Smarter Decisions through Psychology

Smarter Decisions through Psychology

Jordan is a 16-year-old which makes him a teenager. Teenagers, just like Jordan, find it challenging to weigh the rewards and risks of their behaviour. Several changes occur in an adolescent’s brain, increasing the risk of abnormal development. Abnormal development causes disorders such as mental illnesses. Research shows that adolescents weigh rewards and risks differently than adults; therefore, adolescents indulge in risky behaviour (Balasundaram & Avulakunta, 2022). Jordan’s brain’s difficulty in weighing rewards and risks is guided by dopamine activity. The adolescent brain is highly sensitive and guided by dopamine and oxytocin. Adolescents have increased activity in the mesolimbic dopamine reward system, which makes adolescents incline more toward risky behaviour. Dopamine is responsible for social development, emotional development, and motivational regulation. When adolescents are exposed to decision-making situations, the density of dopamine receptors in the subcortical and cortical regions of the brain determines changes in reward processing. The increased dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal cortex makes adolescents lean towards risky behaviour.

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.

Adolescents like Jordan value the opinions of their peers more than those of adults such as their parents (Scott et al., 2022). Jordan, who initially had a close relationship with his mother, has been spending much time with his friends lately and is keen on his friends’ opinions. The opinion of peers sparks a rewarding feeling among adolescents that increases the subjective value of rewarding behaviour. Therefore, adolescents tend to participate in risky behaviour with short-term benefits instead of safer behaviour with long-term benefits. Adolescents make decisions based on peer observation even when their peers are not physically present. Additionally, they have a peak neurobehavioural sensitivity to social stimuli and increased oxytocin neurotransmission. Oxytocin neurotransmission causes an increase in the facilitation of social bonding. Further, adolescents make decisions based on the desired emotional outcome. The presence and mood of adolescent peers and friends affect their emotions and decision-making. An adolescent hanging with his peers who are in a happy mood while drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana tends to continue indulging. In contrast, an adolescent whose friends are in a sad mood tends to shun fun activities.

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.

Adolescence is a crucial stage of growth that determines one’s future. Parents of adolescents such as Monica, Jordan’s mother, need guidance on positive parenting of adolescents. Jordan sneaks out of the house through his bedroom window to attend parties where he indulges in marijuana and alcohol instead of studying for his upcoming examination. Monica must understand the root cause of Jordan’s indulging in marijuana and alcohol. Monica should understand that her son is an adolescent whose brain is still developing, and the areas of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making, are not fully matured. Monica can help her son make better decisions by creating an environment conducive enough for him to approach her with his issues. Monica should not be judgemental when discussing with Jordan to win her son’s trust. Jordan will be able to explain to his mother why he feels the need to escape home and abuse drugs with his peers. Monica should avoid harsh punishments such as grounding Jordan for two weeks since such punishments will increase his resentment towards his mother.

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.

Parents tend to feel disappointed in their children who indulge in drugs such as alcohol and marijuana. If I were in Monica’s shoes, I would question my parenting skills. Some parents blame their children’s negative behaviour on their parenting abilities. Parents might feel they did not set a good example or were not strict enough with their children. Before advising Monica, it is crucial to understand her view of this situation. Her view of the situation can be used to tailor constructive advice. If Monica believes in outsourcing help for her son, she will be referred to child psychologists and counsellors.

References

Balasundaram, P., & Avulakunta, I.D. (2022). Human Growth and Development. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567767/

Scott, H.K., Jain, A., & Cogburn, M. (2022). Behavior Modification. StatPearls Publishinghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459285/

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Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate the 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.

Smarter Decisions through Psychology

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 behaviour, she grounded him for two weeks.

What advice would you give Monica about her son’s recent behaviour?

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.
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 behaviour? 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.

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 .doc and .docx