Brittany Cleghorn
Unit 4 Assignment 1
Capella University- Psyc 7220
For this course project the child I chose to analyze is Jeremiah Wilson, he is a strong, bright African American boy. His parents are married and belong to the middle class in the economic status. His father is a Marine who deploys overseas frequently, his mother works long hours and it is difficult for her to help Jeremiah with his homework and involve him in extracurricular activities that will benefit his strong athletic personality. He has one sister who is two years old. The family resides in an urban setting , in a safe neighborhood where children are often playing outside. An aunt cares for bot Jeremiah and his sister after school hours.
Jeremiah is a thoughtful and kind boy, although he becomes somewhat aggressive when he gets frustrated, and loses control. After pediatrician and neurologist evaluation there is a suspicion of Attention Deficit Disorder. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity ( ADD/ ADHD), however by age five both practitioners agreed it was too early to diagnose. It is normal for children to have trouble behaving and focusing from time to time, however children with ADHD do not grow out of these behaviors . Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder is a common childhood disorder and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Children with ADHD have a problem with inattentiveness, over activity, impulsivity, and or a combination of these. Some symptoms of ADHD would be the inability to stay focused, difficulty controlling their behavior and hyperactivity.
The two development theories that I think are most closely affiliated with Jeremiah are the behaviorism theory and Piaget’s cognitive development theory. These theories are most applicable to this case study. Behaviorism is perfect for Jeremiah because it can give me a better understanding as to why he is acting out aggressively. By coming to an understanding of “ how the organism’s body works, or how it has been equipped through evolution to deal with the environment, of how it already has been changed by experiences during its lifetime, they can better predict and control behavior.”I am confident that with behavior modification, that we can reduce and possibly get rid of his aggression. Cognitive development theory is when, “ children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world,”(Berk, 2012). There are several stages. The stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The phase that applies to Jeremiah at age 5 years old is the preoperational stage, which covers approximately ages 2 to 7 years old. During this stage, “ preschool children use symbols to represent their earlier sensorimotor discoveries,” (Berk, 2010). In addition to that, children learn to use language. In the preoperational stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information and are unable to take the point of view of other people.
Cognitive development takes place because of the biological maturation and the level of stimulation offered to a child in his or her environment. Piaget and Vygotsky had different ways to explain cognitive development. Piaget’s roots were in biology and the evolutionary adaptation of humans, and Vygotsky in theory that focus on how people transform their world rather than adapt to it (Vianna, 2006). Piaget believed cognitive development in the individual context whereas Vygotsky placed importance on the psychosocial context of cognitive development. Piaget believed cognition was a result of the maturation of the child. Vygotsky on the other hand perceived learning from a collectivist and social perspective in which learning was only as strong and powerful as the environment surrounding the child. Piaget’s stages were hierarchical in nature; meaning one stage must be completes prior to moving forward, whereas Vygotsky’s cognitive development perspective has little dependence on time, but more emphasize on social interactions. Furthermore, both theorists agreed that everyone is different and learning is a cognitive adventure, and both believed that social interaction is systematic in human development and learning.
Both theories can be applied in the case of Jeremiah. Vygotsky focus on the importance of social environment is essential in this case. Jeremiah’s environment is very unstable with frequent absence of both mother and father, consequently he is having attention problems, he really does not have an idea on how to address his emotions causing his performance to be poor. Vygotsky’s perspective serves to analyze his environment; there is no evidence of social interaction, play ,or extracurricular activities that can help Jeremiah to control his strength, energy, and emotions.
According to Piaget, Jeremiah is in the developmental stage of preoperational thought. In this stage, Jeremiah’s thoughts are said to be centered, usually focused on one salient piece of information, or aspect of an event, at a time. The text goes on to say that as a result, thinking is usually not yet logical. According to Piaget’s stages of moral development Jeremiah at this stage deals with Heteronomous Morality. Piaget believed that the child is moral realist. In this stage, rules are determined by the authorities and moral absolute must be obeyed (Berk,2012).
Jeremiah is at a critical period in this stage, there are several key development factors going on during this period. Jeremiah at this stage is expanding is knowledge base, it may be safe to say that he is indeed testing boundaries as well. Jeremiah presents with symptoms of ADHD. Although Piaget’s theory says that Jeremiah is supposed to be focused on one salient piece of information this is where he goes off course. Jeremiah is fidgety and has issues with concentration which correlate with Jeremiah not staying on task and having to be redirected. Jeremiah also does not have strong parental support which could be another contributing factor. Both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories can be applied to the case of Jeremiah.

References
Berk, L.E. (2012). Infants, children and adolescents (7th edition). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Gober, S.Y. (2002). Six simple ways to assess young children. New York:Delmar.
Vianna. E. (2006). Embracing history through transforming it: Constrating Piagetian vs. Vygotskian theories of learning and development to expand constructivism within a dialectical view of history. Theory and Psycholgy, 16 (1), 81- 108.