Pepsi Project
Pepsi Project
Pepsi Project
Cynthia Marrufo
Biography
The PEPSI screening project aims to understand adolescence and their development. For
this particular screening, the adolescent chosen is a Hispanic female student in 7th grade. She was
born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009 and is 12 years old, going on 13 in January. The student is
currently enrolled in a public middle school located in Las Vegas, where she enjoys participating
in classes such as choir, English, and photo design. Her reasoning for enjoying such classes is
The subject is the youngest child in a large family consisting of two older sisters, an older
brother, her parents, a young niece, and a young nephew. However, she only lives with one of
her older sisters, her older brother, her mother, and her nephew in Las Vegas. She expresses her
distaste in having to share a room with her mother at 12 but enjoys her weekends where she gets
When not focused on school the model enjoys the wonders of technology, constantly
absorbed in her phone or the TV. On her phone she frequently can be seen reading stories,
looking up various urban legends for entertainment, researching random bits of history, or
playing games. When watching TV, she prefers to stick to YouTube, but can be found watching
shows such as The Flash or The Promised Neverland. A few of her other hobbies include writing
short stories, creating characters through her phone app, and listening to music.
Physical Development
The adolescent has blemished tan skin, straight dark brown hair, and brown eyes. She is
about five feet tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds. According to the BMI index provided
by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these measurements place her within
PEPSI Screening 3
the 85th percentile, classifying her as “overweight.” While this may be considered abnormal
contribute to the teen’s weight. Some examples of these attributes are family genetics and
influence, dietary choices, and exercise habits (Castle, 2021). Given that the teen comes from a
family of heavier set people (a few of which do have weight related health problems), prefers to
stay indoors as opposed to partaking in physical activities, and has admitted to struggling with
However, another critical factor in physical development is puberty which most females
between ages 8-13 years old begin to go through. This can result in a variety of more physical
changes such as body hair, further weight gain, fat redistribution, growth spurts, acne, and
development of menstrual cycles (Allen & Miller, 2019). After appropriate questioning and
observation, it can be concluded that the teen is going through the stages of puberty, meaning
Emotional Development
The website VeryWellMind discusses the Identity vs. Role Confusion stage of Erik
their independence and develop a sense of self,” between the ages of 12 and 18. This is because
these ages are most commonly exposed to society and the challenges to one’s sense of self.
During this time, especially in early adolescence, it is common for teens to begin to show
empathy, handle feelings of rejection and anger, and for most females, go through the hormonal
The progeny displays mildly concerning emotional development in her behavior both at
school and at home. While she is building her sense of self and is unconcerned with feeling
rejected by societal norms, she lacks control when dealing with other negative feelings. She
quickly loses patience, becomes easily frustrated, and has the tendency to lash out at others when
feeling stressed. This also has caused mild tension within her family, which is a common
correlation as explained by the “Teen Conflict and Parent and Adolescent Well-Being,” journal
(Silva, Karol & Ford, 2020, p. 1606). While the cause of this emotional deficiency cannot be
contributed to a single thing, some factors that could be affecting her are neurodivergent
Philosophical Development
Kohlberg’s Moral Development they can be found in is stage three (Ellsworth, 1996, p. 1). This
is considered the “good boy-nice girl” stage where it is normal to conform to the majority’s
behaviors and often wonder what others think (Wong, 2000). In this stage, it is also common for
teens to begin questioning rules, develop personal values, and resolve conflicts (Kid Central TN,
2018).
After questioning and observing the participant, she displays mostly adequate
development in this area. She is not afraid to question rules that she feels are unfair nor state why
she thinks so. She has also begun to voice strong opinions on aspects of society and is able to
support such claims. While her conflict handling skills are struggling due to her lack of
emotional development, she still frequently attempts to handle situations in her social life as best
as she can with guidance from others. Yet, a more surprising development is her disinterest in
PEPSI Screening 5
what others think, which would fall outside the average teen’s view. She has no desire to
conform or choose the “morally correct” decision when asked to respond to philosophical
dilemmas. This could be a potential concern; however, it is much too early to determine whether
Social Development
The social development stage is one that involves many characteristics such as: defining
of oneself, identifying with a peer group, and social learning (Kid Central TN, 2018). The Social
Learning Theory (SLT) is heavily based on the idea that the social system we are accepted into is
what influences our decisions the most by setting our expectations, providing observational
behaviors, and reinforcing our conclusions based off what we observe (ETR, 2021). The SLT
can coincide with identifying with a peer group, given that both social aspects involve outside
influence. Defining of oneself can be expressed through a plethora of outlets, for instance,
On the subject of social development, the partaker shows healthy development for the
most part. She has clearly defined her societal labels when referring to her feelings on her gender
and sexuality and displays full confidence in who she is. She often expresses herself comfortably
in clothing she chooses, excitedly shares her interests, and has a support system that she feels is
suitable. The only area that could peak an observer’s interest is her absence of a peer group.
Despite having acquaintances and the stray friend here and there, the teen does not share much
about her social life. This also provides the question if she could be possibly be more influenced
by online peers given that she is so enveloped in modern technology. Which could lead to
another trail of questions on if she is still focusing on her in-life reality, if she is being given
PEPSI Screening 6
unsupervised access to media, and whether these technology influences are positive or not
Intellectual Development
teens is classified by the ability to add dimension to their ideas, ability to apply logical thinking,
and the opportunity to develop virtuosity. This is also the period where students begin to become
aware of their particular learning style. The student, however, seems to be slightly below the
average teen in her development. While her grades reflect that she is of passing intelligence and
she is typically eager for new knowledge, there is no real growth beyond school.
The model does not show a desire to learn beyond the average intelligence that will
sustain her enough to pass school. Despite enjoying choir and having the opportunity to excel in
it, she does not practice outside of school. While she does exceptionally well in math, she does
not care to develop her logical skills further. Lastly, while she has shown her ability to add depth
to her thoughts, she avoids doing so a lot of the time, resulting in her undermining her
intelligence. She also has not begun to establish any sense of awareness towards her learning
A possible cause for this worth mentioning, however, is the school she attends in largely
based on standardized tests and makes a large part of the student’s grades based on these test
scores. This pressure could be a contributing factor in her being unmotivated to pursue her
education further, given that many students already do the bare minimum needed to graduate
(Cohn, 2002, p. 54). Though it has been stated that this area of development cannot be rushed, it
does draw concerns for the participant’s future development (Ellsworth, 1996, p. 2).
PEPSI Screening 7
Recommendations
After thoroughly surveying and questioning the teen, there are a few findings that should
be discussed further. Although physical development is relatively normal and consistent, there is
a small cause for concern because unhealthy lifestyle choices could be detrimental to physical
development in the future. The changes that should be taken are not harsh but implementing
more physical activity outside of school and setting better family habits would be very helpful.
Emotional development is a bigger concern, due to the adolescent’s lack of ability to handle
stress and frustration. Without proper development she could develop mental illness down the
line or potentially struggle with emotion management into adulthood, which would make life
very challenging. A possible solution could be to talk with the child and decide if she would like
to start working on coping mechanisms and communication, or even taking her to see a
professional.
Philosophical development seems to be very healthy and on the right path. She is
displaying the ability to formulate her own perceptions and justify them. She also has no want to
conform to society or worry about what society thinks, which can be a mostly positive thing
since she can be less susceptible to bullying or peer pressure. Social development also seems to
be headed down the right track. She is secure in her placement in society, has a support system
that she feels safe with, and has not given anyone reason to be concerned about her peers’
influence. Yet, the constant access to technology and the internet does raise a few concerns. The
unsupervised access could expose her to unsavory influences as well as things young teens are
Lastly, intellectual development is not necessarily a problem area, but it is an area that
participating in school is not an issue but should be talked about. Too many students harbor
animosity towards school because they lose interest and begin to think of it as a waste of time.
However, the education system should be trying to encourage students to want to learn and grow.
Without nurturing this area of development, many children will never reach their true potential.
PEPSI Screening 9
Student Development
PEPSI Screening 10
References
Allen, B., & Miller, K. (2019, June 4). Physical development in girls: what to expect during
stages/gradeschool/puberty/Pages/Physical-Development-Girls-What-to-Expect.aspx
Castle, J. (2021, July 9). The most common reasons a girl gains weight. The Nourished Child.
CDC. (2021, March 17). About child & teen bmi. CDC. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_bmi/about_childrens_bmi.ht
ml
Cherry, K. (2021, June 3). Identity vs. role confusion in psychosocial development.
confusion-2795735
Cohn, A. W. (2002, June). Students and standardized tests. Administrative Office of the United
https://www.proquest.com/psychology/docview/213981921/fulltext/549D0E02031F4E73
PQ/12?accountid=27953
Davis, C. A. & The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. (2017). Social media
https://www.proquest.com/psychology/docview/1930669825/fulltextPDF/A41E908533E
44454PQ/5?accountid=27953
PEPSI Screening 11
Ellsworth, J. (1996). PEPSI: a screening and programming tool for understanding the
https://csn.instructure.com/courses/1346889/discussion_topics/4025774
Ellsworth, J. & Northern Arizona University. (1998). PEPSI as a screening tool. ESE504.
ETR. (2021). Social learning theory’s major concepts. ReCAPP. Retrieved from
http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.TheoriesDetail&PageID=383
Kid Central Tennessee. (2018). Social and emotional development: ages 11–13. Kid Central TN.
emotional-development-ages-11-13.html
Silva, K., Ford, C. A., & Miller, V. A. (2020). Teen conflict and parent and adolescent well-
being: the moderating role of daily and person-level warmth. Journal of Youth and
https://www.proquest.com/psychology/docview/2424342556/62F63F204E5146BFPQ/7?
accountid=27953
Wong, A. S. L. (2000, September). Kohlberg’s level two - conventional morality. Rules and