A Remarkable Six Year Old Girl, Case Study Example

My case study is to use the theories of psychology set forth by Piaget and Erikson to determine the biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial stage of Kia, a six year old girl. Kia resides with her mother and father, who have been married 7 years Kia has a 3 year old sister, Phoebe. Dad is developing a computer sales/repair business and Mom works at the hospital four days a week. Both parents have attended college and Mom will be returning to school this summer to work on a nursing degree. Mom feels the degree will enable her to provide better financially for the children and show the children the value of a college education.

The family rents a home in Bastrop, Texas just outside of Austin. Bastrop is a very small community comprised of about 5,000 people. The normal family receives help from other family members or friends and there are close ties to each other. Kia’s family appears to be traditional and well-adjusted which can foster a well-adjusted child. A child must pass through each stage of development in a healthy manner in order to avoid problematic issues as an adult.

Accord ing to Piaget, Kia is in the pre-operational stage of cognitive development. The development of language skills is very predominant during this stage. Kia possesses a strong vocabulary yet cannot manipulate situations for logically figure out situations as of yet.  Mom breast fed both children and they have a healthy diet – sometimes get pizza for treats. She enjoys riding her bike, running, skipping and swimming (gross motor skills are well developed.) Parents are authoritative according to Baumrind styles – they set limits and enforce rules but listen to request/concerns. They are very dedicated to their children’s growth and development. Kia has lost one of her baby teeth. However, little Kia is not able to extremely understand the point of view of her parents, sibling or others at this stage of cognitive development. Piaget terms this lack of understanding as ‘egocentrism’.

Kia is very adept to playing and usage of symbolism as witnessed through her many times of ‘play pretending’ she does with her sister and mother. Kia loves to take on the role of Mommy and have her younger sibling take on the role of Daddy. This is great fun for her! Kia will eventually progress to the Concrete Operational Stage where she will gain a better understanding of mental things and begin to decipher situations through the process of logical thinking. This will transpire at the age of seven and last until the age of eleven.

According to Erik Erikson, young Kia is in the Latency Stage of Development. It is in this stage that she is “capable of learning, creating and accomplishing new skills and knowledge. If a child does not progress through this stage in an adequate manner they will later in life have issues of self-esteem and inadequacy within themselves. Often children at this stage take time to think things through before giving a direct answer. This is often referred to as developing a sense of industry through ones surroundings and learning that one can have a thought process of his/her own. To a child at this age, school and social relationships gain importance. Parents are still loved but take a second hand to their social status.

References

Harder, A. (2009) The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson Retrieved April 22 2010 from, http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm

Piaget’s Developmental Theory (2010) Retrieved April 22, 2010 from, http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm