Bronfenbrenner's Character Analysis

Along with Bronfenbrenner, one of the other contributing theorist in Human Development is Piaget. Throughout much of the story, Dave was in the concrete operational period. This period “occurs between the ages of seven and twelve, which is characterized by the active, and appropriate use of logic” (Feldman, 2015, Chapter 5). An example of this from the book is the fact that Dave used logic to figure out when was going got be a good day or a bad day for him depending on the way his mother dressed and if his father was home. Sometimes he would find his mother on the couch, still hung over from the previous night or dressed only in her bathrobe, watching television. “She got up only to go to the bathroom, get another drink, or heat leftover food” (Pelzer, 1995, p 30). This would end up being a …show more content…
“I’ve got to finish the dishes on time, otherwise no breakfast; and since I didn’t have dinner last night, I have to make sure I get something to eat tonight” (Pelzer, 1995, p 3). The reward for doing the dishes is being fed, but any little thing that wasn’t done right, Dave was punished for. One time his mother came in and his hands were out of the water. Before he could do anything she hit him and he was on the floor. Dave couldn’t just stand there, as his mother saw it as an act of defiance, which would result in being beaten more, and it meant an even longer period of time without food (Pelzer, 1995). Instead, Dave acted timid because all he wanted to do was eat. Shortly after his mother was done beating him, he waited for her footsteps to disappear. Dave finished the dishes and was given the reward of his brothers left over cereal (Pelzer, 1995). This instance is an example of the preconventional morality because Dave was trying to do the dishes the way his mother wanted in order avoid punishment and be given the reward of a very small