CDE312 - Dr. LJ
1. Why should Mario’s parents not be concerned about him spending more time with
friends?
Mario’s parents shouldn’t worry about him spending more time with friends, because
peer relationships are one of the four areas of emotional and social development. It is
important for Mario to form and maintain these relationships. It is normal to spend more
time with friends during adolescence. Time with peers increases while time with family
decreases. Peers provide Mario with new opportunities and help him form social skills
and his own identity outside of his family. His parents also shouldn’t worry because they
have more influence over him than his peers may ever have on him.
2. What are the functions of peers in Mario’s life?
The function of peers in Mario’s life is that they aid in his social and emotional
development. They help him form an identity outside of his family and provide him with
new opportunities. Peer relationships help Mario with social skills and communication,
conflict resolution, and appropriate peer pressure.
3. What type of popularity does Mario have? What attributes does Mario have that
contribute to this?
Mario has Sociometric popularity because he is very sociable in a friendly way and he is
very nice to everyone, which is why people gravitate towards his <warmth=. He seems to
be a good listener which can make people feel important. He also has social ease which
not only will help him with his peers but also with adults and with his education. He may
not be perceived popularity because he is popular for being sociable and not for the cool
new stuff he has. He is known for being friendly and not mean to people. Also, he is
picked on for being <one of the most annoying new freshmen=, which shows that he is
not being perceived as popular.
4. Why is Mario worried about being a nerd? How can his parents support his
school-work better in this context?
Mario is worried about being a nerd because he is very sociable and his popularity is
based on that, not on his academic performance. He cares about his education, but not as
much as his social life since he thrives off of social interaction. His parents can encourage
him to start a study group with a few friends so that he can still spend time with them, but
also improve his academics. Instead of forcing his studies on him, they could encourage
him with positive reinforcements and promise more time with friends and more freedom
if he prioritizes his school work and works on improving his academic performance. I
also think that he may be hanging around the wrong peer group that bully’s him and
doesn’t support him and makes him want to shy away from being a nerd. His parents
could encourage him to choose a better peer group that will support him and help him
improve his academics.
5. How should Mario’s parents respond to his bullying?
Mario’s parents should speak up as soon as he tells them about the bullying. They should
tell his teachers and see if they can do something about it. They could also go on to speak
to the parents of the boys that are bullying him and ask them if they are aware of it. Then
if the bully’s parents know about their child’s actions hopefully they will talk with them
to try and fix the problem. Another thing Mario’s parents could do is observe their
behavior and make sure they are not promoting any violent or harsh behavior. Since
parents usually have the most influence over their children it is important to practice what
they preach in order to teach what is right and wrong. Mario’s parents could also try to
make a change in policies if the current policies are not doing enough for children that are
being bullied. They could also try to put together a bullying support program where kids
can go to talk about it safely and learn how to handle it. I think it would also be good to
have a support group for the bullies because maybe something in their life is happening
to cause them to pick on others.
