Janet Boateng

Amma Serwaa

Developmental Psychology 291

Case Study-Adolescence

03/02/2017

Pro.   Elizabeth Geilling

This case study is about a young girl named Janet Boateng. she is 16 years old, has a younger sister and brother, and lives with his mother and her father works in abroad. The focus of this paper is on physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development of Janet.

Janet lives in a house with his mother and her siblings. She is the elder of the two siblings. Her father works in the U.S. while her mother is a housewife. She likes browsing the internet during her spare time. She like basketball, swimming and softball. Her favorite subjects are math, science and arts. She like romantic movies. Purple and royal blue are her favorite colors. She is close to both boys and girls in her class. Janet has begun some changes in her body.

During cognitive development, Janet at this time is more logical, organized and flexible that it was during her childhood. According to Piaget’s Theory, Janet is in the abstract operational stage cognitively. Janet’s has a normal cognitive development as evidenced by the parameters of normal cognitive signs for a child. An example when in class, Janet will voluntary will answer question asked by her teacher. In addition, Janet pay attention in class and like making decision on her own. She doesn’t get frustrated when things don’t go her way. She is fluent in both English and Twi language. Thus, Janet has cognitive development, which is in parallel with her level.

         Janet is very energetic. she is able to exercise her self-determination and develop emotional maturity. But for some reasons, she still needs to have an assurance from his parents depending on her attitude. She has gradually developed social skills and ability to relate to the outside world at school and with her friends. In that, she shows interest in playing and spend hours with her chosen activities. For example, Janet has desire to fit in and be accepted by his peer groups. This factor is essential to enhance self-esteem. She always wanted to be part in the student government and engage in leading the group. She talks to people and is able to relate to both same-gender and opposite-gender peers. She also shows people when she is afraid, happy or confuse. She lacks the sense of respect when it comes to instruction. She bullies her classmates and make jokes at them. Janet forgets to make home works and requirements sometimes. This is because of her laziness and lack of motivation to focus on her studies. Nevertheless, she is likely to improve on her skills by giving her the right motivation to focus on her academics. Other noticeable development of Janet is how she can influence the people around her. Example, her classmate will always follow her wherever she goes to and do whatever she commands them. This concept may either give a positive or negative result depending on this situation.