Background Information

Childs age: 16, almost 17

Fictitious name: Megan
Location: Her home
Brief Description: We talked while sitting on her couch. She is super outgoing and seemed to be
very comfortable during the interview 1 hour and a half .
Physical Development
Body image is described as "a person's idea of how his or her body looks" or should be (Berger,
2014, p.328). Megan is a dancer with an incredible and beautiful body. Megan's body is built
perfectly for dancing but this is not true in Megan's mind. She describes her body as not strong
enough for a dancer and taller than it should be. During adolescence, teenagers are less likely to
be happy with the changes that happen to their bodies. "Instead, they exaggerate imperfections"
like Megan's idea that she is too weak and too tall to be a dancer - she is 5'5 (Berger, 2014,
p.328). Even though Megan's body seems to be perfect for a dancer, in her mind her body has
more imperfections than in reality. These imperfections are amplified in her mind which has to
do with the influence of the media and especially with the hormones of puberty.
Puberty hormones not only influence body image but also teenagers ability to sleep. Megan
mentioned having a hard time falling asleep at night because her mind races. "Hormones of the
HPA axis at puberty cause a phase delay in sleep-wake cycles" (Berger, 2014, p.322). That
explains one of the reasons Megan and most teenagers have a hard time falling asleep, getting
out of bed and staying awake during the day. Some school schedules add to the problem by
allowing students to have a late day during the week. So, instead of waking up at 5:30 am, she
wakes up at 6:30am on Fridays. On the weekends, Megan sleeps in so she can catch up on
sleep. The interesting fact that Megan and many people dont know is that an uneven sleep
schedule is as hurtful as sleep deprivation; it will "decrease learning and well-being" (Berger,
2014, p.322).

Cognitive Development
Analytic thought is the thought that results from analysis, such as a systematic ranking of pros
and cons, risks and consequences, possibilities and facts (Berger, 2014, p.338). As a teenager,
Megan is able to make decisions based on reality instead of only emotions. For example, when
Megan was faced with the dilemma of choosing between becoming a cheerleader or a dancer, she
made a list of pros and cons. Because Megan really enjoyed both activities, cheerleading and
dancing, a deeper thought was demanded. Instead of using intuitive though which begins with a
belief, assumption, general rule or feelings (Berger, 2014, p.336), Megan used rational analysis
to come to a conclusion. After weeks analyzing both activities, she made the decision to become
a dancer, which she is very good at. Due to Megans brain maturation at this stage, she is capable
of making decisions based on analytic thought.
Imaginary audience is the other people who, in an adolescents egocentric belief, are watching
and taking note of his or her appearance, ideas and behavior (Berger, 2014, p.333). During
the interview, Megan fidgeted with her hair the entire time. As she played with her hair, she
would looked at mine and then at me. When asked what she would change about her body, hair

was the first word on Megans list. She mentioned how every other girl in her school has straight
hair and she is the only one with curly hair in her group of friends. Moreover, Megan believes
that if she does not straighten her hair, people will look at and talk about her curly hair. This is
likely untrue, especially considering that curly hair is not extremely uncommon, but Megan still
fears the imaginary audience will notice and criticize her.
Social/Emotional Development
Gender identity often (but not always) begins with the persons biological sex and leads to a
gender role, one that society considers appropriated for that gender (Berger, 2014, p.360). When
Megan was a little girl, she decided to become an electrical engineer just like her father. When it
was said but how come electrical engineering? Is that a guy thing? Megan smiled and said that
math comes easy to her and that she is good at it. The shift during adolescence when girls are
less likely to do well in math and science did not happen to Megan. One of that reasons for this is
most likely the influence of her father her role model (Berger, 2014, p.360).
Closeness within the family is crucial during adolescence (Berger, 2014, p.363). Based on the
interview, it is obvious that Megan has a strong relationship with her family; she mentioned them
many times. Megan feels she can talked about anything with her parents. Her mother was the one
who talked to her at a young age about sex. Another time, Megan needed to make a decision
about which sport to do, and she talked to her mother and father and told them her thoughts and
vice versa. Besides having a good communication with her parents, Megan receives support from
them. If she needs help with her math homework, her father will teach her. If she is feeling a
little down, her mother and siblings will invite her to do something fun like get some ice-cream
or see a movie. No developmentalist doubts that [those] two aspects communication and
support are helpful, perhaps even essential to Megans social and emotional development
(Berger, 2014, p.363).