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. Use the touchstone response template to answer the questions.
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.
Template:
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.
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Touchstone 3.2: Workplace Styles
SCENARIO: Monica and Jennifer are coworkers that have been assigned to work on a project together. Jennifer is very organized and wants her and Monica to do really well on this project. To get started, Jennifer took some initiative and prepared a list of to-do items along with the due dates. She even color-coded the list to indicate who will do which item. Shortly after, Jennifer sends an email to Monica with the to-do list attached. Jennifer wants her partner to know that she is serious about their success.
Monica is happy her teammate has shown initiative but is surprised by Jennifer’s to-do list and feels a bit uncomfortable as she is feeling like Jennifer is micromanaging her. Monica wants to do her part on the project but is feeling anxious because she doesn’t know where she fits in. Monica is worried about working on the project. She wonders if she can succeed in this project since Jennifer is already the leader. Prior to this situation, Monica worked for a separate employer who asked her to work on a similar project. She felt anxious about her ability to successfully complete the project and attempted to communicate her feelings with a co-worker. However, her co-worker didn’t seem to understand Monica’s concerns and said that she should just ignore her feelings and get the work done.
As Monica ponders having a conversation with Jennifer, she starts to feel overwhelmed and thinks it might just be easier to be removed from the project.
ASSIGNMENT: Now, it is time to practice the skills and concepts that you have learned to help your friend Monica navigate through a difficult workplace situation. Using your problem solving and self and social awareness skill, as well as what you have learned about personality traits and emotions, answer the questions in this case study assignment. Remember, you are to help Monica calm her anxiety and find a solution to her problem.
Download and use the touchstone response template to answer the questions.
Psy1010 Touchstone 3.2 Response Template
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment
DIRECTIONS: To complete the assignment, you will answer the following four questions in 5-7 sentences each:
What are the “Big 5” personality traits? Name and describe each of them, using specific details and information from the case study and course lessons.
Consider the different approaches to the project taken by both Monica and Jennifer. On which of the Big 5 personality traits do they most differ? Discuss these differences in their personality traits.
Using what you learned about emotions, what advice would you give to Monica? Describe a specific strategy that Monica can use to manage her emotions and successfully complete the project.
If you were in this situation, how confident are you that you could successfully resolve a workplace conflict like the one that Monica faced? What past experiences or knowledge influence your answer? Explain how your experience or knowledge can resolve a similar workplace conflict.
Type Your Name Here
Smarter Decisions through Psychology
Date here
Using your problem solving and self and social awareness skills and what you have learned about personality traits and emotions, answer the questions in this case study assignment. Remember, you are to help Monica calm her anxiety and find a solution to her 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 are the Big 5 personality traits? Name and describe each of them.
Question 2: Consider the different approaches to the project taken by both Monica and Jennifer. On which of the Big 5 personality traits do they most differ? Discuss these differences in their personality traits.
Question 3: Using what you learned about emotions, what advice would you give to Monica? Describe a specific strategy that Monica can use to manage her emotions and successfully complete the project.
Question 4: If you were in this situation, how confident are you that you could successfully resolve a workplace conflict like the one that Monica faced? What past experiences or knowledge influence your answer? Explain how your experience or knowledge can resolve a similar workplace conflict.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Touchstone 4: Mindset
SCENARIO: Mark works with Monica and Jennifer. He likes to make people laugh but often jokes about his struggles to learn new programs and technology.
The company recently informed the team that there will be a compliance test on new safety policies, which employees will need to pass in order to keep their jobs. The company has provided materials to study, as well as optional practice exams.
Monica, Jennifer and Mark are having lunch in the break room, and Monica and Jennifer mention that they have already signed up to take the first practice test. Mark comments about how hard it is for him to learn a different way of doing the jobs that he has been doing for years. However, later in the day, he stops by Monica’s desk to find out how she is preparing for the test and asks for advice. Given that they have a month until the compliance test, Monica is confident that she can help Mark prepare.
ASSIGNMENT: Using your problem solving and self and social awareness skill and the information that you have learned about the plasticity of the nervous system and motivation and mindset, answer the questions in this case study assignment to help Monica offer strategies to improve Mark’s chances for doing well on the compliance test. Download and use the touchstone response template to answer the questions.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment
DIRECTIONS: To complete the assignment, you will answer the following questions:
What kind of mindset does Mark need to embrace to be successful? Describe the impact of mindset on success.
What type of mindset does Mark currently have, and how does it affect his brain? Explain how mindset affects learning.
What advice should Monica give to Mark, and why? Describe a specific strategy that Monica can suggest to Mark to improve his memory and better prepare for the compliance test.
If Mark were your coworker, what important aspects of the situation would you want to keep in mind when offering advice and strategies to him? Why do you think this is important? Explain the importance of tailoring advice and strategies directly to Mark’s situation.
type Your Name Here
Smarter Decisions through Psychology
Date here
Using your problem solving and self and social awareness skill and the information you learned about brain plasticity, motivation, and mindset, answer the questions in this case study assignment to help Monica offer strategies to improve Mark’s chances for doing well on the compliance test.
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 kind of mindset does Mark need to embrace to be successful? Describe the impact of mindset on success.
Question 2: What type of mindset does Mark currently have, and how does it affect his brain? Explain how mindset affects learning
.
Question 3: What advice should Monica give to Mark, and why? Describe a specific strategy that Monica can suggest to Mark to improve his memory and better prepare for the compliance test.
Question 4: If Mark were your coworker, what important aspects of the situation would you want to keep in mind when offering advice and strategies to him? Why do you think this is important? Explain the importance of tailoring advice and strategies directly to Mark’s situation.
