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P.E.P.S.I.

Penny Harris
College of Southern Nevada
EDU 220: Principles of Educational Psychology
Dr. Vincent Richardson
May 1, 2022
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Biography

Biography

The participant is a 15 ½-year-old female. She was born on September 11, 2006, at Sunrise

Hospital. At birth, she weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 inches long. Around nine months old, the

participant started having repeated fevers, UTIs, and pungent smelling urine. She was diagnosed

with Vesicoureteral Reflux, “the abnormal flow of urine from your bladder back up the tubes

(ureters) that connect your kidneys to your bladder. Normally, urine flows from your kidneys

through the ureters down to your bladder. It's not supposed to flow back up.” (Mayo Clinic,

2022) At age four, approximately 3 ½ years after being diagnosed with VUR, the participant

underwent a successful Bilateral Ureteral Reimplantation Surgery, “a surgery to fix the tubes that

connect the bladder to the kidneys.” (UPMC, 2022) She had no further symptoms or

complications from VUR after undergoing surgery.

The participant has lived in the rural town of Overton, Nevada, her entire life. She is the

youngest of two children. She has an older brother who is a year and eleven months older than

her. Her father works as a mechanic at a chemical lime plant and her mother works for CCSD.

The participant’s parents have been married for 19 years. The participant has both sets of

grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live within a 5-mile radius of her. The participant

attends Moapa Valley High School, where she is a sophomore; and has been a straight “A”

student since middle school. She is a member of the National Honors Society, has a part-time job

working as a Recreation Assistant for Clark County Parks and Recreation, and recently received

her driver’s permit. The participant is a sweet, intelligent, kind, funny, hard-working, and

diligent teenager. She is very attentive to being an excellent student and achieving her life goals,
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which are getting a scholarship to NYU and becoming a cinematographer. Her hobbies include

photography, reading horror novels, listening to her favorite bands, and learning new skills like

playing the saxophone.

Physical Development

Physical Development

The participant is 5’7” and 154 pounds. She has brown eyes and brown hair. The participant

has gone through/is currently at the end of puberty. The participant started menstruation in

January 2019, at 12 years old. “The timing of a female’s first period also varies: girls can start

their period as early as eight and as late as 16.” (OASH, 2018) According to Stanford Children’s

Health.org, “J”’s BMI, which is 24.1, falls into the 84th percentile, which means she is an ideal

weight; ideal means a BMI between 16.6-24.4. (Stanford Children’s Health, 2022) The

participant does not participate in any school sports, but exercises regularly by roller skating,

riding a stationary bike, and workouts she finds on YouTube. She also participates in a “social”

dance class in high school where she learns dances like the foxtrot, tango, and salsa. She eats a

moderately healthy diet and drinks lots of water. The participant has worn braces on her teeth

since July 2021. She has 20/20 eyesight and does not wear glasses. She has acne-free skin.

“Glandular changes leading to acne may be a source of worry and self-consciousness to some

students.” (Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg. 101) There is a family history of nodules on the

adrenal glands; her mother has a small benign tumor on her pituitary gland and had a cancerous

nodule on the right side of her thyroid. The participant’s mother had a partial thyroidectomy in

2020.
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The participant has never broken any bones and has no known allergies. The participant has

an abundance of moles on her face and body, and hair on her forearms that she occasionally

removes with hair remover because she does not like it. “Beyond the growth spurts, other

physical changes that happen in both males and females include body odor, acne, and more body

hair.” (OASH, 2018) The participant sleeps an average of 7 to 7.5 hours a night; going to bed at

10 pm on school nights and getting up at 5 or 5:30 am. “Research findings suggest that changes

occur in the “biological clock” during adolescence. As a result, teenagers have a natural tendency

to fall asleep later and to wake up later. This is referred to as sleep phase delay.” (NIH, 2000)

Although many adolescents become sexually active in adolescence (Snowman & McCown,

2014, pg. 101), the participant is not sexually active and does not have a boyfriend.

Emotional Development

Emotional Development

“Many psychiatric disorders either appear or become prominent during adolescence.”

(Snowden & McCown, 2014, pg. 104) “J” does experience anxiety. She has experienced four

significant panic attacks: one took place at school about four months ago. The participant tends

to “overthink” situations, which perpetuates her anxiety. The participant’s mother suffers from

anxiety and takes medication for her anxiety. “Most researchers believe that a predisposition

towards timidity and nervousness is inborn. If one parent is naturally anxious, there's a good

chance that their child will also have anxious tendencies”. (AACAP, 2022) The participant has

started therapy and uses breathing exercises to control her anxiety. The participant likes to hang

out in her room a lot with the door closed listening to music, playing on her phone, doing

homework, and texting friends. Britanica.com says that adolescents tend to crave autonomy and
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do not want to hang out with family as much as they did when they were younger. (Izard &

Trentacosta, 2016) She has a great relationship with her parents and a typical, adversarial

sibling relationship with her older brother. The participant tends to get moody and irritable

during PMS, but overall is happy and good-natured. When asked, the participant states she feels

like she has “normal” self-esteem. “Research shows that adolescents with a positive self-concept

experience greater academic success than do adolescents who lack this quality”. (OASH, 2018)

The participant does not tend to get angry or upset easily. She feels school and some family

issues happening; (Grandmother’s onset of dementia, extended family strife) gives her stress.

The participant has never experimented with smoking or drugs. She has never had any

alcoholic beverages.

Philosophical Development

Philosophical Development

“Adolescence has long been characterized as a time when individuals tend to explore and

examine psychological characteristics of the self to discover who they really are, and how they

fit into the social world in which they live.” (Steinberg & Morris, 2001, pg. 91) When asked if

she had a true sense of “self, the participant responded, “I do”. Some of her core beliefs are guns

should be banned, a belief in God and is a born-again Christian, that men and women should get

equal pay, and abortion should be a woman’s right and not the government’s. The participant

states she does not know what she believes about politics and does not classify herself with a

particular political affiliation. Middle Adolescents 14-18 years old, “Begin to see higher ethical

and moral standards as a result of their questioning of rules”. (Ginsburg, 2018) Although she

lives in a small, rural community, the participant does not feel she is sheltered from the “real
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world” or a bigger city’s struggles or problems. She feels because of living in a small town she

does have the advantage of not experiencing “stuff” firsthand, but at the same time, is not naive

to the fact bad “stuff” can and does take place in small towns.

Grades are important to the participant. She is immensely proud of herself for maintaining a

4.0+ grade point average and feels upholding her GPA will help her excel in getting into a good

college and provide opportunities for scholarships. “Teens may develop new cognitive skills in

school settings before personal settings.” (Ginsburg, 2018)

The participant has open communication with her parents and is very respectful to them. The

participant’s conflicts with her parents are over keeping her room clean and getting her chores

done around the house. She argues with her brother about whose turn it is to do a particular

chore, getting him to leave the house on time for school in the morning (he drives them to

school), and general big brother annoyances. She is very respectful to her friends, teachers, and

extended family.

As far as choosing a career path, the participant has considered being a CPA or a financial

advisor. As of right now, she has set her mind on becoming a cinematographer, specializing in

visual effects. She thinks it is interesting and intriguing. Her inspiration for choosing

cinematography is her love of movies like Dr. Strange, and television shows like Stranger

Things and Umbrella Academy. Currently, she is also taking pictures for her yearbook class and

enjoys that. The participant has recently acquired her driver’s permit and a job working part-time

as a recreation assistant for Parks and Recreation. In her new position, she will be assisting

children ages 6-12 in a summer recreation program. Erickson’s theory of Identity Versus Role

Confusion says, “the goal at this stage is development of the roles and skills that will prepare
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adolescents to take a meaningful place in adult society.” (Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg. 30)

The participant's goals, experiences, current and new life skills are preparing her for adulthood

and a life outside of her family home.

Social Development

Social Development

The participant is a sweet, kind, and funny girl. She has friends, but one close friend. The

participant and her best friend have known each other since they were in 1st grade. Although the

participant has friends, she categorizes herself as a “homebody”. She spends time together with

her friends at school, and on occasion, hangs out with them outside of school. When asked why

she does not spend time together with her friends all the time, she says she is terribly busy with

schoolwork and making sure she has excellent grades. Her parents put a lot of emphasis on

maintaining good grades. “The adolescent children of parents who have an authoritative style

(“the kind of power that characterizes authoritative parents is confrontive: reasoned, negotiable,

outcome-oriented, and concerning with regulating behaviors” (Diana Baumrind, as cited by

Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg. 83) are more likely to make decisions that are consistent with

parental advice.” (Snowman & McCown, 2014, pg. 103) Along with maintaining good grades,

the participant also participates in yearbook, where she attends high school activities and takes

pictures, and the National Honor Society. “By the time they reach adolescence, their networks

also can include people from team sports, student organizations, jobs, and other activities.”

(OASH, 2018) The participant is researching colleges to attend when she graduates in 2023. She

would like to attend college out of state, NYU, or ASU. The participant stresses the point she
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does not want to go to a Nevada college because “she wants to get out of Nevada and feels like

there are no opportunities here”.

Although once active in a local Christian church, because of the COVID pandemic, the

participant and her family are not currently going to church. She does occasionally watch Sunday

service on YouTube.

The participant texts with friends, plays games, and uses apps on her phone and laptop. She is

not allowed to have any social media like Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook until she is 16. “J” is

not into video games. “Electronic media is increasingly prominent and absorbing to adolescents.

Teens spend roughly one-third of each day on the internet (Escobar-Chavez & Anderson, 2008

as cited by Gilmore & Meersand, 2014, pg.161), which offers access to a host of sites, from

pragmatic to entertaining, where they can get school reading lists and assignments, plan social

events, explore pornography, play games, including massively multiplayer online role-playing

games (MMORPGs), research topics both academic and otherwise, and learn about the college

process.” (Gilmore & Meersand, 2014, pg.161) The participant does most of her schoolwork on

her Chromebook and is computer savvy. These skills are helpful to her Gen X parents, who did

not grow up with cell phones or an excess of computer technology.

The participant identifies as heterosexual. She has never had a boyfriend, although she does

have crushes. She thinks most of the boys at her school are just “meh”. She has a few good

friends who are male.

Intellectual Development

Intellectual Development
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The participant is a very bright and intelligent young woman. She is in all accelerated classes

at school and is very adept at geometry and chemistry. The participant thinks math is simple and

does not understand why other people “don’t get it”. “Formal Operations are in effect in both

mathematical and verbal domains. Reasoning ability and logic give a sense of pleasure.”

(Ellsworth, 1999) Yearbook class is the participant’s favorite class because she loves to take

pictures and create and design layouts. The participant's least favorite class is Spanish. She says

she does not like learning to speak the language, her teacher does not teach well, and is always in

a bad mood. Although the participant does well in school, she does not have a problem asking

her teachers for help or advice. “Despite the constant attempts of adolescents to appear totally

self-sufficient and independent, they still view parents and teachers as knowledgeable authority

figures when it comes to school achievement.” (Amiram, Bar-Tal, Alona, & Peleg 1990; Harold,

Colarossi, & Mercier, 2007 as cited in Snowden & McCown, pg. 106) The participant also likes

to read suspense and horror books.

“Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, political thinking becomes more abstract, liberal,

and knowledgeable.” (Snowden & McCown, 2014, pg. 106) The participant cannot vote yet

because she is only 15 but feels that she is non-partisan and would vote for the best candidate.

She does not like politics because she says, “there is no point in arguing about something that no

one is going to agree about”.

One of participant’s favorite activities is listening to music. It is rare if she does not have her

earbuds in and listens to her favorite bands. These bands include Five Seconds of Summer, 1975,

COIN, Current Joys, and Arctic Monkeys. She also enjoys the Bee Gees and Wham. Music helps

the participant focus and stay calm. “Music also does tremendous things to our memory- and I

don’t just mean memorizing the lyrics to your favorite song. Reading music, or even just
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listening to music, helps your brain recognize patterns, and “music stimulates the parts of the

brain that are related to math, reading, and emotional development.” (youthorchestrasfresno.org

as cited by Rutburg, 2021) The participant also played guitar for 3 years in middle school and

plans to learn the saxophone in her junior year of high school.

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Recommendations

Physical: My recommendation for the participant’s physical development would be to maintain

what she is doing to stay physically fit and eat healthily. As she continues maturing, she needs to

make sure she is using sunscreen and regularly checking her moles for potential skin cancer.

Because of her family history, the participant also needs to watch for any abnormal lumps or

nodules. Finally, because she had VUR and an operation to repair it, she needs to inform her

future OBGYN of potential scar tissue if and when she has children.

Emotional: My recommendations for the participant’s emotional development would be for her

to be diligent in her therapy, relaxation exercises, and tools for her anxiety. The participant and

her parents need to be aware of any changes in her emotional state that indicate she may need to

start taking medication, or if she starts experiencing any signs of depression. The participant's

counselor at her high school and some of her teachers are also aware of the participant’s anxiety.

I also feel that listening to music, and participating in activities that the participant likes, as well

as going back to church, may be beneficial to the participant’s emotional development.

Philosophical: The participant should broaden her horizons and travel out of her small town

when she graduates. Experiencing different cultures, attitudes, people, and places would be

exciting and eye-opening for her. She also needs to maintain her grades so she can pursue getting

into the college that she chooses and getting scholarships. The participant also needs to complete

her driving hours so she can get her driver’s license.

Social: My recommendations for the participant’s social development would be that she may

need to make a little more effort when it comes to her friendships. She needs to be more

outgoing and get out of her comfort zone. Getting her driver’s license will give her more
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freedom to explore and have more social interactions. It is great that she will be taking classes in

her junior year, like band and yearbook, that are socially active. Her parents also need to

encourage her not to be afraid to try new things socially, and to start attending church more

regularly.

Intellectual: The participant needs to keep challenging herself intellectually. She plans to take an

online Algebra II class over the summer, and Pre-Calculus, AP English, and Physics in 11th

grade. She also can research politics to educate herself about what is happening in her state and

country. Her parents and teachers can encourage the participant to keep reaching her goals

academically and help her accomplish her dream of becoming a cinematographer.

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References

Ellsworth, J’Anne. (1998). Pepsi As a Screening Tool. ESE 504 Methods and Materials in

Special Education. https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/lesson2-1-1.html

Gilmore, K., & Meersand, P. (2014). The little book of child and adolescent development.

Oxford University Press, Incorporated

Ginsburg, Ken. (2018, Sept 4). Cognitive Development: Thinking on New Levels. Center for

Parent and Teen Communication. https://parentandteen.com/adolescent-cognitive-

development/

Izard, C. E. & Trentacosta, Christopher J. (2020, November 2). Emotional Development.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/emotional-development

Mayo Clinic. (2022, April). Vesicoureteral reflux. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-

conditions/vesicoureteral-reflux/symptoms-causes/syc-20378819

National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Adolescence. (2000).

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Rutberg, Wynn. (2021, March 16). Music: It’s Effects and Superpowers on Teens. Youth on

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Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2014). Psychology Applied to Teaching. (14th Edition). Centage

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