Running head: PEPSI SCREENING

PEPSI Screening

Lucas Gruber

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 220; Educational Psychology

Doctor Rochelle Hooks

November 8 2020
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Biography

Name: Alexander Scott

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Age: 20

Grade: Graduated

Socioeconomic status: Middle Socioeconomic Status

Alexander Scott is a young man that has graduated from high school with an honors

diploma. Growing up, he would be primarily raised by his mother and grandparents, but would

also later develop a close relationship with his step-father. Most of his education would primarily

take place within Las Vegas and he would become involved in extracurricular activates such as

theater tech and marching band. He would become quite proficient in playing the tuba and

sousaphone and join Nevada’s All-State band.

Socially and physically, he would also have been thriving during high school. There

would only be a strain in his familial relationships after he lost his step-father to an unfortunate

motorcycle accident during his junior year of high school. It would become an impactful moment

in his life as he was close to his step-father. The unfortunate loss would only motivate him

though as he would take multiple Advance Placement courses during his senior year and pass

with exceptional grades. After this, Alexander would attend UNLV for a semester before

dropping out and joining the workforce. He has now been working for about two years at various

pizzerias and is currently trying to get a license in real estate.

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Physical Development

At an age of twenty years old, Alexander is in the transitional stages from late

adolescence to early adulthood. He has already gone through the primary processes of puberty

and has likely come to full maturity. His height of five feet and nine inches has not changed

drastically over the past few years and he has long since developed secondary sex characteristics

such as body and facial hair. Currently, he weighs about 185 pounds, and according to the body

mass index for adults, he is overweight by about sixteen pounds (Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, n.d., Adult BMI Calculator).

According to Snowman and McCown (2015), most adolescents experience an increase in

sex drive and will become sexually active by this point (p. 101). He has indeed engaged in

sexual activity, but a recent failed relationship where he was briefly engaged may have

contributed to a loss in sex drive. As Teipel (n.d.) noted in their research, adolescents at this

point also began to develop their own values about sexual identity and behavior, as well as, a

sense of masculinity and relationships (p. 1). Alexander said during the interview that he was

quite comfortable with his identity in this regard, and he feels that he has established a healthy

sense of behavior and relationships.

When it comes to his physical health, exercise has become an erratic and challenging

objective for him. His work as a backroom food prep involves standing for long hours, and he

can only really go to the gym about once a week. He has taken up golfing with his grandfather

quite often in the past month and occasionally throwing a Frisbee around with friends, but the

activities are nothing strenuous and are not contributive to his physicality.
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This becomes more of an issue when considering his vitamin D deficiency. It can result

in issues with the strength of his bones, blood pressure, and even cause mood changes. He can

only really get it from vitamins and it is something he tries to keep up with.

Emotional Development

Emotionally, Alexander could be considered below if not on average when compared to

the rest of his generation. He has reported issues with depression and he did have an incident

where he was admitted to a mental hospital for attempted suicide during high school. Snowman

and McCown (2015) do find that during late adolescence, disorders such as depression become

more apparent, and that thoughts of suicide can be a direct result of depression (p. 104-105). This

would mean his difficulties were not a rare occurrence and are an issue many adolescents

struggle with. In addition, a strenuous relationship with his mother and the lack of a father figure

in his life has made him skeptical of role models. This could mean that he did not have a healthy

example to model and replicate his own coping skills after. Although Bos and his associates

(2020) did find that during adolescence, they develop a new ability to regulate emotion, and that

there is also a trend of young adults continuing to display sensitivity to negative information,

which may have some correlation to the increase in issues of mental health (sect. 4). So, his

difficulties with emotionally coping may be a part of this growing trend as well as his vitamin D

deficiency which can cause mood changes.

This may be further compounded by the fact that he still has not developed the strongest

mechanisms for coping with his emotions in a healthy manner. When it comes to fostering

emotional resilience, Berk (2014) found that it is important to have: “positive self-esteem,

confidence in one’s abilities, flexible coping strategies, good emotional self-regulation, and

persistence” (p. 468). His most common response is to simply ignore them and distract himself
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with work instead. However, this unhealthy tendency does seem to be offset by his confidence in

his abilities and self-esteem, as well as, his ability to persist despite challenging pressures.

Philosophical Development

In terms of philosophical development, Alexander seems to have progressed quite well.

Snowman and McCown (2015) indicate that at the point of late adolescence, students should

develop a “willingness to think of rules as mutual agreements and to allow for intentions and

extenuating circumstances” (p. 101). The interview did reveal that he thinks of authority as a

social contract where both parties are deserving of respect. This has led him to have some

conflict with authoritative figures as his previous bosses. He felt that they had not respected his

rights as a worker and took advantage of his willingness to help and take initiative.

Furthermore, Teipel (n.d.) finds that the decisions and values of late adolescents become

more independent and separate from that of peers (pg. 2). Alexander also seems to have an

intense need to come to his own decisions independently and have them form without the

influence of those around him. This often leads to him stubbornly defending and justifying his

views, as he can sometimes be sensitive about them and feel as if he is under attack. Based on his

history of growing up independently and without any role models, it could likely mean that this

independence has become a core part of his identity, and comments or suggestions about the

values he has developed can feel quite personable.

Another development at this age, which J’Anne Ellsworth (1999) makes on her website, is that

students feel “the need to establish a belief system for self” (Late Adolescence). Alexander’s

view of religion and responsibility to society are more indicative of his experiences as an

individual than any influence from his family or peers during his childhood. He holds a more

skeptical and agnostic view that no true statement could be made about how the universe was
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created, and that his roles and responsibilities are to simply take part in the society we live in and

help those less fortunate when possible.

Social Development

The social aspect of Alexander’s life is another area that seems to be suffering and

probably below the average of his peers. In terms of his personality, he is quite outgoing and

extroverted. He feels that can socialize and make friends with people easily enough; however, he

has a hard time when it comes to actually finding people to socialize with. Most of his interaction

seems to be through technology and this has caused to him to have a relatively small and close

knit friend group. Snowman and McCown (2015) state that parents and peer groups tend to

influence the long term and immediate status of the subject (p. 103), which would be in line with

his attempt at initially pursuing a college education. Alexander did say that he did go to UNLV

because of pressures from his mother, but it was something he was unable to persist with. He

instead finds that he tends to make his own decisions independent of his family and friends, and

that they are not a significant influence on what he chooses to do.

This can sometimes leave him at odds with his friends and family which can often have a

detrimental effect. Scales and his associates (2015), in their article about successful young adult

development, found that social relationships are one of the foundational points for healthy

functioning and well-being (p. 13). Alexander elaborates that he is not satisfied with the size of

his friend group and lack of socialization. He feels lonely and wants to expand it to new

acquaintances, but has had a hard time with this. In Berk’s (2014) research, loneliness peaks in

the late adolescence and the early twenties, this is likely the result of the transition from a school

environment with friends, to the workforce with few acquaintances (p. 477). Many friendships

from high school come to an end as people follow their own paths, and it causes a drastic
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downsizing in a person’s friend group just as they are entering a new setting. Alexander would

have similar experience as his friend group was quite large during high school and he has yet to

recover from its swift decline.

Intellectual Development

By this point, most late adolescents have begun to develop world views and opinions to

support the identity they have built for themselves. The University of Rochester (2020) says in

their article about cognitive development that late adolescents should exhibit growth in “global

concepts, such as justice, history, politics, and patriotism;” and that their complex thinking

should begin “to focus on less self-centered concepts and personal decision-making” (sect. 3).

Alexander has developed these global views and given some elaborate opinions on these

subjects, but he has displayed some issues with complex thinking about other people. He was

slightly hesitant to consider other people’s views in a confrontation and could become fixated on

his own point of view.

As for how he best learns, he prefers a more hands on and demonstrative process to

learning. His approach to problem solving is also to tackle them from a logical perspective and

finish it is as efficiently as possible. In the context of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, Alexander

would have a strong aptitude for categories such as logical-mathematical and bodily-kinesthetic

(Marenus, 2020). Some of his hobbies and interests do include sports and hiking, and he has

previously performed well in mathematic classes, which would further support this assessment.

When it comes to actually working on assignments, he excels in the legislative,

hierarchic, local, internal, and liberal styles as indicated by Snowman and McCown (2015, p.

134). This would mean that he likes to tackle multiple objectives at once and organize them in a

fashion that he feels he can best deal with them. Preferably, he can undertake this task by himself
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so that he can solve the problems in a way he put together individually and not have to worry

about conflicts with other group members.

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Recommendations

Physical: Alexander is doing fairly well but has some places for improvement. I would

recommend, if possible, that he hire a personal trainer to provide some structure and motivation

for his exercising needs. This could help him reach his target weight and decrease any potential

weight related illnesses in the future.

Emotional: There are some concerns about his emotional health. Seeing a therapist could help

identify some of the matters that are a detriment to his health, and hopefully they might help him

develop some emotional resiliency as he is at a vulnerable age for depression.

Philosophical: Alexander seems to be doing quite well in this regard. He is exhibiting normal

behavior for his age group; however, I would encourage him to start thinking about future

targets. He has not started thinking about the lives of those around him after he has passed. So,

he should consider whether or not he wants to devote to having children, and possibly what he

can do to leave the Earth a better place for the generations after him.

Social: The pandemic has obviously made socializing a difficult task, but I would encourage him

to put himself in situations to meet new people once it is safe. He should look into local events or

groups that share hobbies with him, and focus on activities that he would like to be in such as

hiking or parties.

Intellectual: His confidence has been shaken in his intellectual abilities in an academic setting

due to his dropping out of college. However, I would suggest that he reflect on his past

accomplishments and use reinforcing mechanisms to motivate him. A list of medium to long

term objectives he would like to accomplish should be in plain sight to remind him of the

progress he is making, and certain technological applications can provide reminders to do

complete some work so that he is consistently making progress.

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References

Berk, Laura E. (2014). Development Through the Lifespan, 6th Edition. Pearson.

https://www.pearsonhighered.com/berkls6einfo/assets/pdf/Berk_0205957609_Ch14.pdf

Bos, D. J., Dreyfuss, M., Tottenham, N., Hare, T. A., Galván, A., Casey, B. J., & Jones, R. M.

(2020). Distinct and similar patterns of emotional development in adolescents and young

adults. Developmental psychobiology, 62(5), 591–599. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21942

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Adult BMI Calculator.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi

_calculator.html

Ellsworth, J. A. (1998). Late Adolescence. Pepsi.

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/reading2-1-2.html.

Marenus, M. (2020, June 09). Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. Simply Psychology.

Retrieved November 8, 2020. https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-

intelligences.html

Scales, Peter & Benson, Peter & Oesterle, Sabrina & Hill, Karl & Hawkins, J. & Pashak, Travis.

(2015). The dimensions of successful young adult development: A conceptual and

measurement framework. Applied Developmental Science, 20(3) 1-25.

10.1080/10888691.2015.1082429.

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology Applied to Teaching (14th ed.). Cengage.

Teipel, K. (n.d.). Understanding Adolescence: Seeing Through a Developmental Lens. State

Adolescent Health Resource Center. Retrieved November 8, 2020.

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http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/AdolescentHealth/projects/Documents/SAHR

C%20AYADevelopment%20LateAdolescentYoungAdulthood.pdf

University of Rochester Medical Center. (2020). Cognitive Development in the Teen Years. In

Health Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 8, 2020.

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?

ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01594