Psychological Analysis of Ana's Behavior and Development: A Report

This report provides a psychological analysis of Ana's behavior, drawing from a case study focusing on her interactions and development. The report begins by examining how Ana's actions are influenced by learning principles, specifically operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and social learning. It then delves into her psychosocial and cognitive development, identifying her stage based on Piaget's theory. The report also explores factors affecting Ana's development, such as conservation and classification, and how these impact her behavior. Finally, it investigates the ways in which memory issues influence Ana's actions and overall development. The report uses the case study to illustrate these concepts, offering insights into child psychology and the factors shaping a child's behavior and cognitive processes.

Running head: EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 1
A Report on Efficient Working with Children and their Families
Name
Institution

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 2
Abstract
This is a report on efficient working with children and families. To explore this
phenomenon; this paper uses Ana’s case study. The report begins by highlighting Ana’s behavior
as exhibited in the case study and how it has been influenced by her learning. Upon analyzing
this issue, the reports finds that her behavior has been influenced by three learning principles:
operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and social learning conditioning. Secondly, the
report investigates Ana’s psychological and cognitive development. Finally, the paper examines
how the issues with memory are impacting Ana.

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 3
Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
How Ana’s Behavior has been influenced by Learning..................................................................4
Ana’s Probable Stage of Psychosocial and Cognitive Development..............................................5
Factors impacting on Ana's Development and their Influence on her Behavior.........................5
Ways in which issues with Memory Impact Ana............................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 4
How Ana’s Behavior has been influenced by Learning
Education has altered Ana’s behavior by promoting her curiosity and persistence. Kat and
Sarah have been supportive of her all along by assisting her. Child’s early capacities depend on
several catalysts and mediations; that parents and guardians should always be available to guide
and help the young ones when they are growing up. Operant conditioning, classical conditioning,
and social learning conditioning are the primary learning principles evident in this case. To begin
with, operant conditioning refers to a process that changes an individual behavior through the use
positive and negative reinforcement (McLeod, Skinner- Operant Conditioning, 2015). Positive
reinforcement entails the motivating things that an individual is exposed at to learn a certain
behavior. On the other side, negative reinforcement involves threatening or forceful activities
that influence an individual to adapt to the desired behavior.
Through operant conditioning, an individual creates collaboration between a particular
behavior and its consequences. This learning principle holds that the most appropriate approach
to understand a response is to analyze the causes of an action and its repercussions. In this
scenario the observer from the observation room urges Kat to keep track of Ana’s behavior
including diet, sleeping patterns when she goes to bed and how long she takes while sleeping as
this will help to extract the cause of her behavioral changes. Three types of responses follow
behavior in this principle include; neutral operant (environmental reactions that do not alter with
the probability of an action being repeated), reinforces response (ecological responses that
increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated) and punishers response that is the
environmental responses that reduce the possibility of a behaviors repetition (Weisz, 2010).
Secondly, the classical conditioning is a principle of learning which occurs when a
conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (Goldman, 2012). It involves

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 5
automatic or reflexive responses. The necessary procedure for this is that neutral stimuli can be
paired with positive stimuli with the neutral stimuli being anything as long as it provokes no
reaction from the child. The specific incentives reliably result in a natural response. From this
scenario, Ana was really uncooperative in the observation room. She was crying, hitting Kat her
mother but when she was with chocolate and toys to play with, her anger calmed down. Kat says
that whenever she cries or becomes upset, she usually gives her beautiful little things to eat like
chocolate and sweets, things which make her anger to cool down.
Thirdly, the social learning conditioning shows that individuals acquire behavior by
observing other people. Through merely observing others behavior attitude and the behaviors'
outcome, one learns how to behave in a particular situation (Sarah, 2011). In this case, Kat says
that, when Ann is upset, Kat smacks her leg, this makes her cry, correspondingly, Kat complains,
then they cuddle and Ann stops crying. Therefore it is clear that Ann observes how her mother
behaves and she copies her.
Ana’s Probable Stage of Psychosocial and Cognitive Development
Ana is at the operational phase, third stage of cognitive development as exhibited by (Oswot,
2010). This stage lasts that occurs in young ones when they are approximately seven to eleven
years of age. It is always described based on the rational and organized thinking as shown by
Ana when she can think that she is an excellent child to Kat, her mother (Mm-hmm. I’m a good
girl, aren’t I mama?).
Factors impacting on Ana's Development and their Influence on her Behavior
Critical evaluation of conservation tasks- when a child gives a wrong answer to a question
people tend to repeat the same problem as a way of hinting the child that they have given the
wrong answer (McLeod, 2010). This was achieved by Piaget by asking a child the same question

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 6
repeatedly. When Ana was asked by the persona if the woman who takes care of her at the
daycare center read stories to her, she answered negatively. This made the persona to repeat the
same question, but Ana stayed firm with her response. This factor has made Ana understand the
concept of conservation that her babysitter at the daycare does not read stories to her a thing
which has caused her to hate her. She developed a perception that her fellows at the daycare do
not like her.
Classification- This is the ability to identify properties possessed by particular categories and
relate them to one another to solve problems using specific information (McLeod, 2010). For
example, grouping objects according to some dimensions that they share. When Ana picked toys
at the Observation center, she went ahead and began pulling pieces of Lego together (Ana now
quietly plays with the toys for a while. The noise of her putting together fragments of Lego
continues in the background. It is through this factor that Ana has become more logical and
organized, though she was still very concrete. She got upset with the observer at the daycare and
was able to realize that the only way she could regain her happiness was through talking to Kat
her mother again.
Ways in which issues with Memory Impact Ana
Memory has the ability to encrypt, hoard, preserve and recall past happenings and
information within an individual brain (Mastin, 2010). It is seen as the use of prior experiences to
influence one's present behavior. It is the sum of what individuals remember and gives them the
ability to learn and adapt to our recent happenings. It is the store and recall of the things that
have happened to individuals in the future. Memory is the brains filling system. It allows people
to remember and retrieve information that we have learned, or recall and retrieve precious

EFFICIENT WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES 7
information that we stored in the past. For example, Ana can forget that when one gets to a busy
road, they are required to look both ways then walk across the street.
References
Goldman, J. G. (2012, January 11). What is Classical Conditioning? (And Why Does It Matter).
Retrieved from The Thoughtful Animal: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-
animal/what-is-classicle-conditioning-and-why-does-it-matter/
Kendra, C. (2018, March 16). Piaget's Theory: The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development.
Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-
cognitive-development-2795457
Mastin, L. (2010). What is Memory? The Human Memory, 1-2.
McLeod, S. (2010). Concrete Operational Stage. Retrieved from Simply Psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/concrete-operational.html
McLeod, S. (2015). Skinner- Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from Simply Psychology:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
Oswot, A. (2010, June 9). Cognitive Development: Piaget's Concrete Operations. Retrieved
from Mental Help.net: https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/cognitive-develpment-piaget-
s-concrete-operations/
Sarah, S. M. (2011, January 25). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/social-learning-theory
Weisz, J. R. (2010). Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents. Guilford
Press.