Case Study 1

Case Study

Alisha Larsen

College of Southern Nevada

Case Study 2

Introduction
My observation was done on my son Kadyn. He is a four-year-old male who is currently

an only child. He lives in a house with both parents and two large dogs. He has a long family line

in America and both parents have spent the majority of their lives living in Las Vegas. English is

the only language spoken by his parents and himself. They are a middle class family with both

parents working full time. During the day he goes to his grandparents’ house where his grandma

cares for him until his preschool starts.

The observation was done at home and occasionally at his grandparents’ home. The

observation was done daily for at least four hours, more on the weekend. The continued and

consistent observation time gave me the opportunity to see many different aspects of his

developmental progress in relation to the expected development for a four year old.

Physical

Kadyn is a very active child. He has played baseball and loves to be outside. According

to the development guide a child at this age is "very active and consistently on the go" (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). This fits Kadyn to a tee. There are times where you wonder if he can

just walk somewhere. He loves to play in his backyard and will run from one side to the other

racing the dogs. Even inside he is always running. He has moments where he can be clumsy and

will trip on anything and everything, including his feet. This is probably due to the rapid muscle

growth that is expected in children this age (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). According to my

observations he fits well into the expected physical development for his age range.

According to Jack Snowman and Rick McCown (2013), children at this age are very

active and should be given many opportunities to release the energy by running, climbing, and

jumping (p. 49). Kadyn will regularly spend time in the backyard running back and forth and

needs to be told to come inside and rest. Both authors also say that preschoolers do not have
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well-developed muscles in their fingers and will struggle with tying shoes and buttons

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 49). Kadyn struggles to button his pants or button-up shirts, so

he is at a normal development stage for his age according to Snowman and McCown. Snowman

and McCown (2013) further states that the frontal lobes of children at this age are developing

quickly allowing them to carry out simple commands, focus on a certain task and regulate their

behavior (p. 49). Kadyn is able to do simple tasks when asked, as long as the timeframe does not

extend for too long.

Abraham Maslow created a theory based on the idea that humans have five basic means

that need to be met (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 248). In descending order self-actualization,

esteem, belongingness and love, safety, and physiological (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 252).

These five means make up Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where the lower and need is on the scale

the greater its strength (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 248). When a lower level need is

activated people will halt the satisfaction requirements of a higher level need in order to

concentrate on satisfying the lower, active need (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 248).

The physiological need of Maslow's theory can fit under the physical aspects. Some

examples of physiological needs are food water and oxygen (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

252). There was no talk in the Child development guide about food but there would need to be

adequate consumption to fuel all the activity that was present in Kadyn during the observation.

The observation time, along with the various readings lead me to the conclusion that

Kadyn is at a normal development level for his age. According to Snowman and McCown

children should be very active, do not have well-developed muscles in their hands, and that their

brains are developing quickly (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 49). Kadyn has been observed

meeting these criteria and therefore there are no recommendations in the physical field.
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Emotional

There are many observations I have made with Kadyn that match up with the emotional

characteristics that are expected with a four to five year old. According to Child Development

Guide, a child at this age can "exhibit a great deal of name-calling" (DSHS Fosterparentscope,

1993). He has started noticing sizes of people and has called people "fat". There are many times

he is impatient if he wants something or wants to say something. He will grab your face and turn

you to face him even if you are in a conversation with someone else at the time. Moreover, the

Child Development Guide states that children four to five years old will be demanding, it is also

expected that they will be bossy, whine, and cry (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). He will say

"Get me a drink" instead of "Will you get me a drink?” He will also whine if he does not get his

way with things.

Another factor in the Child Development Guide for emotional development is that the

child will test the limits to see who can be pushed around (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). He

has begun to push the limits on rules he previously had no issue following. A child will also brag

about themselves and family and have a "growing confidence" (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993).

Kadyn will brag about things for days, like when he guessed his coming sibling would be a boy

and then when the gender reveal concluded it would be a boy, he bragged that he was right for a

week. He also likes to claim he won a race that nobody else knew was happening. "I win" is a

common statement from his mouth. There is an expected development of insecurities which I

have not noticed in my observation (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). When looking at the

emotional developmental progress he has not hit everything, but I think being late at developing

insecurities is not a bad thing.

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Snowman and McCown (2013) state that kindergarten age children are beginning to

become aware of and learning to regulate their emotions (p. 51). They are also starting to

recognize emotions in their peers (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 51). There is definitely more

awareness of what emotions Kadyn is feeling and he can communicate them to an extent. He is

also able to recognize emotions in others and has expressed concern when appropriate. Snowman

and McCown (2013) add that children at this age are likely to be jealous of classmates (p. 51). I

have not witnessed Kadyn in a classroom setting, but there has been jealousy shown when you

are talking to someone and he does not feel included.

Maslow’s Esteem need is an example of an emotional characteristic (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 252). Kadyn has not been observed displaying any insecurities and appears to

be very confident in himself. He has bragged about himself being strong. Through this

observation period he appears to be right on track with his esteem.

The recommendations that I have would be to continually work with Kadyn on manners.

The child development guide states that children in this age group will call people names, be

demanding and bossy, and display bragging moments (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Kadyn

has shown signs of all of these, though it is normal for his age range, he should be working on

getting past these qualities. Snowman and McCown (2013) talks about children becoming aware

of theirs and others emotions (p. 51). Kadyn seems to be on track with this so I would suggest

that nothing change when it comes to this area.

Intellectual

Intellectually there is some room for improvement with his language, but he is very

observant and inquisitive. The first expected characteristic for a child intellectually at this age in

the Child Development Guide is a 1500 to 2000 word vocabulary with an interest in "words and
Case Study 6

silly sounds" (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Kadyn has a growing vocabulary, though the

actual word count is unknown, he will say large words that are unexpected. He will make

random sounds while playing. He does struggle to make certain sounds in words like the "k" or

"c" sound. He goes to speech twice a week for help and there has been a large improvement.

There is a suggestion that they will use potty language (DSHSFosterscope, 1993). There has not

been any noted use of potty language during the observation time, most likely because his family

does not use any of that language.

Children at this age are very curious and will ask a lot of questions according to the Child

Development Guide (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Kadyn will ask 100 questions about a

specific topic with a repeat of "why?" being asked after every answer. He will spend a large

amount of time on one topic until he feels he has received every answer available. The

imagination has started to blossom with nightmares and imaginary friends starting to appear

(DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). There are occasional nightmares but nothing on a regular

basis. There are no known imaginary friends, but he does act like his stuffed animals are alive

sometimes. "The animals kept me up from my nap, I am going to tell them not to do that" was a

recent statement. Besides the previously mentioned he has a very active imagination when

playing. A regular play time activity is to play train, where he is the conductor and will take

tickets and serve food while on a train ride to various destinations.

Jean Piaget describes children in this age range as being in the preoperational stage,

meaning pre-logical (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 26). He believes that children at this age

struggle to look at more than one characteristic of an item at a time, are unable to think of things

in reverse, and are unable to see things from another's perspective (Snowman & McCown, 2013,

p. 26). During the observation, Kadyn has shown some examples of failing to see a situation
Case Study 7

from another's perspective. When he wants to say something that is the only thing that matters.

Even if he would be upset or ignore the comment until the current conversation or task has been

completed if the roles were reversed.

Lev Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development is described as a sociocultural theory,

being based on the view that social and cultural influences decide how we think (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 32). He believed that children will learn a great deal from those intellectually

more advanced by "introducing the more advanced thought processes of another person"

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 34). This can be seen in Kadyn's development through the

things he has and has not learned. There are not any bad words said by Kadyn, because none of

the people he has a regular interaction with use that type of language.

Robert Sternberg's view of intelligence is that there are three main parts: practical ability,

which includes the application of knowledge; creative ability, which includes inventing,

discovery, imagination and supposing; and the last piece is analytical ability, which involves

evaluating individual parts, compare and contrast, and critiques (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

74). His theory also ranks intelligence as to how well the person can adapt to their surroundings

or adapt their surroundings to fit them, instead of just how well the person tests (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 74-75). According to Sternberg's theory, Kadyn would be considered

intelligent, because he has learned to fit in with the family operations. He has learned that he

needs to remove toys in the living room so they will not be chewed up by the dog.

Howard Gardner also has multiple facets to his view on intelligence (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 75). Gardner formed the theory of multiple intelligences which includes eight

different types of intelligence: logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-

kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 75).
Case Study 8

From my observations I believe that Kadyn currently has higher levels of intelligence in the

musical (appreciation of musical expression) and Interpersonal (responds well to other people's

feelings) (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 75). He enjoys making sounds and singing songs he

has learned at church, school or from the radio. Kadyn has also exhibited a good capacity of

empathy for others.

Maslow's top need on the scale, Self-Actualization, refers to maximizing one's potential

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 252). This will include learning, to improve knowledge. Kadyn

for the most part has been right on track for his age. He does need to continue working on his

pronunciation of different sounds. He has an inquisitive mind and likes to learn new things,

therefore he appears to be working in the self-actualization area.

The only recommendation I have for this area is to continue working on his speech. He

does struggle to complete some words and makes certain sounds. He appears to be meeting the

guidelines as suggested by the child development guide, including a growing vocabulary,

inquisitive, and imaginative (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993).

Social

Kadyn loves to go to a friend's house to play or have a friend over. He is constantly

looking for friends when out and automatically assumes other children will be his friend if he

wants to play with them. There are a few friends that stand out when he talks about friends from

school and certain ones he wants to see more often for play dates. I did not have an opportunity

to observe any large group playing. The normal social characteristics, according to the Child

Development Guide, for this age range is that they want to play with friends and will be selective

in large groups (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Though the characteristics state there can be
Case Study 9

stormy relationships (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993), there has not been any observed fighting

while playing with friends.

During this time frame there is also a desire to copy adult activities and use their

imagination (DSHS Fosterparentscope, 1993). Kadyn enjoys helping with chores around the

house when he can. He will set the table for dinner daily. He follows the person vacuuming

around with his play vacuum, and will make imaginary food to serve to the family. The final

characteristic in social development is "learning to share, accept rules, and take turns" (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). For the most part he is good about sharing and taking turns. He does

get impatient when waiting for his turn to start. In Kadyn’s social development he seems to be on

track with the expected characteristics.

Erik Erikson's theory relating to the development of personality is based on the epigenetic

principle, development is done in a set order and each stage must be met before moving on to the

next (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 17). According to Erikson, Kadyn should be in the

initiative versus guilt stage of his development, meaning that if children at this age are given

choices on what to do they will be more likely to take initiative in the future, but if they are not

given this choice and are always told what to do they will feel guilty making choices on their

own (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 18). I feel that Kadyn has been given many opportunities

to make choices and has therefore developed a lean towards taking initiative on his activities. He

has a good attitude towards self-entertaining. He is constantly using his imagination to come up

with creative play scenes and gets others to join in on the fun.

James Marcia created the identity statuses to test Erikson's theory, and has developed

four levels: Identity diffusion, Foreclosure, Moratorium, and Identity Achievement (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 27). I believe that at the age of four, Kadyn has not had a lot of experience to
Case Study 10

move further than foreclosure or identity diffusion. He is more likely to still be in the identity

diffusion stage. He does continually say that he wants to be a garbage man, but that is based

more on the fact that he has a fascination with the garbage trucks then, a true evaluation of what

is required of a garbage man.

Maslow's Belongingness and Love level fits into the social needs. Belongingness and

love is related to the acceptance and affection a person feels (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

252). Kadyn is given a lot of affection and knows he is loved by his family. He is also saying he

loves them on a regular basis. He is very friendly with other children, as stated earlier he feels

that every kid is his friend, even if they just met. Kadyn appears to feel like he belongs anywhere

and with anyone.

My recommendations for Kadyn's social development would be that he continues to be

given the opportunity to make choices for himself. He appears to have good social skills around

other children, so nothing seems to need a change. According to Erikson it is important that

children at this age are given opportunities to make choices to give them the confidence to take

initiative (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 18).

Moral

There is only one normal moral characteristic for a four to five year old in the Child

Development Guide. At this age they are "becoming aware of right and wrong", strive to choose

the right, and do not always want to accept that they did something wrong (DSHS

Fosterparentscope, 1993). Kadyn feels bad when he does something wrong and often times will

start crying and saying sorry. He wants to make good choices but sometimes struggles. When he

makes a bad choice he does not always accept responsibility and will lie about things. These

observations fit in well with the expected characteristic for moral development.
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Piaget also spent time studying the moral judgments of children at different ages

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 40). Children from approximately four to seven would interpret

rules the same way the older children would, using them as examples (Snowman & McCown,

2013, p. 40). He referred to the moral thinking of children 10 and younger as the morality of

constraint (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). The typical moral behavior for this stage include

believing a behavior is good or bad, rules are unable to be changed, the level of guilt is

determined by the extent of the damage, things that are off limits are bad, and a punishment does

not need to be in relation to the wrongdoing but rather showing the "atonement" for the bad

behavior (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). Kadyn has exhibited many of the qualities as

described by Piaget's theory. He has been observed giving himself a stronger punishment than

the bad behavior would normally require which would relate to Piaget's morality of constraint

where the "punishment should distress atonement" (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41).

Lawrence Kohlberg studied Piaget's moral development theory and wanted to expand on

the original research (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). Kohlberg developed his six stages of

moral reasoning: Stage 1, Punishment-obedience orientation; Stage 2, Instrumental relativist

orientation; Stage 3, Good boy-nice girl orientation; Stage 4, Law-and-order orientation; Stage 5,

Social contract orientation; Stage 6, Universal ethical principle orientation (Snowman &

McCown, 2013, p. 41). Kadyn is currently in stage one, punishment-obedience orientation,

where the consequences of an action help the child decide if they will make a good or bad choice

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 41). He will make better choices, most of the time, if he knows

what will happen after making a poor decision. He has lied when he has done something wrong

in an attempt to avoid the consequences.

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Carol Gilligan argued that Erikson's and Kohlberg's theories on moral development were

more fitting for males then it was to females (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). She felt that

because these theories leaned more towards a male's development they would portray a female as

being behind in their moral development (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). Steven Thoma

found that many of her claims were unfounded after reviewing 50 different studies relating to

gender differences and their moral development (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). Kadyn is a

male and has many caring tendencies that Gilligan has claimed affect a female’s response to

moral dilemmas.

Nel Noddings took a step from Gilligan's criticism of Piaget's and Kohlberg's theories

and she developed the care theory (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). Her view did not relate

only to females, like Gilligan's theory leaned, but were presented from a feminine perspective

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). The care theory focuses on relationships and whether it is

actually a caring relationship (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 43). It gives a caring view as an

alternative to the justice orientation that is given through Piaget's and Kohlberg's theories

(Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 44). Kadyn, as discussed previously, has a very caring attitude

and genuinely cares about the feelings of others. He tries to share treats and will ask if it is okay

for the baby to have before sharing with me. He shows tendencies that align with a justice

orientation, as well as a caring orientation.

Again Kadyn seems to be on track for the expected moral development and a child his age.

I recommend that things continue as they have been to move forward in a positive path. Extra time

can be spent working on the difference between right and wrong and how I person should respond

to questions regarding one's actions (ex. Do not lie about choices made).

Summary
Case Study 13

Through this observation it has shown that Kadyn is on track for almost all of his

developmental needs. He can spend more time working on his speech delays, but the continued

enrollment in a speech program should be helpful. As long as he continues to have the same support

at home he should continue to develop and meet any upcoming milestones. Kadyn is currently in

the self-actualization stage of Maslow's theory, thanks to the lower-level needs being met. As long

as he stays in this area he will continue to grow and learn in a positive manner.
Case Study 14

Reference

DSHS Fosterparentscope Training. (1993). Child Development Guide. Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm.edu

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2013). Ed Psych. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Case Study 15

Appendix A

Observation Notes

Intro:

 Kadyn
 4 years old
 Male
 Only child with a sibling on the way
 Parents married and live together
 Caucasian
 Medium-Class
 English
 Spends weekday mornings with grandma
 Both parents work full time

Environment & Time:

 Home and Grandparent’s house

 Daily observations of at least four hours with weekends being longer

Physical:

 Constantly Running around from place to place

 Can be clumsy
 Very strong

Emotional:

 Has started to notice people’s size and has called people “fat”
 Wants all the attention on him if he is speaking.
o Will grab your face if you are not looking at him.
 Very impatient if he wants something.
 Likes to win races, even if nobody knows they are racing.
o “I win” is a common statement.
o Does not like to play if he doesn’t win.
o Winning a race can be motivating.
 He likes to tell others what to do instead of asking for something.
 Whines when he doesn’t get his way.
 Brags if he is correct about something for days.
 No known insecurities.
 Pushes the limits on rules he previously had no issue with following.

Intellectual:

 He has a growing vocabulary.

o Will randomly say large words.
Case Study 16

 Walks around making random sounds

 Words that were hard a few months ago have become easier.
 Does go to speech every week.
o Struggles with sounds like “k” and “c”
 There is not any bad words said.
 Wil ask a million questions in a row.
o “Why?” is used a lot.
 Nightmares have started to make an appearance but not on a regular basis.
 No known imaginary friends.
o Has talked like his stuffed animals were alive
 Very active imagination when playing.
 Likes to play train.

Social:

 Loves to go to a friend’s house.

 Have not noticed any fighting.
 Have not seen any large group play. It is normally one or two kids.
 Automatically assumes any child is his friend but he does have closer friends that he can
name.
 Wants to help with chores around the house.
o Always sets the table.
o Follows around with toy vacuum.
o Makes pretend food to serve.
 For the most part good about sharing toys.
 Will take turns but is impatient while waiting for his turn to start.

Moral:

 Feels bad when he does something wrong and will cry.

 Not always willing to admit he did something.