Case Study in Psychology

Already in preschool, Matilda excelled/made herself noticed.​ W​hen the other children played with each other, she withdrew.​ O​ften stood some distance away and watched the others.​ In that way, she attracted attention. The other children could then see that she was fat and heavy.​ ​Sometimes she could hear them calling her “fat Mathilda”.​ ​She was always sad but said nothing back. When Mathilda started school, the problems started in earnest. There was a boy in the class, Jens, who constantly teased her.​ J​ens was a bit of a leader for his classmates and the other students began to follow his example.​ M​atilda, who was used to being exposed, showed nothing to the outside world, but inside she suffered and many evenings when she went to bed the tears came. Over time, the rudeness increased and Jens and his friends could sometimes push her.​ O​ne time she fell and got a bruise on one arm.​ ​When her parents asked what had happened, she said that she had fallen and hit a rock, but did not mention how it happened. When the whole thing was repeated a month later, the parents sensed trouble and asked Mathilda to tell them what had really happened. At first she blamed on her own clumsiness but eventually it broke for her and she told by crying about the tormenting spirits that exposed her. The parents contacted the school and wanted the teachers to address the situation. Jens and his friends were summoned for questioning by the headmaster, but they declared themselves completely innocent and no adult had seen what had happened. Everything went back to normal and the boredom just kept going and going. One day Mathilda refused to go to the school and the parents, who were now really upset, demanded that the school take action. a) How can Matilda, according to the social psychological perspective, be influenced/affected and shaped by her experiences in preschool and school? Concepts that are suitable / important to use and explain in the answer: – Identity – the individual’s innermost core and unique characteristics -self-image – the individual’s image of himself and his identity -self-confidence – the individual’s belief in his own ability -self-esteem – the individual’s assessment and self-worth norms socialization role b) How can Jens, according to the social psychological perspective, be influenced and shaped by his experiences in preschool and school? Keywords that are suitable to use and explain in the answer: identity – the individual’s innermost core and unique characteristics self-image – the individual’s image of himself and his identity self-confidence – the individual’s belief in his own ability self-esteem – the individual’s assessment and self-worth norms socialization role value leader c) From the social psychological perspective, how come that the other children in the class followed Jen’s example? Keywords that are suitable to use and explain in the answer: identity – the individual’s innermost core and unique characteristics self-image – the individual’s image of himself and his identity self-confidence – the individual’s belief in his own ability self-esteem – the individual’s assessment and self-worth norms values role leader attitude stereotypes conformity spectator effect group dynamics d) Are the children in the case description victims or perpetrators? Motivate your answer! In order to get an A you should: You use several relevant social psychological concepts and give examples and describe in detail and nuanced how Matilda is affected and shaped by her experiences in preschool and school. You use several relevant social psychological concepts and give examples and describe in detail and in a nuanced way how Jens is affected and shaped by his experiences at school. You use several relevant social psychological concepts and give examples and describe in detail and nuanced several reasons why the children in the class followed Jens’ example. You briefly describe whether the children in the case description are victims or perpetrators and why you consider it. You give examples and describe in detail whether the children in the case description are victims or perpetrators and why you consider it. Please do not use advanced language.