CASE STUDY REPORT

Postgraduate Professional Diploma in Teaching

Educational Psychology
Summer Semester 2023-2024

Instructor: Samer Abdel Hadi

Student name and ID: Ameena Anas 202311886
Introduction
In order to comprehend better the different stages of child development, it is important to un-
dertake a personal, close observation to get pertinent information.This report focuses on iden-
tifying the developmental traits that a child (female) might display in some of the develop-
mental aspects (physical, cognitive, social) with respect to Jean Piaget’s Pre-operational stage
of cognitive development and Erik Erikson’s Autonomy versus Doubt stage of psychosocial
development.
Jean Piaget’s Pre-operational stage of cognitive development takes place between the ages of
2 and 7.This stage is divided into two:The Symbolic Function Substage which occurs be-
tween the ages of 2 and 4 and The Intuitive Thought Substage from the age of 4 until 7.At the
Symbolic Function Substage, the children are capable of thinking symbolically.Their lan-
guage grow more sophisticated.Additionally, they grow in memory and creativity, which en-
ables them to engage in pretend play and distinguish between the past and the future.How-
ever, their reasoning is still somewhat illogical and is reliant on intuition.More advanced
ideas like cause and effect, time, and comparison are still beyond their comprehension.The
child’s growth involves acquiring knowledge about the outside environment through adapta-
tion and progressing towards the concrete stage at which he can think logically.The Intuitive
Thought Substage is marked by greater independence on intuitive thinking rather than just
perception (Thomas,1979).Children at this stage ask many questions as they use their under-
developed reasoning to try to make sense of the world.
Erik Erickson’s Autonomy v/s Doubt stage of Psychosocial development occurs between the
ages of 18 months to around 3 years.At this age, the children start to concentrate on gaining
more self control.They are in an exploratory period and wants to test out some things they
have learned from their environment.There is a great deal of trial and error.They start to com-
prehend what they are capable of and what they are not.They begin to demonstrate a stronger
need for independence and control over themselves and the environment around them.The
children start to develop some fundamental self-confidence.To strike a balance between the
need for adult direction and support and the desire for autonomy is difficult in this peri-
od.However, if they are not given opportunities to become independent and in charge of their
future, the children will begin to feel ashamed and uncertain.Instead of having self-faith, they
could start to place too much reliance on other people.

Description of the Case

A two-year old girl child from a middle class family is selected for this case study.Her father
is a physician and mother is a teacher.The couple got divorced when she was one year old
and she is currently living with her mom along with other members of her mom’s family.The
child is both mentally and physically fit.
TASK 1:Submitting the Mobile Phones (Piaget’s theory).
The child is asked to collect the mobile phones of the family members and submit it in the
master bedroom at night before everyone going to sleep.
TASK 2:Cloth Selection (Erikson’s theory).
The child is made to opt between the clothes in the wardrobe to dress up after bath.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Physical Development
The child is physically sound and has no health problems when asked from her mother.
Cognitive Development
The child seems to be cognitively healthy as per Piaget’s theory.She exhibits a high level of
intelligence while performing the task-in identifying each person’s phone and taking to sub-
mit in the room at the right time.She is seen to be submitting her toy phone too.Her careful-
ness while holding the phone is surprising as if she knew the consequence if it happens to slip
from hand.She grasps and learns things so fast like the names of different colors and things
around her.Her sharp memory in identifying her father despite being away from him and not
having any sort of connection with him for more than eight months is remarkable.
Social Development
The child makes independent choice while selecting what to wear.She is hesitant to wear
what her mom chooses for her.She selects with respect to the color and the type of dress she
likes.She has her own choice when it comes to food also.She disapproves to have food if it is
given in a plate she dislikes and by someone she dislikes despite having a need for it.

Case Analysis
TASK 1:Submitting the Mobile Phones.
The child exhibited excellent performance.This could be the result of her keen observation of
things.She showcases excellent cognitive abilities as per Piaget’s theory:she shows centra-
tion- in her act of submitting her toy phone along with other mobile phones, she is able to
think about things symbolically which is evident from her act of considering a card or even a
price tag to be an actual phone and talking over someone using it.
TASK 2:Cloth Selection.
The child expressed self-confidence, great emotions of autonomy and independence in mak-
ing choices as per Erikson’s theory.
Suggested Intervention
No intervention is necessary since the child is completely normal in all regards.Child is in
perfect physical, cognitive and social health.

Conclusion
In conclusion, as the sample child chosen for observation is average in all observed areas, it
was a fair choice to track the developmental flaws/perfections.The different developmental
stages observed in the child and the theories relating to them were compared and a case anal-
ysis has been sketched.It can be concluded that the theories have the majority of the stages
accurate.However, if a child who developed somewhat below average had been chosen, the
data might have produced a more vivid image that contrasts normal and below normal devel-
opment, making the study more fascinating.

Executive Summary
A study to understand various stages of child development (physical, cognitive and social)is
done on a two year old female child from a middle-class family.The child is physically fit and
showcased good cognitive and social development.The child’s different developmental stages
align with Piaget’s theory on cognitive development and Erikson’s theory on psychosocial
development.

References
Ansorge, R. (2010, October 14). Piaget Stages of development. WebMD.
https://www.webmd.com/children/piaget-stages-of-development
Mcleod, S., PhD. (2023). Piaget’s preoperational stage (Ages 2-7). Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/preoperational.html
Drew, V. S. a. P. R. B. C. (2023, September 2). Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt: 10 Exam-
ples (Erikson 2nd Stage) (2023). Helpful Professor. https://helpfulprofessor.com/autonomy-
vs-shame-and-doubt-examples/
Valentine-French, M. L. a. S. (n.d.). Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development |
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https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/piagets-preoperational-
stage-of-cognitive-development/
Autonomy vs. Doubt and shame: Erik Erikson. (n.d.).
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/autonomy-vs-doubt-and-shame-erik-erikson
Mental Health with Dr Amy. (2021, July 13). 🛑AUTONOMY VS SHAME AND DOUBT
IN
PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGE 2 👉 Mental health [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhxURfrM-B0