Psychology Application project

1. Psychology Application project By: Amy Griffin

2. In-Home Tutoring • Student’s Pseudonym: Danielle • 1-2 hours each Wednesday since February 1st resulting in approximately 15 hours • In her home in the city of Temple • Tutored Danielle in writing and a bit in Calculus

3. A little about Danielle… • 17 years old and a senior in high school • Only child of a single mom, biracial, slight OCD tendencies • Homeschooled but goes to Koinonia-ACIS • Extremely artistic, has been passionate about art since she was in elementary school • Loves extra-curricular activities such as dance and tutoring others when she can • Extremely motivated academically (except in writing) and does well in school

4. Theories • Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Developmental • Social Cognitive Theory • The Attribution Theory

5. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development • Identity versus Role Confusion • Identity is someone knowing who they are. • Role confusion is defined as “having no clear conception of appropriate types of behavior that others will react to favorably” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler p. 29).

6. Relating this to Danielle… • Danielle’s art is an expression that she is still trying to decide who she is in some ways. • She struggles with analytical writing because she feels her words will not be accepted or right.

7. Social Cognitive Theory • This “incorporates elements of both operant conditioning and information processing, and it emphasizes how behavioral and personal factors interact with the social setting in which behavior occurs” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehlerp. 279). • Self-control, Self-regulation, and Self-efficacy

8. Self-control and Danielle • Self-control is defined as the “ability to control one’s actions in the absence of external reinforcement or punishment” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehlerp. 281). • For the most part, Danielle has great self-control. Unless, of course, it is something that she struggles with and then she needs more of a nudge.

9. Self-regulation and Danielle • Self-regulation is “the consistent and appropriate application of self-control skills to new situations” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehlerp. 281). • Academically, Danielle self-regulates wonderfully. If she does not feel adequate in a certain area, though, she tends to procrastinate.

10. Self-efficacy and Danielle • Self-efficacy is “how capable one feels to handle particular kinds of tasks” (Snowman, McCown, & Biehlerp. 282). • Danielle’s self-efficacy as far as writing is very low. As a consequence of that, she is not motivated to do it.

11. Attribution Theory • This where students attribute success or failure to some type of factor. • These include lack of ability, lack of effort, task difficulty, and luck.

12. How this applies to Danielle… • Even though she is generally very successful, she attributes her success and failure to things that generally unsuccessful students attribute theirs to. • For things she succeeds in (i.e., math, art, etc.) Danielle attributes her success to the ease of it. • For things she struggles with (i.e., writing), she attributes it to lack of ability.

13. Conclusion • Danielle’s OCD tendencies cause her to feel like she must be perfect and succeed in everything • Needs encouragement in areas she struggles with (needs a boost in self-efficacy to increase feelings of adequacy) • Relating things back to art and expression seem to help her because it is how she is determining her identity

14. References • Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2009). Psychology Applied to Teaching (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. • Maimon, E., Peritz, J., & Yancey, K. (2010). A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research (3rd ed.). USA: The McGraw Hill Companies Inc. • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)-Symptoms (2010). WebMD.http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/tc/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-symptoms • Calculus.org http://www.calculus.org/