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PSY1010 –
Touchstone 3.1
Type Your Name Here
Smarter Decisions through Psychology
Date here
Using what you have learned about the adolescent brain and social development, answer the questions in this case study assignment. Your goals are to help Monica understand why her son makes the choices he does and recommend some strategies that may help solve the problem.
For each question, you should write a paragraph-length response (5–7 sentences) to receive credit for this assignment. You may use your Sophia tutorials as a resource.
Question 1: What happens inside the brain of a teenager that makes it difficult for Jordan to weigh the risks and rewards of his behavior? Describe how the adolescent brain weighs risk and reward.
Question 2: Why does it appear that Jordan values the opinion of his peers more than the opinion of his mother? Explain the psychological concepts that may account for why Jordan places value on his peers’ opinions.
Question 3: What advice would you give Jordan’s mother, Monica, that would teach him how to make better choices and decisions? Discuss a specific strategy that Monica may implement to help her son make better decisions.
Question 4: If you were in Monica’s shoes, how would you feel? Explain why a better understanding of Monica’s perspective could result in more constructive advice.
Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can
work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges and Milestones. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it
will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
Throughout this course, you will learn how to better use problem-solving, self and social awareness skills in order to practice key concepts within the field of
psychology. Discovering how self and social awareness and problem-solving skills coincide may help you better understand the perspectives of others,
examine situations objectively, and use evidence to make more accurate decisions. By employing this case study assignment, you will have the opportunity to
put your skills to work.
Read the case study below and use your problem-solving and self and social awareness skills to help a colleague work through a difficult situation.
Touchstone 3.1: Personality Development
SCENARIO: Monica is a single mom who has a 16-year-old son named Jordan. Monica and Jordan were close at one point. As of late, Monica has been
noticing that Jordan spends a lot of time focusing on what his friends think about him. Without his mother’s permission, Jordan recently crawled out of his
bedroom window and went to a party when he was supposed to be studying for an exam. Upon his return home, Jordan reeked of alcohol and marijuana
and was caught by his mother. Shocked and appalled by her son’s recent behavior, she grounded him for two weeks.
What advice would you give Monica about her son’s recent behavior?
ASSIGNMENT: Using what you learned about the adolescent brain and social development, you will answer questions related to this case study
assignment below. Your goals are to help Monica understand why her son makes the choices he does and recommend some strategies that may help
solve the problem.
Download and use the touchstone response template to answer the questions.
Psy1010 Touchstone 3.1 Response Template
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0,
and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone.
Not Submitted Submitted Scored
You can work on a Touchstone whenever you want, but you must complete
the previous assessments in the Unit before you can submit it. SUBMIT TOUCHSTONE
It takes 5-7 business days for a Touchstone to be graded once it’s been submitted.
UNIT 3 — TOUCHSTONE 3.1: Personality Development
SCORE
-/40
https://app.sophia.org/download/attachment/11848-PSY1010_CaseStudy1_Template x
https://app.sophia.org/download/attachment/11848-PSY1010_CaseStudy1_Template x
https://app.sophia.org/download/attachment/11848-PSY1010_CaseStudy1_Template x
https://app.sophia.org/download/attachment/11848-PSY1010_CaseStudy1_Template x
https://app.sophia.org/download/attachment/11848-PSY1010_CaseStudy1_Template x
javascript:void(0);
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https://app.sophia.org/spcc/introduction-to-psychology-smarter-decisions-through-psychology
A. Assignment
DIRECTIONS: To complete the assignment, you will answer the following four questions in 5-7 sentences each:
. What happens inside the brain of a teenager that makes it difficult for Jordan to weigh the risks and rewards of his behavior? Describe how the
adolescent brain weighs risk and reward.
. Why does it appear that Jordan values the opinion of his peers more than the opinion of his mother? Explain the psychological concepts that may
account for why Jordan places value on his peers’ opinions.
. What advice would you give Jordan’s mother, Monica, that would teach him how to make better choices and decisions? Discuss a specific strategy that
Monica may implement to help her son make better decisions.
. If you were in Monica’s shoes, how would you feel? Explain why a better understanding of Monica’s perspective could result in more constructive advice.
B. Rubric
Advanced (100%) Proficient (80%) Needs Improvement
(60%)
Non-Performance
(0%)
Question 1 (10 points)
Describe how the adolescent
brain weighs risk and reward.
Describes how the adolescent brain
weighs risk and reward, using specific
details and information from the case
study and course lessons.
Describes how the adolescent brain
weighs risk and reward, but could draw
more significant connections between
the case study and course material.
Lists but does not describe how
the adolescent brain weighs risk
and reward.
Does not list how the
adolescent brain weighs risk
and reward.
Question 2 (10 points)
Explain the psychological
concepts or principles that
account for the value Jordan
places on his peers.
Explains the psychological concepts or
principles that account for the value
Jordan places on his peers, using
specific details and information from
the case study and course lessons.
Explains the psychological concepts or
principles that account for the value
Jordan places on his peers, but could
draw more significant connections
between the case study and course
material.
Lists but does not explain the
psychological concepts or
principles that account for the
value Jordan places on his peers.
Does not list the psychological
concepts or principles that
account for the value Jordan
places on his peers.
Question 3 (10 points)
Discuss a specific strategy that
Monica can implement to help
her son make better decisions.
Discusses a specific strategy that
Monica can implement to help her son
make better decisions, using specific
details and information from the case
study and course lessons.
Discusses a strategy that Monica can
implement to help her son make better
decisions, but could draw more specific
connections between the case study and
course material.
Lists but does not discuss a
specific strategy that Monica can
implement to help her son make
better decisions.
Does not list any strategy that
Monica can implement to help
her son make better decisions.
Question 4 (10 points)
Explain why an understanding
of Monica’s perspective can
result in more constructive
advice.
Explains why an understanding of
Monica’s perspective can result in more
constructive advice, providing specific
examples to support this explanation.
Explains why an understanding of
Monica’s perspective can result in more
constructive advice, but could draw
more significant connections between
the case study and course material.
Lists but does not explain
reasons why an understanding of
Monica’s perspective can result
in more constructive advice.
Does not list reasons why an
understanding of Monica’s
perspective can result in more
constructive advice.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
• Each question response should be between 5-7 sentences or 150-200 words, placed directly below the associated question.
• Use a readable 12-point font.
• All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
• Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
• Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
• Submission must include your name and the date.
• Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
• Acceptable file formats include and x
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