...Psychology Paper What is a case study? According to Merriam Webster, a case study is a process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time (2016). In this paper, a case study will be examined and applied to clinical psychology aspects in real-world situations. The case study will be looking at a 19 year old Chinese male named Joe. Joe’s situation will be discussed in overview. Following this will be a discussion of the biological, psychological and social factors that are involved in Joe’s case. Lastly, the case study will be used to explain the different interventions that would be appropriate to use in relation to the field of clinical psychology. Now let us take a look at Joe and his case. The Overview The case study applied in this situation looks at a 19 year old Chinese male. This individual suffers from episodes of depression along with some anxiety. His name is Joe. Joe has an overwhelming feeling of not being “good enough”. In his daily life, he takes the responsibility of taking care of his invalid mother as well as two younger siblings. Joe’s father left when he was 5 years old and an only child. At the age of 12 his father returned. Within two years after his father’s return his parents had 2 more children. At the age of 16 Joe’s mother was in a car accident and was left paralyzed. After the accident Joe’s father left for a second time. He still...
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...Running Head: Cognitive And Moral Child Development Cognitive And Moral Child Development Case Study Tanya Coleman Psy 200A Teaching and Learning Does a child’s biological factors influence their behavior? My case study is about an 8.6 year old boy who faces biological, social, and emotional issues at the early stages of his cognitive and moral development. The observation takes place at Tyrell’s school. I am going to apply Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach, and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development as it applies to my case study. Besides, I will give an insight of the stages that Tyrell has undergone thus far. In Tyrell’s case environmental issues played a major part in his early development. Tyrell is an African American boy that is 8.6 years old in the 2nd grade. The school he attends is P.S. 36 in Manhattan. He is asthmatic. Tyrell is currently being raised by his mother. His father is incarcerated for assault and robbery. Tyrell recently lived with his grandmother. He is currently living in a shelter with his mother. Tyrell attended the same school since pre-k. He has seen a lot of his friends go on to the 3rd grade while he remains in 2nd grade. Tyrell has a displacement issue at home because he lives in a shelter. Tyrell likes basketball. Tyrell aspires to be a basketball...
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...The development of many mental disorders are proved to have been related to biological vulnerability and/or some form of brain abnormality (Sue et al., 2016). Consistent to this, numerous studies provided evidence that genetic inheritance was a key feature of the biological contribution on the development of major depression (e.g. Klein, Lewinsohn, Rohde, Seely & Durbin 2002; Schreier, Höfler, Wittchen & Lieb 2006). However, Mr. X’s case did not present any family history of depression which meant that there were no evidences that him having depression was associated with genetics. Ingram & Ritter (2000) noted that several cognitive theories suggested that disruptions on the basic bonding processes between a child and their caretaker produce...
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...Case Study of O.J. Simpson This paper is a case study of an individual with an alleged abnormal personality disorder. An overview of this particular case will be stated. In addition, an explanation of the biological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components of the disorder will be a main focal point. This discussion is about a case study of O.J. Simpson, the famous football hero and even more famous subject of the most infamous murder trial in contemporary American history. Orenthal James Simpson was the subject of a California trial regarding a brutal murder of his wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Both victims were horribly murdered, the ferocity of these murders was apparent with the fact that Nicole Brown Simpson and Mr. Goldman’s heads were almost completely severed from their bodies. Truly, whoever committed this crime was a sociopath with no cognition of the normality that our society consider right or wrong. Yes, the question remains if Mr. Simpson committed this horrible, psychopathic act, this paper will delve into the scenario that he did, although he was figured innocent (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) The disorder in question is sociopathic, so what is a sociopath? Also known as Antisocial Personality Disorder, the definition is: Psychopaths have a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy combined with abnormally immoral conduct despite an ability to appear normal. In basic terms...
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...Father absence in the home is on the rise. Research shows that it has become a problem in many societies. Although information is limited or even non-existent when it comes to the Caribbean, there is knowledge that the problem exists within the Caribbean, but the extent to which it occurs, and has an impact on the lives of children found within such a situation remains unknown. It is against this background that one has chosen to embark on research in this area of increasing concern. Father absence, when defined, refers to a situation where “a child has lived for part or all of [his or her] childhood in a house without [his/her] biological father” (BoothLab, 2013). Some researches choose to include in this category fathers who are absent because of death. Others choose to exclude such fathers, because they think that it is unfair to judge them, because no one really knows whether or not they would have stayed in their children’s lives had they remained alive. Similarly, some researchers also state that the definition of father absence does not stretch to include children who have had no contact with their fathers or who does not have a good relationship with them (BoothLab, 2013). For the purposes of this study, the definition of father absence in the home has been stretched to include a number of pertinent reasons why fathers are not present in the home. These reasons include, but are not limited to death, father’s unawareness of the existence of the child, divorce, and...
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...Child custody is significant because of the trauma it can cause to families. Not only are parents and children affected by this but social problems bloom in later years with divorced families who go through typical child custody battles (Kalter 34). In fact, minors are affected the most when they have to choose between both parents. Child custody trends involve an agreement between two parents or guardians as to when the non-custodial parent gets to see the minor in these cases. Child custody is one of the most difficult and painful tasks a judge is asked to undertake. Many times parents’ fight over which parent the child can live with. This overall can determine who gets awarded custody of the minor. Often the courts have viewed the mother as the parent who is more capable of caring for the child. Fathers most of the time go unheard, and settle with custody agreements that overall hurt the child and father relationship because the visits with father have been shortened in length. The implications of fathers not having custody of their children go far beyond just having limited access. Not having custody actually means that a noncustodial parent is no longer the "legal" parent or guardian. This means that a noncustodial parent has absolutely no say in any major decisions regarding their children's upbringing which includes issues pertaining to their education, medical care and religious decisions. It also means that the custodial parent is free to relocate without having to inform...
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...Case Study: Theodore Bundy Jeana Avery PSY 410 University of Phoenix Jan 27, 2010 Case Study: Theodore Bundy This paper will look at the case study of the serial killer Ted Bundy, who had antisocial personality disorder. Background of Bundy’s life will be provided, as well as the definition and criteria of antisocial personality disorder. Last, the paper will look at the biological, emotional, and cognitive causes of antisocial personality disorder. Background Theodore Bundy was born November 11, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont. Bundy never knew his biological father, and was raised in his early years by his grandparents, who Bundy believed were his parents. Bundy’s mother, whom he believed to be his sister, eventually took Bundy from his grandparent’s home and remarried. Three children resulted from his mother’s marriage to Johnnie Bundy, and Ted Bundy reacted with anger, resentment, and jealousy. Bundy did well in school, attended Sunday school, and was an avid skier. However, Bundy was haunted by his illegitimacy, and his mother’s resentment towards him. Bundy’s step-father would become violent when provoked, and Bundy felt overlooked, unsupported, and ignored. As a child, Bundy looked at naked pictures of women, obsessed about material possessions, and was humiliated by his family’s economic status. Due to Bundy’s lack of social skills, Bundy was shy, introverted, and felt inferior to others (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). “I am the most cold-blooded son...
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...Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2013 (Vol. 11), pp. 295–323 Determinants of exceptional human longevity: new ideas and findings Leonid A. Gavrilov and Natalia S. Gavrilova∗ Abstract Studies of centenarians are useful in identifying factors leading to long life and avoidance of fatal diseases. In this article we consider several approaches to study effects of early-life and midlife conditions on survival to advanced ages: use of non-biological relatives as controls, the within-family analysis, as well as a sampling of controls from the same population universe as centenarians. These approaches are illustrated using data on American centenarians, their relatives and unrelated shorterlived controls obtained from the online genealogies. The within-family analysis revealed that young maternal age at person’s birth is associated with higher chances of exceptional longevity. Comparison of centenarians and their shorter-lived peers (died at age 65 and sampled from the same pool of online genealogies) confirmed that birth timing in the second half of the calendar year predicts survival to age 100. Parental longevity as well as some childhood and midlife characteristics also proved to be significant predictors of exceptional longevity. 1 Introduction Studies of centenarians (people living to 100 and older) could be useful in identifying factors leading to long life and avoidance of fatal diseases. Even if some individual characteristics have a moderate protective effect on...
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...Assignment 1: Exploration of a Professional Journal Article in Psychology Title: The Role and Influence of the Father on his Child Anthony Hunt Professor Carolyn Bird Psy 100 This research article reviews the effects of the father’s influence on his child. It involves interpretative phenomenological analysis of eight participants and the recurrence of information provided in case notes of three men and five women. This research is based on philosophical discipline originated by Edmund Husserl (1913). Husserl developed the phenomenological method to make possible a descriptive account of the essential structures of the directly given. Phenomenology emphasizes the immediacy of experience, the attempt to isolate it and set it off from all assumptions of existence or causal influence and lay bare its essential structure. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012) During my research I have gathered from this information why a father’s personality and behavior may effect a child’s social and emotional adjustment. Particularly, how children obtain and maintain healthy relationships with others in their future. The purpose of this research is to examine the role of the father and his child’s upbringing and to determine whether that role has a positive or negative effect. The findings will support the eight recurrent themes evolving from the 12 master themes of the eight participants. In accordance to the overall field of Psychology, this review relates to Chapter 8, Friendship...
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...In accordance with numerous studies published by different scientists and criminologists as well, it is a fact that one can identify thus prevent the criminality in children since early ages, specially first graders. Criminality can be identified with influent abnormal traits such as genetic, biological, neurochemical and mental. Which, in all of the cases mentioned before, it is possible for the child to not have any self-inflicted control within the immediate or prolonged future. The first one to establish a study focusing on biological traits was Cesare Lombroso, who explained the theory about the called “born criminal”. This theory emphasized that it is accurate that biological traits could in fact influence the process of development in a person’s behavior. Afterwards, in 1970, all of the theories studied in the previous years were “revitalized” in a book called Sociolbiology wrote by Edmund Wilson which suggests how there is not only one or a set of traits, but numerous biochemical and psychological factors that along with social environment indeed have enormous impact in the individual’s conduct. First of all, what could possibly influence a person’s conduct when it comes to genetics? It is confirmed by various studies how crime is inter-generational, therefore we could ask ourselves: it is actually about genes or about environment? A Danish study had clarified for us how it does not matter if a child lives in a safe environment it will always be more inclined to criminality...
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...that criminality was inherited as physical characteristics are inherited. Studies to prove this where done in three categories: criminal family studies, twin studies and adoption studies. The earliest heredity studies focused on degenerate families (Vito & Maahs, 2011: 86), and researchers (Goddard and Dugdale) believed that criminal behaviour and traits were fixed so that criminality would always run in the family (Joubert, 2014: 33). Both researchers, however, observed social as well as inherited criminal characteristics as causes of crime. Modern studies also suggest that crime runs in families, specifically that parental criminality is a relatively strong and consistent predictor of delinquency. But most scholars are still of the opion that a person’s environment is the most influential factor. An example provided by Criminolohists, Robert Sampson and John Laub (Vito & Maahs, 2011: 86), is that criminal parents may be less effective at socialising their children and may be role models for deviant behaviours. Poor parenting can be an explanation for the relationship between parent and child criminal...
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...Chapter II Theoretical and Conceptual Framework This chapter presents the relevant theory and related literature and studies, conceptual framework, and the operational definition of terms used in the study. Relevant Theory This study was conceptualize and guided by the following relevant theory: Social Learning Theory. Bandura’s (1993) vicarious conditioning/social learning theory stressed that behavior patterns are developed through observation and direct experience within biological limits. It emphasizes that human behavior is the mutual interaction between cognitive behavioral and environmental dominants. People are affected by external forces although they can choose how to behave. Bandura further claims that one effect of observation of models can lead to the acquisitionof responses and to the change of frequency of behavior already learned. Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive behavioral and environmental influences. Within the process of reciprocal determinism lies the opportunity for people to influence their destiny as well as the limits of self-direction. A direct and complex interaction may positive interactive reflection of a good relationship. It is clearly important that for any individual, a constructive environment may help to maximize his full potentials in dealing with future undertakings; the parents and significant others place more importance influencing the total-well-being...
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...The Case of Virginia Woolf The Case of Virginia Woolf Mood disorders are a disturbance in an individual’s emotions. These disturbances can cause discomfort or hinder function. One mood disorder is bipolar disorder. In bipolar disorder, depression is accompanied by manic episodes. Bipolar has a generally slow onset. However, the onset of manic episodes may be sudden (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Evidence shows that an individual’s life history may feature symptoms in childhood or adolescence. These symptoms may become more intense during the lifespan. Many creative individuals, such as Virginia Woolf, were believed to have bipolar disorder. The Case of Virginia Woolf demonstrates the severity of bipolar disorder. Virginia Woolf began exhibiting symptoms of bipolar disorder in her early teens. Virginia was very close to her mother and took her death hard. Around this time, Virginia had what was considered her first breakdown (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). After her father’s death, Virginia had a more extreme breakdown. Virginia suffered from breakdowns during adulthood as well. These breakdowns usually occurred during the final stages of her writing projects. Her husband, Leonard, began to detect when episodes were beginning and enforced rest for Virginia. This helped her from having relapses. However in 1941, Virginia suffered from another attack and took her own life. There are several characteristics related...
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...one of these explanations alone determine human behaviour, or whether there are other factors influencing our actions. There are two different stances that people take on whether language development is genetic or environmental. Nativists believe that the capacity for language can be classed as ‘innate’. Whereas empiricists suggest that, it is environmental variables that play a vital role in language development. It would be ethically impossible to study behaviour in total isolation in order to determine whether genetics or environmental influences for our behaviour. The closest research recorded, focusing on this case is a girl named Genie (1970); who was socially isolated for the first 13 years of her life, by her father. Genie’s case presented researchers with a unique opportunity. Psychologist James Kent described Genie as a ‘profoundly damaged child’ as it was discovered that she could hardly walk and could only speak around 20 simple words. It was suggested that although she started learning single words. In most cases it is thought that after a few words have been acquired it is then followed by what is called language explosion. However, this never happened for genie her language abilities didn’t improve, and she appeared unable to apply grammatical rules and use language in a meaningful way. Contradicting this argument, Nativist Chomsky suggested that acquisition of language could not be fully explained by learning alone. Genie’s inability to use grammar (which...
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...we cannot be 100% positive that he had Lynch syndrome but it is a good possibility. Scott is under the impression that his father may have passed away with the mutated gene, which would put himself at risk for Lynch Syndrome. Although Scott does not know the Tom is not is biological father. All of Jane’s children have a 50% chance of carrying the mutated gene responsible for Lynch syndrome. Since Jane’s mother has the mutated gene this means that her sisters and brother also have a 50% chance of having this syndrome. With this information provided it would be ideal for Jane’s mothers living sister and brother to get genetic testing. If Linda’s mother (Jane’s mother’s living sister) has a positive result for Lynch syndrome then Linda should also seek out genetic testing because now she is at a 50% chance of having the syndrome, and potentially putting her own children at risk. Having an ethical dilemma is not easy for any person in the health care field or the patient and their family. In my case study I was able to identify two ethical dilemmas. The first dilemma is that Jane is only concerned about getting her daughter tested. Although she feels that since her sons resemble her husband’s side of the family, which has no history of colon cancer, they should still be encouraged to be tested since there is the mutated gene in the family. “Close biological relatives (such as parents, children, sisters, and brothers) of people with Lynch syndrome are at a 50% risk for also having...
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