PEPSI Case Study 1

PEPSI Screening Case Study

Melanie Morales

College of Southern Nevada

Education Psychology 220

November 26, 2022

Biography

A PEPSI case study helps understand a child in five developmental areas. PEPSI is an

acronym for physical, emotional, philosophical, social, and intellectual. In this case study, I will

be exploring the five areas within a child. This child was born on June 3, 2010. Therefore, the

child is 12 years old. Born in Los Angeles, California but moved to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age

of 5. Their pronouns are she and her. She will be unnamed for her safety of herself and to

withhold any future embarrassment.

She lives with her mother and stepfather, her biological father lives back in California.

However, she does not have an adult male in her life whom she considers her father or even a

father figure if she is being honest. She shares a room with one of her older sisters. Although, she

does have four older sisters, one older brother (third child), and one younger brother. Therefore,

leaving her to be the second youngest. Fortunately for her, she is the youngest daughter in the

group and gets spoiled the most by her sisters.

On a day-to-day basis, she attends a school that is nearby called Mater Academy. She is

in the seventh grade, her second year of middle school. She loves to learn new things at school,

and her favorite subject is math. After school, she usually walks home with her younger brother.

You can find her on the phone with her best friend after seeing each other all day at school.

Whenever her mother leaves the house to pick up her siblings from school or work, she likes to

follow along. Mostly because her mother is going to the store afterwards and she can ask her

mother to buy her something. Typically, you can find her mother buying her chips or candy. She

truly enjoyed spicy chips so much that you wonder if she’s going to need surgery for it in the

future. As for candy, her preference is any and all candy.

Physical Development

The adolescent appears chunky but according to her doctor, her weight is on track for her

height which is 4”8. Compared to her classmates and friends she is short. Her height comes from

both her parents, however, we jokingly say that it's all due to her father. He is a couple of inches

short compared to her mother. Neither of them is taller than 5”6 which might be the reason for

having short siblings additionally. Her mom could agree that her child usually snacks all day. She

does eat all three meals, two of them being provided by the school and one at home. Although,

she will eat at school if the food option is fulfilling to her. If she does not eat the school lunch she

will buy from the student section or vending machines. Her mother keeps her well fed which is

why she appears on the heavier side.

This child however does not shy away from “revealing” clothing even though she doesn't

like her appearance. She wants to be able to wear whatever she wants and that may be due to, the

“children in the upper elementary grades seeking to be more grown-up” according to page 59 of

our textbook. Since she does have many older siblings, I feel that does factor into her wanting to

be perceived as older when she clearly isn't. Her older sisters wear crop tops and makeup, gossip

with their friends about boys, and go out with their friends as well. Oftentimes, the child cannot

do everything her siblings do so she does what she can get away with.

Robert Salvin makes a good point when stating “the question “Who am I?” becomes important

during adolescence” I feel as if that is where this child is currently at with her appearance. She

often goes through different stages of finding herself with her appearance through social media,

friends, and siblings. When a covid hit and everyone was working on their appearance she took it

upon herself and went on the treadmill every day. However, that only lasted a month. My

assumption is that she falls into page 60 of Education Psychology that, “ improving self-esteem
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is mainly a matter of giving all students a sense that they are valued and successful.” This

12-year-old only wanted to fit in. There is nothing wrong with that, just as long as she finds her

true self along the way.

Emotional Development

I am sure every single person on this earth has judged themselves just the same as this 12

year old child. According to Salvin, people “ critique their personal characteristics, compare

themselves to others, and try to change the way they are.” In this case, the child I am observing is

harsh on herself therefore leaving her a bit emotional. My assumption is she is a bit of an

emotional person due to her background with her father. The man does not have patience nor

tolerates bad attitude, same goes for his child. Her mother says she can talk back at times and

even rolls her eyes. This is not something her mother would consider the teenage phase where

they become disrespectful, her child has always been like this because she has to listen to her

mother and older siblings who treat her like their daughter.

Oftentimes, her emotions get the best of her and she resorts to crying. It is not

uncommon for someone in her age group to have such anger. Apparently, “Other emotions of

this age group include anger (and fear of being unable to control it), guilt, frustration, and

jealousy.” Although the adolescent does go through many emotions like a normal person, her

family tries to help improve themselves and her as well. Her siblings have learned to “talk about

these emotions and fears, even if they seem unrealistic to an adult” because they did not have

anyone like that for them growing up. Her siblings can confirm that her anger has improved over

the years. Sometimes she can fall back into her old outburst of anger and yelling but it's typical

to have mistakes. “As long as she continues to grow from it, we do not really press the issue” one

of her older siblings stated. In other words, they tend not to be hard on their younger siblings
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because they understand, as long as their sister works and slightly improves every time they are

fine. Not everyone is perfect.

Philosophical Development

Salvin talks about Urie Bronfenbrenner's view on development where a “child’s

development, from family, schools, places of worship, and neighborhoods, to broader social and

political influences, such as mass media and government” can have an influence on the said

child. For my child of example, she falls right into the category of Bronfenbrenner's development

because of her upbringing. She does well in school because of her mother, noting to her and all

her siblings, how important school is which influenced her to do well. She plans to follow the

footsteps of her older siblings who have graduated. A major influence would be her

neighborhood which is essentially her school and friends, they also strive for success. Her grades

seem to be doing well, she likes to participate in the science fair every year and always seems to

make it far. She even got to present at UNLV which she was really excited to tell her family and I

about.

However, this child has improved over the years. She had “a change in the family” as

Salvin says. Her parents split up when she was very young. Her father and her do not have a real

connection. Which affects her relationship with her stepfather, however for her personal reasons

she did not want to dive into that. Although, she liked to claim to have a good relationship with

her mother. Arguing with her mother is something she was not afraid to mention, she claims they

argue a decent amount. I assume her mother disagrees. Due to the separation of her parents, it

caused a change, “in the child’s neighborhood, school, place of worship, and friends.” She

moved to another state away from her extended family, did not receive talks about God from her

grandmother even if she could not understand what she was talking about majority of the time.
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Social Development

“It is not that preadolescents care less about their parents. It is just that their friends are

more important than ever” Salvin says. Based on what the child for example has said, it is clear

that she finds more comfort in her friends than family. In a way, they make her feel at peace, at

home. On a daily basis, she will talk on the phone with her friends who are all three girls. She

tends to make friends very easily, her friendships seem to last very long as well.

This “adolescent spends more time with their peers than with family members or by

themselves” which may be due to the age difference between her family members but that is

besides the point. At family gatherings, her cousins can easily communicate with her. She tends

to be a bit she every time however, once she breaks out her shell she becomes a shining star. She

loves playing with her niece even if she does not have any interest in dolls or silly youtube

videos. She tends to make friends very fast.

At events that she attends for her siblings' sports events, she never fails to make a friend.

Whether that be a little kid or someone near her age. I like to think it's because people see her as

a child of light. You can see her positive energy. You may think how is this possible when she is

mean to her mom, argues with her family but when she is outside of the house she knows how to

act. Her mother was very prominent in saying, “when you are outside of this house, act like I

raised you right, when you are home that is a different story.”

As mentioned before, my child of choice grows as an individual everyday. She has

dropped the crazy outburst act, even if it comes back occasionally. However, she is trying. She

wants to improve her behavior as best as possible. Which is why “the adolescent can pick the

characteristics that are most comfortable and drop the others.” My assumption is that she may

pick up bad habits but she is still very young and has time for improvement. However, she has
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friends and family who can show her right from wrong. Her friends are not bad people so I have

trust that she can only improve with a couple set backs like any average person in this world.

Intellectual Development

“Middle-class parents are likely to express high expectations for their children and to

reward them for intellectual development.” In this case, the child is expected to graduate

highschool and work a good paying job just like her older siblings. Her mothers likes to discuss

the fact that she was capable of finishing school early and wants her children to do better than

she did. Therefore, she encourages college but does not enforce it. The adolescent lives in a

Mexican household where bad grades equals the phone being taken away, constant studying, and

no rewards. The expectations are not a weight on her shoulders because she is intelligent on her

own. Although, sometimes she may be seen googling answers at home.

When doing homework, her study tricks are to use flashcards to memorize stuff or

summarize what she learned. According to Education Psychology, summarizing means “involves

writing brief statements that represent the main ideas of the information being read.” Those same

friends that she is on the phone with often study with her. They sometimes share answers

amongst each other. Typically, she has a hard time at math because she is in an accelerated class

but at the end of the day it is still her favorite subject. Her family has told me she even gets to the

point of crying with math when she is not understanding the topic. She eventually pulls through

and gets help from friends.

The child says what usually helps being stored in her brain is “unusual, inconsistent, or

surprising stimuli” due to being out of the ordinary learning. She doesn't feel like she has bad

memory, if anything it is in between long and short-term memory. Which is not a problem unless

it involves a test. However, her grades seem on tests, quizzes, and overall seem to be well
PEPSI Case Study 8

according to her and her mother. She used to be awarded 5 dollars for every A that she got at the

end of the year. But she started to get As every year with the motivation of money that her

mother stopped rewarding her and made it a requirement.

Recommendation

This child is still a child and it is not expected for her to be the perfect person in the

world. She is learning new things daily which is common for everyone. Her emotions may get

the best of her which can lead to her holding in her emotions. I would recommend that she talks

to her family or whomever is making her feel like crying about it. The only way to improve

something is to open up, maybe even jot it down on the notes app or a journal. She is a child who

comes from an unopened father which can be hard on a child.

I would also recommend for this child to not be hard on her own appearance at such a

young age. If she would like to improve her figure or personality there is nothing wrong with

that. Talking negatively to herself does not help her get better. She needs to learn how to dress at

her own age, there is no reason for her to be dressing in crop tops or wearing shirts that her 20

year old siblings are wearing. Although, how can she put a stop to that if her mother is not. She

just wants to fit in but it is possible without acting grown. Her sisters once felt like out and too

young for a crowd once so they are going to understand her situation.

There is not real recommendation for her intellectual stand being she is studying

everyday. If anything, stop the cheating. I would recommend for her to look at youtube videos to

help her get a better understanding of the subject. Ask friends or family, potentially stay after

school with teachers to get more help. There are unlimited options that she can look into.

Although, I would not be so strict based on the fact her grades are well.
PEPSI Case Study 9

Thankfully, her fathers connection with her lessons everyday. It may seem sad because

they are losing a bond, but I think she would much prefer it that way instead of crying over him

like she used to. She looks to her siblings for help when it comes to her needing money for

clothes, advice on boys, or memories which comfort her in ways that people can not even

understand.

The child's rates developmentally

Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual

References

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 36

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 48

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 59

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 60

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 61

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 72

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 130

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07

Salvin, R. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Pg. 154

https://plus.pearson.com/products/07
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