CASE STUDY 1 PSY105

Erika C Rhodes

Introduction to Psychology
September 15, 2021

Given what you have learned in Chapter 3 about brain development and social development,
explain why Gloria’s son is making poor decisions. 

Gloria’s son’s bad decision making of getting drunk at a party the night before a big exam;
isn’t necessarily his fault. Being a teenager is hard; some may say some of the most
confusing years of their lives is going from childhood to adulthood: the adolescence years.
Beginning with puberty; the surge of hormones, bodily changes and intensified moods
alone could drive a person crazy and making poor decisions comes with the territory.
Physically the brain is still growing; the frontal cortex is developing as it does the growth of
myelin a fatty tissue that forms around axons and neurotransmission is also happening. As
the frontal lobes mature it explains why our teenagers have bouts of impulsiveness, risky
behavior and emotional ups and downs. It’s as if they don’t have “brake pedals” to control
their impulses. As well as they seek social acceptance they tend to be influenced more by
their peers, trends, music and social media. Social Cognitive Theory describes how
people’s behavior and decisions result from their biological factors and social context.
Behavior, biology, and context each influence; one another. Their decision-making is
definitely, flawed; due to inexperience, influence of peers and lack of brain development to
be able to fully understand the long-term consequences associated with the risk.

What specific strategies can Gloria use to help her son make better decisions?

She can talk to him about what’s going on in his life; be an active parent-concerned and
available to supervise his decisions. Explain what can happen to his future if caught by
police or if someone was hurt by his lack of responsible choices. Be there for day -to-day
operations in the present to help curb his poor decisions. Show him by example what it
means to drink responsibly or to choose to not drink at all. Hosting a non-drinking party
inviting friends and parents to have a first-hand account at what is influencing him.
CASE STUDY 2 PSY105

From what you have learned about human development and self-regulation, why do you think
these strategies will be effective?

Practice active parenting: having a real interest in his music, hobbies, school activities,
grades behavior etc. and etc.…In doing so establishing a line of trust between parent and
child as well as teenager to adult; teaching hands on how to trust and be trusted an
important lesson in forming relationships. Gloria and Tony should become closer,
encouraging better self-image for Tony resulting in a more positive decision-making
process.

How does Reggie’s mindset affect the way that he prepares for the compliance test?

To fully be able to tell you what mindset Reggie has, I must first define the word mindset.
Mindset is a belief that intelligence and ability are either stable and unchangeable, known as
  a fixed mindset, or they grow and improve a growth mindset. Reggie has a fixed mindset,”
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a great perfect example of his fixed mindset, with a
little learned helplessness the hopeless and passive resignation, we humans learn when we
experience painful events out of control. So, we use phrases as Reggie has out of fear of
rejection and change. His aloof attitude (by not studying for compliance test). Now full of
anxiety and unable to perform at 100%, his fixed mindset has won again. It could also
appear as stubborn and uncompliant to his employer.
CASE STUDY 3 PSY105
Use brain plasticity (neuroplasticity) to explain how Reggie can start to develop a growth
mindset. What can Reggie do to actually change his brain so that he can adopt a growth
mindset approach? 

He could begin to workout his brain, which is like a muscle; if not use frequently it will
become weak. The human brain is so complex and miraculous, its constantly rewiring
itself, so it can continue growing connections in response to new experiences, this is
called neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. Begin doing crossword puzzles, playing brain
games on his phone, committing to reading the Sunday paper from cover to cover; all
these things with Reggie’s consistency will actually change his mindset.

Suggest at least three study strategies that Reggie can use to study for the compliance test.
Based on what you have learned about memory in Chapter 4, explain why these would be
effective study techniques.  

To I prove his study skills he could put bright colored flashcards around his home
associated with the safety protocols vocabulary or standards displayed to see multiply
times a day. He could begin stopping off at the library on his way home from work every
Tuesday and Thursday for at least an hr. with little to no distractions he may be able to
obtain the material better. Invite Gloria and Lakeisha to join him for study sessions and
the most important rule to successful test taking is to get plenty of rest, eat a well-
balanced meal before test and be confident that you studied well, and it will show.
CASE STUDY 4 PSY105
What are the big five personality traits? When thinking about the big five personality traits, on
which ones do Gloria and Lakeisha differ the most?

Big Five Personality Traits:

 Conscientiousness
 Agreeableness
 Openness
 neuroticism and
 extroversion
Both women experience openness and neuroticism but in opposite ways to Gloria’s
emotional instability shows the negative side of neuroticism with her insecurities of what
Lakiesha may think of her for not complying or liking the color coded organizational skills
that Lakesha has Gloria’s work ethic is more of a hands on approach jump in team player
and it kind of carried her own weight lakeisha's is more regulated planned out and
organized. By Lakiesha micromanaging she shows being very secure about herself and
ideas Lakesha is agreeable by being a helpful team player and also very conscientious
by being so organized with color coding for easy to remember an retrieval for everyone
Gloria also shows openness on the opposite side of the personality trait by preferring
variety being independent as Lakiesha prefers routine and being prepared .

Give some advice to Gloria. How can she use emotional regulation and cognitive reappraisal to
work more effectively with Lakeisha? Give at least two things that Gloria can do and provide a
rationale for why these will be effective.

If Gloria had asked me for advice to her communication problem at work I would have to
tell her to begin first with reappraising the situation at hand and her emotional investment
in the situation in hindsight (Cognitive Reappraisal). After consciously reviewing the
situation at hand and the options that are available to Gloria I would suggest that she
tried to be more of a team player and maybe communicate with LaKeisha her concerns
or her ideas possibly start some projects of her own with her own style, Lakeisha and
Gloria are friends with similar lives teenage sons, same work related stresses. I think
that they definitely could find a way to work this out in a more compromising way to make
everyone feel confident in the work that they're doing

References
CASE STUDY 5 PSY105
Myers, D. (2017). Psychology (4th ed.). Asheville, NC: Soomo Learning. Available from
hMp://www.webtexts.com