Learning Theory; Inmate Case Study

Running Head: NW Case Study

Nicole Wendolowski

Case Study

Penn State

October, 2, 2005.

 The student that I will be using for this case study is a 37- year- old African-American male from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In order to maintain privacy and confidentiality the gentleman will be referred to as “Dylan.”  Dylan has been in and out of correctional facilities since his early teens. He is currently serving a sentence at the Pennsylvania State Correctional facility in Waymart.

Dylan graduated from a city high school with a general diploma.  However, he is a mandatory student in the correction’s education program due to low test scores on the Test of Adult Basic Education [TABE] test. All classes in the program are grouped by ability, as identified through the TABE scores.  Similar to his peers, Dylan consistently works at a sixth grade level in reading and writing. His spelling, though, is exceptional, and he prides himself on being the spelling bee champion.  He also expresses particular interest in the accounting and business computer courses that are offered. Unfortunately, he will not be admitted into any programs until he scores at least at the ninth grade reading level.

Biological Theory

Dylan has fond memories of his early education and raves about how perfect his parents were. His father was a well-respected Reverend in the community where he grew up.  While pregnant, his mother refrained from consuming alcoholic beverages, did not smoke cigarettes, and did not engage in any behavior that may have been construed as inappropriate by members of the community. He was born and raised in the inner city, which often presents a host of health concerns for children, but he was considered a healthy child.  When looking beyond Dylan’s nuclear family, a pattern of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and abuse could be established among grandparents, aunts, and uncles, which may indicate that Dylan has a predisposition to drug problems due to his genetic composition or biological make-up . 

Dylan began having problems in school and with the law when he reached adolescence. His teenage years were mottled by risk taking behavior, which included substance use and unsafe sexual practices with multiple partners. According to Santrock, adolescence has been identified as a time when teens experiment with different lifestyles, and it is also the time in which factors linked to poor health begin.  Unfortunately, some of the damage that is done to the body during adolescence cannot be fixed or undone (Santrock, 2004). 

Throughout his adolescence, Dylan used a variety of drugs such as marijuana, crack-cocaine, and heroine.  “Researches have found that drug use in childhood or early adolescence has more long term detrimental effects on the development of responsible, competent behavior than when drug use occurs late in adolescence” (Santrock, 2004, p. 194).  Possibly, past drug use may be related to Dylan’s current impulsive behavior.

Research suggests that during adolescence emotional stimuli is processed differently than when an individual reaches adulthood (Santrock, 2004).  The Amygdala is largely responsible for emotion while the frontal lobe is more involved with reasoning and thinking which means that “adolescents might respond with ‘gut’ reactions to emotional stimuli, whereas adults are likely to respond with rational reasoned responses (Santrock, 2004, p. 173). It appears that Dylan continues to act on impulse [yelling out] without thinking or reasoning things out almost as though he were still a teenager, which may indicate damage to or a lack of frontal lobe development.  Thus, the question may be asked whether the drugs affected his reasoning process or if the lack of development in this region of the brain caused him to make poor decisions in the first place.  Further research in this area is needed.

[p1]

 Dylan was shot and stabbed and scars blemish his face and neck.  [p2] As an adult, Dylan shows symptoms of a generalized anxiety disorder and has some symptoms of depression.  Symptoms of anxiety include, but are not limited to heart palpitations, dyspnea, chest pain or discomfort; symptoms associated with depression include feelings of worthlessness, a diminished ability to think or concentrate and a general depressed mood (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Biologically, this is significant because it may indicate that Dylan suffers from a chemical imbalance in his brain. A chemical imbalance can affect thought processes as well as behavior.

 Dylan maintains a fitness program in the gym and appears physically fit. However, his diet falls quite short of healthy. Dylan often substitutes meals with candy-bars and chi-chi [crushed cheese curls, ramen noodles and meat sticks steamed together with hot water] from the commissary. The amount of sodium in one serving of chi-chi is astronomical[p3] .  It is important to note that many inmates, as well as employees, refuse to eat at the cafeteria, which leaves little option for a healthy food selection.  Dylan has complained at times of chest pain and believes that he may be taking a heart attack, but there has been no medical evidence to substantiate his claim so it may just be a symptom of anxiety or he may be using his alleged condition as a contrivance to shirk class.  [p4] 

           

Behaviorism

Dylan received all of his education in an urban school district within a regular educational setting.  The instruction provided by the district was teacher-centered and the students were not actively engaged in the learning process. Dylan recounts tails of the rowdy class and remembers engaging in spitball contests while the teacher conducted class. Based upon Dylan’s verbal recollection, he seemed to follow the crowd as opposed to leading.  While growing up, he was concerned with maintaining friendships at any cost and suggested that he would do anything for a friend.  Older friends were considered to be one of the influences that lured Dylan into drugs along with his natural curiosity. Researchers suggest that the “association with drug-using peers in one of the strongest single predictors of substance abuse among youth and adolescents (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller as cited in Coker & Borders, 2001. p.79) Dylan started to use drugs to be a part of the crowd, but continued to use because they made him feel good.  The effect of a drug is specific to its chemical make-up. Dylan used crack, which blocks the re-uptake of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin; Cocaine or crack-cocaine has been deemed to be a powerful drug because it stimulates the reward center of the brain (Ray & Ksir, 2004).

 Later, the monetary benefits of selling drugs afforded Dylan the financial freedom to purchase brand name clothing, stereos, and cars. School did not appear to provide Dylan with any gratification, but he continued to go until graduation. Having money and friends made Dylan feel powerful and on top of the world.  During this period, Dylan’s relationship with his parents became volatile and he looks back with shame for the way he treated his ‘Moms’ and simply regrets how he disappointed and saddened her time and time again.  Collecting thousands of dollars within a few days also made a life of hard work look incredibly boring and less lucrative than a life on the streets.  In Dylan’s mind, the benefits of dealing drugs outweighed the risks associated with it, and going to prison was never a consideration for this young adolescent.  As an adult, he admits to feeling as though he were indestructible as a teenager or that he would never get caught.  If Dylan were to be released today there is no guarantee that he would refrain from a lifestyle of risk.

Much of Dylan’s early learning experiences are based upon memorization, lectures and worksheets. Dylan was successful when he memorized material for exams, and was considered average in elementary school based upon grades.   He has come to accept skill and drill as the basis of education, which is associated with the way that he was taught. One day he mentioned that he “did not feel that he was learning anything in class and that he would prefer to work on worksheets.”  The grades that Dylan received in the past reinforced his positive attitude toward worksheets.  Dylan can be seen automatically and mechanically, filling out a skill sheet without reading the sentences assuming that the worksheet is emphasizing one skill at a time.

 Dylan exhibits strong urges to control or have power over most situations.  He also exhibits intolerance to other students who he feels are beneath him.  Dylan feels that the classmates, who work slowly, are stupid or incapable of completing the work.  He tries to control his learning environment by choosing not to answer questions and by distracting the other students almost ensuring that he will be finished first. At some point in his life, he learned that “intelligent people answer quickly without giving the answer much thought.” Often, he will interrupt the speaker and begin answering a question before it is fully asked.  Even when reading aloud to the class, he reads at an accelerated pace.

Because of the environment that Dylan is in, his behavior is strictly monitored.  Therefore, the behavior that I observe in the institution could be potentially worse outside of the prison’s walls. Unlike typical students, any behavioral infraction, which warrants a write-up, can lead Dylan to serve his maximum sentence without the hope of getting paroled.  Adverse behaviors can also warrant an inmate being placed in the ‘hole’ otherwise known as the restrictive housing unit.  For those reasons, inmates will sit passively in class because they fear further punishment or aversive stimuli.  During class, Dylan appears very frustrated.  Often, he can be heard sighing, groaning or complaining under his breath.   Recently, I began to look closely at Dylan’s behavior to determine what the antecedent was before his response of moaning, groaning or complaining. The behavior seems to occur while using authentic literature, in particular, chapter books, that are no higher than a fourth grade reading level. Negative behaviors also appear when he is asked a question such as “what would you do in this situation?” He seems to enjoy completing worksheets and assignments at a fast pace, but seems to easily give-up when presented with a challenge.  While observed in other classes, he seemed to work in the same rushed manner, but showed less frustration, which may be related to the worksheet teaching style of the teacher.

A problem with behavioral theory is that focus is on an observable behavior, but the cause of that behavior is not always known and the cause may be related to cognition or emotions. Robbins, Chatterjee & Canda (1998), suggest “because behavior theories focus on factors external to the individual they have been essentially devoid of considerations of culture, social status, economic status, or other macro-level considerations (p.351). The problem being what is acceptable for one person or group of people is not acceptable for another.  For instance, selling drugs was perfectly normal among individuals who lived in Dylan’s neighborhood but on a larger societal scale this behavior is unacceptable.   Behavioral methods can be viewed as a form of social control (Robbins et al. 1998).

References

American Psychiatric Association (2000).  Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental

     disorders: fourth edition text revision.  Washington, D.C.: The American Psychiatric

     Association.

Coker, K.J., Borders D.L. (2001). An analysis of environmental and social factors

     affecting adolescent problem drinking.  Journal of Counseling & Development. 79(1)

     p.200-208.

Ray, O. & Ksir,C. (2004). Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior (10^th ed.) Boston: WCB

     McGraw-Hill.

Santrock, J.(2004) Child Development (10^th ed). Boston: McGraw Hill.