Term Paper on "Educational Psychology Thirteen-Year-Old African-American Female, Talisha"

Term Paper 3 pages (1079 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Educational Psychology

Thirteen-year-old African-American female, Talisha had an unstable family history, wit frequent movements and changes between family members. Both Talisha's biological parents were unable to care for her adequately, as her mother was dealing with a drug addiction and her father was also unstable and unrelaiable and she therefore resided with her grandmother, who was overburdened with caring for her three siblings and other unknown children. The grandmother befriended a neighbor, Barbara, a neighbor of the grandmother became an early frequent caregiver of Talisha and after the death of her biological mother Barbara took over the role of primary caregiver and is now thought of by Talisha as, Mom. Talisha, despite the early instability seems to be a well adjusted teen with reasonable and age appropriate goals and a strong attachment to Barbara, Nile (Barbara's son who is seven months younger than Talisha) and biological family members, who she no longer lives near, as Barbara, Talisha and Nile moved away from the town where Talisha was born.

Most attachment theorists would assume that given the number of early rejections that Talisha experienced in her young life, including her biological mother, her biological father as well as her proxy caregiver, her maternal grandmother that she would be unstable and have a difficult time bonding with caregivers. The difference in this case seems to be that the neighbor, Barbara, was a consistent force in Talisha's life from infancy and to some degree she bonded with Talisha, in place of other caregivers. This can be seen from Barbara's own words in the case study, when she discusses the bonding her and Talisha experienced early in their relationship, as well as from Talisha's self-expression of Nile as her brother and Barbara as her mother. (Case Study, p. 1,3-4) Though Talisha and Barbara's relationship was informal, at first that early attachment probably proved to be the saving grace of Talisha's ability to bond with caregivers and others in her life, Erikson's attachment theory describes the manner in which infant attachment shapes later attachment skills and self value.

Within such interactions, infants develop internal working models in which they experience others as emotionally available and dependable, particularly at times of need and arousal. There is a sense of 'basic trust' in their caregiver (Erikson 1968). Children experience themselves as lovable and worthy of care. (Howe, Brandon, Hinings & Schofield, 1999, p. 49)

If such bonding is missing or infrequent, as it would have been in Talisha's case if she were not given Barbara as an early caregiver and a stable relationship in her life, the abilty to trust and build appropriate feelings of self and others would be lacking to some degree in Talisha.

Albert Bandura's observational learning theories also bring to mind the situation Talisha was faced with in her early years. (Brainerd, 2003, p. 277) the chaos of her own biological family, with many members coming and going and her main caregiver, her maternal grandmother not having the ability to care for all the children in her charge, Talisha may have assumed through observation that all families live in such a manner. Had she not had the example of a close and healthy family in Barbara and Nile she may have developed… READ MORE

How to Reference "Educational Psychology Thirteen-Year-Old African-American Female, Talisha" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

African-American Women Term Paper

African-American Women

Oppression, Diversity and the Struggle for Human Rights: African-American Women

The history of African-American women is closely aligned to the history of social and racial oppression in America.… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2452 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: African-American / Black Studies

---

African-American History the Sharecropping System Term Paper

African-American History

The Sharecropping system

The Sharecropping system was a labor agreement that was shaped by the situation in the South after the Civil War and by the mutual dependency… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2461 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA Topic: African-American / Black Studies

---

African-American Parenting Styles According to Social Class Annotated Bibliography

African-American Parents

Annotated Bibliography

Abar, B., K.L. Carter, and a. Winsler. "The effects of maternal parenting style and religious commitment on self-regulation, academic achievement, and risk behavior among African-American parochial… read more

Annotated Bibliography 4 pages (1551 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

African-American Studies the Claims of Kinfolk Author Term Paper

African-American Studies

The Claims of Kinfolk

Author Dylan Penningroth in "In the Claims of Kinfolk," exposes a wide informal economy of property rights among slaves. The book also sheds new… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (632 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: American History / United States

---

Diagnosis of S. Johnson Diagnosis and Treatment Case Study

Diagnosis of S. Johnson

Diagnosis and Treatment Plan

Ms. Sandra Johnson presents both a typical as well as a complicated profile as she enters therapy. All too typical because so… read more

Case Study 6 pages (1526 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>