has a difficult time expressing his feelings. He

doesn't have any anxiety when it comes to going to middle school and being surrounded by

chaos. According to Amie Grills, “Boys with higher global self-worth reported fewer anxiety

symptoms than boys with lower global self-worth.” (p. 59). When faced with a difficult situation

he tends to get upset. This type of behavior is detrimental when he is faced with situations that

require him to problem solve. For example, while Cannon was playing a video game, he grew

frustrated with the game and turned it off. He gave up without even giving it a second thought

and stated that he just couldn't do it. According to Amy Bohnert, “The complex interplay

between emotion and behavior suggests that children might be less prone to aggressive outbursts

if they are successful at managing their emotions and expressions than if they are unsuccessful at

doing so.” (p. 81) I believe at this age, Cannon has a hard time expressing emotions and often

shuts down when something frustrates him.

Since Cannon has become a teenager, he experiences a lot of indecisiveness and

experiencing different types of emotion. According to Goddings, “Many of these changes have

been linked with puberty, the biological process that culminates in reproductive competence and

a defining event of adolescence.” (p. 801). Being an adolescent, introduces new feelings towards

how he views the opposite sex when he talks about or to them.

As far as identity, Cannon is still trying to figure that out. According to J'Anne Ellsworth,

early adolescents have a boast of prowess (Ellsworth 1999). Cannon identifies himself as an

athlete because that’s what he wants to be in the future. He also identifies himself as a part of the

popular kids because of the kids he hangs out with. Being popular matters to Cannon because he
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wants to feel accepted by his peers. He often talks about how some kids sit alone at lunch

because they have no friends and does not want to be like that kids.

Philosophical

In the textbook, it states that after a child turns eleven, they become more aware of rules

and why they are in place (Snowman 2015). Cannon is very respectful of the rules put forth in

the home. He believes if he breaks those rules that there are consequences for them. So, I believe

that he is in tune with accepting authority and realizing it for what it is.

When it comes to acknowledging the rest of the world outside of the home, he feels

somewhat curious as to why things are the way they are. Ellsworth believes that early

adolescents feel powerless and that rules are set by others with no chance of changing it

(Ellsworth 1999). Cannon knows that the world runs a particular way, but isn’t understanding

that the world runs the way it does because of previous circumstances and personal beliefs.

As far as Cannon knows, sticking to his mothers’ beliefs is the way to go because he does

not have any of his own. But, Cannon has more of a individualize idea of how he pictures his

future life to go. As stated before, he decided that he wants to grow up to be a professional

football player. Making these types of goals and acknowledgment of the future is common for

early adolescents. According to the article Intentional Self-Regulation and Positive Youth

Development in Early Adolescence, “In addition, at this age, it is expected that the person take

more responsibility for his or her own life, such as choosing an occupational path, being

responsible for school attendance, contributing to his or her school or neighborhood (e.g., by

volunteering or by undertaking leadership roles), or resisting pressure at engaging in risk

behaviors.” (p. 519)

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Social

Cannon is very social with his peers. He is outspoken and wants his voice to be heard. He

often wants to be the leader of groups in his class and have a say in making final decisions. He

was raised to not be a follower but a leader in whatever he does. According to Blair Paley, there

have been links to individual judgments based on the parenting styles used by the parent (Paley,

2000). He enjoys having a lot of friends and sees it as important to have his peers by his side.

Although Cannon has a very dominant personality, he still thinks highly of his peers. His peers

as have an important opinion regarding his motivation. If his classmates are doing good on

something, he also wants to do good at it and not be left out. He is externally motivated because

the praise from his peers is beneficial to him. He likes when he is given positive feedback from

his peers.

When it comes to parental expectations, he wants to try to please his mom but also not

look like a loser to his friends. According to Ellsworth, early adolescents are trying to “decide

between meeting parental expectations or peer norms or the desire intensifies” (Ellsworth, 1999).

Cannon wants to be accepted by his peers but not at the cost of disappointing his mother. I feel

he is above average in maturity when it comes to the social norm. He takes charge not because

he wants control, but because he sees leadership as being influential. For this reason, I believe

Cannon to be above average for the norm of social development because he has separated

himself from what is important to him and what is important to his age group.

Intellectual

Cannon is an A and B student in sixth grade. He has always maintained his grades since

he started in Kindergarten. On an average he may study for 2-3 hours for a test. He says he
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doesn’t have a hard time learning things in class as long as they are explained to him repetitively.

His capability to stay motivated leads me to believe that he is slightly above average

intellectually. In the article Early Adolescents Enjoyment Experienced in Learning Situations at

School and Its Relation to Student Achievement, it states that students seem to lose their

motivation to do well in school at this stage of adolescents and begin to do struggle to achieve

academic goals (Hagenauer & Hascher 2014)

Cannon is also now able to think logically of certain events. He understands there are

causes and effects to his actions. For example, he understands if he does not do his homework,

he will get an F and that also means he does not get to practice the material for later assignments.

Everything comes together at this age and he is figuring that out now. I believe he is at the right

level intellectually because according to Ellsworth, formal operations begins at this age also

(Ellsworth 1999).

Recommendations

Socially, Cannon is ahead of his peers. I suggest the parent talk to him about figuring out

his own identify and sticking to what they know is right. At this age, kids want to fit in and find a

group they feel they belong to. So, it is important to talk to them about right and wrong and in

what persona do you want others to see you as. Teachers that work with Cannon should be aware

of the developmental stage of an early adolescent. Let him find his way as far as identity and

don’t push him to be something he is not. As he experiences middle school, he will identify what

is important and what is not.

Physically, Cannon is above his typical peer when comparing body image. Since he is

young, his health is important to distill in him. Offer him different healthy snacks he can easily
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access during his growing period. He has goals to become a professional athlete so use that to

their advantage and promote positive body image.

Philosophically, Cannon is where most early adolescents are at this stage. He will test the

limits to establish boundaries and you should enforce those boundaries, so he understands rules

are made for a reason. Give simple directions and don’t over stimulate him. Over stimulation

may cause a burst of emotion or cause him to shut down and decrease his motivation.

Emotionally, Cannon lacks compared to his peers because he can’t control or

communicate them effectively as his peers do. He grows frustrated when failing because he

wants that reassurance. Give him lots of positive praise so he maintains high self-esteem and will

eventually rely on internal motivation.

Intellectually, Cannon averages out equally to his peers. This is okay because when he is

learning he will be at the level most preferred to track growth. This also means he will need

constant refreshers with old material along with refreshed ways to learn the material. According

to Gerda Hagenauer and Tina Hascher(2014), “Gaining knowledge about antecedents of students

enjoyment, particularly in early adolescence as critical age period, can support the development

of intervention programs that aim to counteract the drop in enjoyment levels.” (p. 20) When it

comes to new material keep it simple and consistent because the pace at which he moves

individually works the most for him and intrigues him the most.
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Cannon is above average when dealing with physical development due to his consistent physical

involvement and athletic mindset. He eats junk food as any kid his age does but is subconscious

about his athletic body.

Cannon is below average when it comes to his emotional development because he doesn’t

express his emotions and lets his emotions get the best of him during tough times.

Cannon rates equal to a typical early adolescent child because he thinks of the future and

associate’s goals with it. At this age, children start to make occupational goals and work towards

them.

Cannon is high in social development compared to those of a typical peer because he is able to

work in group settings, interacts with his peers regularly but also separate himself into his own

valued beliefs of leadership and right from wrong.

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I also leveled out Cannon with the typical early adolescent peer regarding intellectual

development because he shows interest in learning and doesn’t seem to struggle with the

motivational aspect of staying engaged in school.

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Bibliography

Bohnert, A. M., Crnic, K. A., & Lim, K. G. (2003). Emotional competence and aggressive

behavior in school-age children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31(1), 79-91.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/10.1023/A:1021725400321

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

Gestsdottir, S., & Lerner, R. M. (2007). Intentional Self-Regulation and Positive Youth

Development in Early Adolescence: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth

Development. Developmental Psychology, 43(2), 508–521. Retrieved from

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Hagenauer, G., & Hascher, T. (2014). Early Adolescents’ Enjoyment Experienced in Learning

Situations at School and Its Relation to Student Achievement. Journal of Education and

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Paley, B., Conger, R. D., & Harold, G. T. (2000). Parents' affect, adolescent cognitive

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