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A heartwarming and magical coming-of-age film that follows the life of Abby Jensen (Debby Ryan), a teenager about to turn 16. On the eve of her birthday, she discovers a set of magical candles that can grant her 16 wishes, each corresponding to a candle she can light. Abby initially uses her wishes to change her high school life, making her popular and well-liked, but she soon realizes that her newfound popularity comes at a cost, and her life starts unraveling. With the help of her best friend Jay (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), Abby embarks on a journey of self-discovery and understanding the true meaning of her wishes.

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Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and the operational stage explains the character “Abby” in the movie “16 Wishes”. The movie was very effective in showing development of character. The film showed how she was a prime example of a teenager who was in an eager position to adolescence after turning 16 years old. In Piaget’s fourth stage of development, he analyzes that during this stage we begin to learn ourselves and can plan out how we want our lives and the decisions we make to get what we want. The movie showed how she was granted 16 wishes for her birthday, that were to be fulfilled. Some of the wishes granted caused her to act more as an adult. After all of that she developed growth of learning herself and understanding that she didn’t want to grow up as fast as she originally thought she did. The theory of Piaget connected with this character because during the age in which Piaget called the “Cognitive development” stage showed how Abby was able to learn from decisions she made and gained recognition of who she was from the things she wished for. The theory did capture the before and after experiences and effects of the main events of the character and her abstract concepts she learned from which related to friendships, hate and love. Yes, this theory can be a good fit for making a psycho-developmental assessment. The characters motivation, emotion and thinking could be considered to understand how her wishes had caused her to learn herself more after some of the wishes had completely altered her teenage life in ways, she wasn’t ready for which was a example of self-development. Given that she was a teenage female, the theories of development can be valid to test her emotions, decisions and actions taken during the film before and after to advocate for the development process she endured.

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In chapter 9 of “My psychology” there is a section dedicated to adolescent development. The age gap of 12-18 years of age is known as the identity vs. role confusion stage. This means that this is the timeframe when young adolescents are actively trying to find themselves. We see this happening in the movie 16 wishes, where she is continuously changing. The main character Abby who is 16 years old, starts off as not so popular, unathletic, and unfashionable highschooler. However, we see this huge shift in personality. She starts to dress more appealing, essentially making her the fashionista of the school, she is able to win a volleyball match against her arch nemesis, and she becomes one of the most popular girls. This all happens so suddenly and rapidly, but while this rapid shift is happening no one is judging her (except for her arch nemesis of course); everyone thinks that it is normal for such a shift to happen. This is the concept of “moratorium” which translates to the idea that people suspend their judgment of adolescents while they work their way through their identity transformations (Pomerantz, 2023). In other words, during such an age gap, adolescents are given the freedom and opportunity to truly find who they are, their interests, and what makes them happy. This is important because when people are not judged they feel less inclined to please others, this is vital in adolescent development.

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A. Throughought the movie, Abby Jensen undergoes many stages of personal growth and self discovery. Abby Jensen had experienced Identity formation, moral development, and emotional development. Abby was an ignorant greedy girl who wanted everything to go her way and stopped at nothing to get it. So, when her unlimited wishes came along, she seized the opportunity and changed hers and the people around hers for the betterment that turned into the worse. The most prominent character development I recognized Abby had went through was emotional development. As Abby gained experience from the outcome of her wishes, she became regretful and more self aware which is not the behavior she adapted in the beginning of the movie. For example, She had wished to be managed as an adult, which she deeply and instantly regretted because she realized that wish didnt leaf to the hapiness and fulfillment she had expected.

B. If we were to assess Abby Jensen's character development, we would use Erik Eriksons psychosocial development. With the example of wishing to be getting treated as an adult which had resulted in a new apartment and early graduation of highschool, tis relates to Erikson's stage of "Identity Vs. Role Confusion" as she is exploring her identity and the roles she is given challenges her happiness and expectation. Later in the movie when she is regretful and self aware can show progression in this identity crisis.

C. Abby jensons 16th birthday was a significant and prominent event in Abbys life. This event symbolizes her transition to young adulthood, popularity and overall happiness. this event impacts Eriksons theory of Intimacy Vs Isolation, and Generavity Vs Stagnation because of young adulthood and adulthood. Although Abby is still in her teenage years, her developing relationships including her friendships and development of her crush shows intimacy and the forming of connections with others. And there is isolation when her wishes came out perfect but was a bad addition to her life. For example, getting her wish as an adult isolated her from those intimate relations. As for adulthood, Abby still being in her teenage years she hasnt reached adulthood meaning she won't recognize actions and consequences. But near the ending of the movie, you can conclude the shift of generavity where she becomes responsible of her actions upon the wishlist, and becomes more considerate of others.

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The principal theory discussed in our project includes both Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Erikson's Eight stages of development. Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who focused on child development. On the other hand, Erik Erikson was a neo-Freudian psychologist who focused on the development of human psychology through the lens of epigenetics. In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, he outlines the four stages of cognitive development, which include the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. He theorized that as we move through each stage, from infancy to adulthood, we progress in. terms of our mental operations. Piaget built his theory on the idea that children are active learners from birth and continue to seek knowledge through adulthood. Piaget's theory can be critiqued because it focuses on the psychological aspect more instead of our social surroundings, which essentially have an impact on human development.On the contrary, Erikson's eight stages of cognitive development rely on his theory that humans have basic needs that we strive to meet. In his eight stages, he outlines the issues/questions that humans face at each stage in their lives. His stages range from infancy to the declining years of one's life. Psychologists criticized Erikson's theory because it is not synonymous with every culture, meaning that in some cultures, the same problems are not being faced.

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The setting of "16 Wishes" is a contemporary suburban town near Regina, Canada. The protagonist, Abby Jensen, attends Regina High School, where the most of the novel is set. The chronological structure of the movie revolves around Abby's 16th birthday, which signifies her entry into the early adult years. The film's main characters are Abby Jensen, a sixteen-year-old who grants sixteen wishes on her birthday; Jay Kepler, her devoted and eccentric best friend; Krista Cook, her shallow and popular classmate; and Abby's parents, younger brother Mike, and other members of her family. The story takes place in this realistic and up-to-date suburban milieu, highlighting Abby's journey and the effects of her hopes for a spectacular sixteenth birthday.

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Erikson's Stages of Cognitive Development Explanation

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Erikson's Stages of Cognitive Development Explanation

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In Erik Erikson's theory, he names eight stages of cognitive development. In each stage of one's development, there is a psychological conflict that one seeks to resolve. The first stage of his theory deals with the conflict of trust. vs. mistrust, which deals with the basic needs that infants need to establish trust with their caregivers. The second stage deals with autonomy vs. shame. During this time, children between ages one and three begin to develop a sense of independence. The third stage poses the conflict of initiative vs. guilt. This is when children take initiative in their lives in small ways. From ages seven to 11, children are in the industry vs. inferiority stage, in which either self-confidence or inferiority begins to develop. As children begin to move into their adolescence, they begin to have issues with identity and or confusion, which is Erikson's fourth stage. During this stage, one begins to become aware of and question their identity. However, in early adulthood, the. Center focus on one's development shifts towards love. Erikson poses that the conflict posed during this time is intimacy vs. isolation, which focuses on relationships with others. In our Middle Ages, one will have issues with generativity vs. stagnation, where one questions one's purpose and contributions. Finally, the last stage of Erikson's theory poses the conflict of Integrity vs. despair. This occurs in old age, as one questions the meaning and contributions of one's life.

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Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development Explanation

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Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development Explanation

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Psychologist Piaget theorized that there are four stages of cognitive development. The first is the sensorimotor stage, in which infants exercise innate abilities as they become aware of the world around them. The second stage is the Preoperational stage. During this stage, children from ages two to six begin to perform mental operations. The next stage occurs from ages seven to eleven. The Concrete operational stage is when children can use logic. Finally, Piaget's last stage is called the Formal operational stage, in which levels of logic and reasoning are heightened regarding abstract ideas and concepts.

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Both Erikson and Piaget's theory of development perfectly depicts the development of the character Abby in the movie 16 wishes. We see that Abby’s development over the course of the movie is easily shown, by showing that she gradually changes her personality and thought process over time. With that being said, Erikson and Piagets theory supported the validity and effectiveness of the development of the character.