Touchstone 3.1: Personality Development
SCENARIO: Monica is a single mom who has a 16-year-old son named
Jordan. Monica and Jordan were close at one point. As of late, Monica
has been noticing that Jordan spends a lot of time focusing on what his
friends think about him. Without his mother’s permission, Jordan
recently crawled out of his bedroom window and went to a party when he
was supposed to be studying for an exam. Upon his return home, Jordan
reeked of alcohol and marijuana and was caught by his mother. Shocked
and appalled by her son's recent behavior, she grounded him for two
weeks.
What advice would you give Monica about her son’s recent behavior?
ASSIGNMENT: Using what you learned about the adolescent brain and
social development, you will answer questions related to this case
study assignment below. Your goals are to help Monica understand why her
son makes the choices he does and recommend some strategies that may
help solve the problem.
Download and use the touchstone response template to answer the questions.
Psy1010 Touchstone 3.1 Response Template
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be
newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled
work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial
for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment
DIRECTIONS: To complete the assignment, you will answer the following four questions in 5-7 sentences each:
- What happens inside the brain of a teenager that makes it difficult for Jordan to weigh the risks and rewards of his behavior? Describe how the adolescent brain weighs risk and reward.
- Why does it appear that Jordan values the opinion of his peers more than the opinion of his mother? Explain the psychological concepts that may account for why Jordan places value on his peers’ opinions.
- What advice would you give Jordan’s mother, Monica, that would teach him how to make better choices and decisions? Discuss a specific strategy that Monica may implement to help her son make better decisions.
- If you were in Monica’s shoes, how would you feel? Explain why a better understanding of Monica's perspective could result in more constructive advice.