Human Development

Human Development

Definition of development
Development is the pattern of
progressive, orderly, and predictable
changes that begin at conception and
continue throughout life,
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Development is influence by an interplay of
biological, cognitive and socio-emotional processes.
Development due to genes inherited from parents,
such as in height and weight, brain, heart and
lungs development, etc. are biological processes.
The processes of knowing and experiencing, such
as thought, perception, attention, problem solving,
etc. are associated with cognitive processes. Socio-
emotional processes that influence behaviour are
based on people’s interaction with each other, which
results in change in emotions and personality.
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Life-Span Perspective on Development

This study is based on seven assumptions.
i. Development is lifelong.
ii. The biological, cognitive and socio-emotional processes of development are interwoven.
iii. Development is multidirectional.
iv. Development is highly plastic
v. Development is influenced by historical conditions.
vi. Development is the concern of a number of disciplines.
vii. Development of every individual is different as different individuals responds differently to their
experiences.
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Development is lifelong, i.e. it take place
across all age groups starting from
conception to old age. It includes both gains
and losses, which interact in dynamic(change
in one aspect goes with changes in others)
ways throughout the life-span.
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.
• The various processes of human development,.
i.e. biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional are
interwoven in the development of a person
throughout the lifespan.
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.
• Development is multi-directional. Some
dimensions or components of a given
dimensions of development may increase, while
others show decrement. For example, the
experiences of adults may take them wiser and
guide their decisions. However, with an increase
in age, one’s performance is likely to decrease on
tasks requiring speed, such as running.
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• Development is highly plastic, i.e. within person,

modifiability is found in psychological
development, though plasticity varies among
individuals. This means skills and abilities can be
improved or developed throughout the life-span.
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• Development is influenced by historical
conditions. For example, the expression of
20-year olds who lived through the freedom
struggle in India would be very different
from the experiences of 20-year olds of
today. The career orientation of school
students today is very different from those
students who were in school 50 years ago.
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• Development is the concern of a number of
disciplines. Different disciplines like
psychology, anthropology, sociology, and
neuro-sciences study human development,
each trying to provide answers to
development throughout the lifespan.
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• An individual responds and acts on contexts,

which include what was inherited, the physical
environment, social, historical, and cultural
contexts. For example, the life events in
everyone’s life are not the same, such as, death
of a parent, accident, earthquake, etc., affect the
course of one’s life as also the positive
influences such as winning an award or getting
a good job. People keep on changing with
changing contexts.
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Growth, Development, Maturation and Evolution
Growth: Growth refers to an increase in the size of a body part or an organism as a whole which can be measured or quantified,
for example, growth in height, weight etc.
Development: A process that takes place throughout our life. It applies to the changes that have a direction and hold definite
relationship with what will come after. These changes does not include temporary changes.
Maturation: The changes that follow an orderly sequence and are largely dictated by the genetic blueprint which produces the
commonalities in growth and development.
Evolution: Refers to a species-specific change changes. Natural selection is an evolutionary process that favours individuals or a
species that are best adapted to survive and reproduce. The evolutionary changes are passed from one generation to the next within
a species. Evolution proceeds at a very slow pace. Emergence of human beings from great apes took about 14 million years. It has
been estimated the ‘Homo sapiens’ came into existence only after 50,000 years ago. Natural selection is an evolutionary process that
favours individuals or a species that are best adapted to survive and reproduce.
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Factors Influencing development Sandra Scarr

These factors include the genotypes and phenotypes, which we saw in the previous slide. The observable
characteristics of an individual are the result of the interaction between the person’s inherited traits and the
environment.
Parents provide the genes for the child’s development and influence the type of environment their children will
encounter. Sandra Scarr (1992)believes that the environment parents provide for their children depends to some
extent on their own genetic predisposition. For example, if parents are intelligent and are good readers they
would provide their children with books to read, with the likely outcome that their children would become good
readers who enjoy reading. Besides these, children themselves choose certain environments based on their
genotype. Environmental influences are as complex as the genes we inherit.
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Context of Development
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s contextual view of development emphasises the role of environmental factors in the development of
an individual.
Microsystem: Immediate environment/setting in which the individual lives. Includes the family, peers, teachers and
neighbourhood.
Mesosystem: Consists of relations between these contexts, for example, how your parents feel about your friends etc.
Exosystem: Includes events in social settings where the child does not participate directly, but they influence the child’s
experiences in the immediate context. For example, the transfer of a parent which may cause the family to move and the child
to shift to a new school.
Macrosystem: Includes the culture in which the individual lives.
Chronosystem: Involves events in the individual’s life course, and socio-historical circumstances of the time such as parents’
economic setback or divorce of parents.
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Overview of Developmental Stages

Durganand Sinha (1977) has presented an ecological model for understanding the development of children in Indian
context. Ecology of the child could be viewed in terms of two concentric layers. The “upper and the more visible layers”
consist of home, school, peer groups, and so on. The most important ecological factors influencing development of child in
the visible upper layer constitute the: (i) home, Its conditions in terms of overcrowding, space available to each member, toys,
technological devices used, etc., (ii) (ii) nature and quality of schooling, facilities to which the child is exposed, and (iii)
nature of interactions and activities undertaken with peer groups from childhood onwards. These factors do not operate
independently but constantly interact with one another. Since these are also embedded
in a larger and a more pervasive setting, the “surrounding layers” of the child’s ecology constantly influence the “upper
layer” factors. However, their influences are not always clearly visible. The elements of the
surrounding layer of ecology constitute the: (i) general geographical environment. It includes space and facilities for play
and other activities available outside the home including general congestion of the locality and density of population, (ii)
(ii) institutional setting provided by caste, class, and other factors, and (iii) general amenities available to the
child like drinking water, electricity, means of entertainment and so on.
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Overview of Developmental Stages

Development is commonly described in terms of periods or stages. Human life

proceeds through different stages. For example, you are at present in the stage
of adolescence and after a few years you will enter the stage of adulthood.
Developmental stages are assumed to be temporary and are often characterized
by a dominant feature or a leading characteristic, which gives each period its
uniqueness. During a particular stage, individual progresses towards an
assumed goal - a state or ability that s/he must achieve in the same order as
other persons before progressing to the next stage in the sequence. Of course,
individuals do vary with respect to the time or rate of development from one
stage to another. It may be noted that certain patterns of behaviour and certain
skills are learned more easily and successfully during certain stages. These
accomplishments of a person become the social expectations of that stage of
development. They are known as developmental tasks.
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Prenatal Stage
The period from conception to birth is known as the prenatal period. Typically, it lasts for about 40 weeks. You
know by now that the genetic blueprint guides our development during the prenatal period and after birth.
Both genetic and environmental factors affect our development during different periods of prenatal stage.
Prenatal development is also affected by maternal characteristics, which include mother’s age, nutrition, and
emotional state. Disease or infection carried by the mother can adversely affect prenatal development. For
example, rubella (German measles), genital herpes, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are believed to
cause genetic problems in the newborn. Another source of threat to prenatal development is teratogens -
environmental agents that cause deviations in normal development that can lead to serious abnormalities or
death. Common teratogens include drugs, infections, radiations, and pollution. Intake of drugs (marijuana,
heroin, cocaine, etc.), alcohol, tobacco, etc. by women during pregnancy may have harmful effects on the foetus
and increase the frequency of congenital abnormalities. Radiations (such as X-rays), and certain chemicals
near industrial areas can cause permanent change in the genes. Environmental pollutants and toxic wastes like
carbon monoxide, mercury and lead are also sources of danger to the unborn child.
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Infancy
The brain develops at a higher pace before and after birth. Just before birth
the newborns have most but not all brain cells. The neural connections among
these cells develop at a rapid rate. The newborn is not as helpless as you might
think. The activities needed to sustain life functions are present in the newborn
— it breathes, sucks, swallows, and discharges the bodily wastes. The
newborns in their first week of life are able to indicate what direction a sound
is coming from, can distinguish their mother’s voice from the voices of other
women, and can imitate simple gestures like tongue protrusion and mouth
opening.
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Motor Development : The newborn’s movements are governed by reflexes —

which are automatic, built-in responses to stimuli. They are genetically-
carried survival mechanisms, and are the building blocks for subsequent
motor development. Before the newborns have had the opportunity to learn,
reflexes act as adaptive mechanisms. Some reflexes present in the newborn
— coughing, blinking, and yawning persist throughout their lives. Others
disappear as the brain functions mature and voluntary control over
behaviour starts developing. As the brain is developing, physical
development also progresses. As the infant grows, the muscles and nervous
system mature which lead to the development of finer skills. Basic physical
(motor) skills include grasping and reaching for objects, sitting, crawling,
walking and running. The sequence of physical (motor) development is
universal, with minor exceptions.
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Sensory Abilities
You know by now that newborns are not as incompetent as they look. They can
recognize their mother’s voice just a few hours after birth and have other sensory
capabilities. How well can infants see? Newborns prefer to look at some stimuli
rather than others such as faces, although these preferences change over the first few
months of life. The newborn’s vision is estimated to be lower than the adult vision.
By 6 months it improves and by about the first year, vision is almost the same as that
of an adult (20/20). Can a newborn see colour? The current consensus is that they
might be able to distinguish between red and white colours but in general they are
colour deficient and full colour vision develops by 3 months of age.
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Socio-emotional Development :
Babies from birth are social creatures. An infant starts preferring familiar faces and responds to parent’s presence by cooing
and gurgling. They become more mobile by 6 to 8 months of age and start showing a preference for their
mother’s company. When frightened by a new face or when separated from their mother, they cry or show distress. On being
reunited with the parent or caregiver they reciprocate with smiles or hugs. The close emotional bond of affection that
develop between infants and their parents (caregivers) is called attachment. In a classic study by Harlow and Harlow
(1962), baby monkeys were separated from their mothers approximately 8 hours after birth. The baby monkeys were placed
in experimental chambers and reared for 6 months by surrogate (substitute) “mothers”, one made of wire and the other of
cloth. Half the baby monkeys were fed by the wire mother, half by the cloth mother. Regardless of whether they were fed by
the wire or the cloth mother the baby monkeys showed a preference for the cloth mother and spent a lot more time with her.
This study clearly demonstrates that providing nourishment or feeding was not crucial for attachment and contact-comfort
is important. Human babies also form an attachment with their parents or caregivers who consistently and appropriately
reciprocate their signals of love and affection. According to Eric Erikson, the first year of life is the key time for the
development of attachment; it represents the stage of developing trust and mistrust. An infant’s sense of trust is developed
by responsive and sensitive parenting. If the parents are sensitive, affectionate, and accepting, it provides the infant a strong
base to explore the environment. Such infants are likely to develop a secure attachment. On the other hand, if parents are
insensitive and show dissatisfaction and find fault with the child, it can lead to creating feelings of self-doubt in the child.
Securely attached infants respond positively when picked up, move freely, and play whereas insecurely attached infants feel
anxious when separated and cry due to fear and get upset. A close interactive relationship with warm and affectionate
adults is a child’s first step towards healthy development.
Human Development

Childhood
The child’s growth slows down during early childhood as compared to infancy. The child
develops physically, gains height and weight, learns to walk, runs, jumps, and plays with a
ball. Socially, the child’s world expands from the parents to the family and adults near
home and at school. The child also begins to acquire the concepts of good and bad, i.e.
develops a sense of morality. During childhood, children have increased physical capacities,
can perform tasks independently, can set goals, and meet adult expectations. The increasing
maturation of the brain along with opportunities to experience the world, contribute to
development of children’s cognitive abilities. Physical Development : Early development
follows two principles : (i) development proceeds cephalocaudally, i.e. from the cephalic or
head region to the caudal or tail region. Children gain control over the upper part of the
body before the lower part. This is why you would notice that the infant’s head is
proportionately larger than her/his body during early infancy or if you see an infant
crawling, s/he will use the arms first and then shift to using the legs, (ii) growth proceeds
from the centre of body and moves towards the extremities or more distal regions — the
proximodistal trend, i.e. children gain control over their torso before their extremities.
Initially infants reach for objects by turning their entire body, gradually they extend their
arms to reach for things. These changes are the result of a maturing nervous system and
not because of any limitation since even visually impaired children show the same sequence.
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As children grow older, they look slimmer as the trunk part of their
bodies lengthens and body fat decreases. The brain and the head grow
more rapidly than any other part of the body. The growth and
development of the brain are important as they help in the maturation
of children’s abilities, such as eye hand coordination, holding a pencil,
and attempts made at writing During middle and late childhood
years, children increase significantly in size and strength; increase in
weight is mainly due to increase in the size of the skeletal and
muscular systems, as well as
size of some body organs.
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Motor development:
Gross motor skills during the early childhood years involve the use of arms and legs, and
moving around with confidence and more purposefully in the environment. Fine motor
skills — finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination — improve substantially during early
childhood. During these years the child’s preference for left or right hand also develops. The
major accomplishments in gross and fine motor skills during early childhood years are:
Age in years Gross Motor Skills Fine Motor Skills
3 years Hopping, jumping, running Build blocks, pick objects with forefinger
and thumb
4 years Climb up and downstairs with Fit jigsaw puzzle precisely
one foot on each step
5 years Run hard, enjoy races Hand, arm, and body all coordinate
with eye movement
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Cognitive development:
Cognitive development in early childhood focuses on Piaget’s stage of preoperational thought. The child gains the ability
to mentally represent an object that is not physically present. You may have observed children draw designs/ figures to
represent people, trees, dog, house, etc. This ability of the child to engage in symbolic thought helps to expand her/his
mental world. The progress in symbolic thought continues. A salient feature of preoperational thought is egocentrism (self
focus), i.e. children see the world only in terms of their own selves and are not able to appreciate others’ point of view.
Children because of egocentrism, engage in animism - thinking that all things are living, like oneself. They attribute life-
like qualities to inanimate objects. As children grow and are approximately between 4 and 7 years of age they want
answers to all their questions like: Why is the sky blue? How do trees grow? and so on. Such questions help the child to
know why things are as they are. Piaget called this the stage of intuitive thought. Another feature of thought during
preoperational stage is characterised by children having a tendency for centration, i.e. focusing on a single
characteristic or feature for understanding an
event.
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As the child grows and is approximately between 7 and 11 years of age (the
period of middle and late childhood) intuitive thought is replaced by logical
thought. This is the stage of concrete operational thought, which is made up
of operations — mental actions that allow the child to do mentally what was
done physically before. Concrete operations are also mental actions that are
reversible. In a well known test, the child is presented with two identical balls
of clay. One ball is rolled by the experimenter into a long thin strip and the
other ball remains in its original shape. On being asked which has more clay,
the child of 7 or 8 years, would answer that, both have the same amount of
clay. This is because the child imagines the ball rolled into thin strip and then
into a ball, that means s/he is able to imagine reversible mental action on
concrete/real objects.
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Socio-emotional Development
The important dimensions of children’s socio-emotional development are the self, gender and moral development. During the
early years of childhood, some important developments in the self take place. The child due to socialisation has developed a
sense of who s/he is and whom s/he wants to be identified with. The developing sense of independence makes children do
things in their own way. According to Erikson, the way parents respond to their self-initiated activities leads to developing a
sense of initiative or sense of guilt. Self-understanding in early childhood is limited to defining oneself through physical
characteristics: I am tall, she has black hair, I am a girl, etc. During middle and late childhood, the child is likely to define
oneself through internal characteristics such as, “I am smart and I am popular” or “I feel proud when teachers assign me
responsibility in school”. In addition to defining oneself through psychological characteristics, children’s self-descriptions also
include social aspects of self, such as references to social groups like being
a member of school’s music club, environment club, or any religious group. Children’s self-understanding also includes social
comparison. Children are likely to think about what they can do or cannot do in comparison with others. This developmental
shift leads to establishing one’s differences from others as an individual. Once the children enter school their social world
expands beyond their families. They also spend greater amount of time with their age mates or peers. Thus the increased time
that children spend with their peers shapes their development.
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Gender and Sex Roles

Psychologists have meticulously researched on whether sex differences exist. Research shows that males have
been consistently found to be more aggressive than females. Men perform better than women on tests of sit-ups,
short-run
speeds and long jumps. Women show better, fine eye-hand coordination than men do, and their joints and limbs
are more flexible than men’s.
The most powerful roles into which people are socialised are gender roles. They specify the range of behaviours
which are considered appropriate for males or females. While sex refers to the biological dimension of being
male or female, gender refers to the social dimension of being male or female. There are several aspects of
gender. Among these, important ones are gender identity of male or female, which most children begin to
acquire by the time they are about 3 years old and can accurately label themselves as boys and girls. As they
grow, preferences can be evidenced in their toys and play.
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A gender role is a set of expectations that prescribes how females and males should think, act and feel. Parents are important
influences on gender socialisation especially in the early years of development. Through rewards and punishments, they
induce in children gender appropriate and inappropriate behaviours. Parents often use rewards and punishments to teach
their daughters to be feminine and boys to be masculine. Peer influence is also considered to be a major contributor to gender
socialisation. Parents restrict school-aged girls more than they restrict school-aged boys, and assign boys and girls different
types of chores. In everyday interactions, parents give their daughters a kind of ‘dependence training’, and their sons a kind
of ‘independence training’. Media, including cartoons and commercials are known to perpetuate gender stereotypes.
Research on gender stereotypes in commercials shows that across cultures authority figures in commercials were males, and
women were more likely to be shown in dependent and domestic roles, or women were more likely to sell body products, and
men more likely to sell sports products. Once children learn the role of male or female, they organise their world on the basis
of gender also. Children’s attention and behaviour are guided by an internal motivation to conform to gender based socio-
cultural standards and stereotypes.
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Moral Development
Another important aspect of the child’s development is learning to differentiate between the rightness or wrongness of
human acts. The way children come to distinguish right from wrong, to feel guilty, to put themselves in other people’s
position, and to help others when they are introuble, are all components of moral development. Just as children pass through
the various stages of cognitive development, according to Lawrence Kohlberg, they pass through the various stages of moral
development, which are age related. Kohlberg interviewed children in which they were presented with stories in which the
characters face moral dilemmas. Children were asked what the characters in the dilemma should do, and why. According to
him, children approach thinking about right and wrong differently at different ages. The young child, i.e. before 9 years of
age, thinks in terms of external authority. According to her/him, As the child grows, i.e. by early adolescence, s/he develops
moral reasoning through set of rules of others, such as parents or laws of the society. These rules are accepted by the
children as their own. These are “internalised” in order to be virtuous and to win approval from others (not to avoid
punishment). Children view rules as absolute guidelines, which should be followed. Moral thinking at this stage is relatively
inflexible. As they grow, they gradually develop a personal moral code.
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Challenges of Adolescence
Adolescence is commonly defined as the stage of life that begins at the
onset of puberty, when sexual maturity, or the ability to reproduce is
attained. It has been regarded as a period of rapid change, both
biologically and psychologically. Though the physical changes that take
place during this stage are universal, the social and psychological
dimensions of the adolescent’s experiences depend on the cultural context.
Although most societies have at least a brief period of adolescence, it is
not universal across cultures.
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Physical Development : Puberty or sexual maturity marks the end of childhood and signifies the beginning of
adolescence, which is characterised by dramatic physical changes in both, growth rate, and sexual characteristics. However,
puberty is not a sudden event, but is part of a gradual process. The hormones released during puberty result in the
development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics. The primary sex characteristics include those directly related
to reproduction and the secondary sex characteristics include features or signs of achieving sexual maturity. Pubertal
changes in boys are marked by acceleration in growth, facial hair, and changes in voice. In girls, rapid growth in height
usually begins about two years before menarche, the onset of menstruation. The growth spurt generally begins at the age of
12 or 13 for boys and at the age of 10 or 11 for girls. It is normal to have variations in the pubertal sequence. For example,
among two boys (or two girls) of same chronological age, one may complete pubertal sequence before the other has begun it.
Both genetics and environment play a part in this. For example, identical twins reach menarche closer in time than do
fraternal twins; on an average, girls from affluent families go through menarche earlier than girls from poor families; and
historical trends show that the age of menarche is declining in industrialised nations reflecting better nutrition and
advances in medical care.
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Physical development during adolescence is also accompanied by a number of psychological changes. Around
puberty adolescents show an increase in interest in members of the opposite sex and in sexual matters and a
new awareness of sexual feelings develops. This increased attention to sexuality is caused by factors such as
individual’s awareness of the biological changes taking place and the emphasis placed on sexuality by peers,
parents, and society. Even then, many adolescents lack adequate knowledge or have misconceptions about sex
and sexuality. Sex is a topic parents find difficult to discuss with children, some adolescents tend to become
secretive about sexual concerns which make exchange of information and communication difficult. The
concern over adolescent sexuality has become intense in recent times because of the risk of AIDS, and other
sexually transmitted diseases. The development of a sexual identity defines the sexual orientation and guides
sexual behaviour. As such it becomes an important developmental task for adolescents. Adolescents are
preoccupied with what they are like and develop individual images of what they look like. Another important
developmental task during adolescence is accepting one’s physical self/ maturity. Adolescents need to develop a
realistic image of their physical appearance, which is acceptable to them. It is important to keep in mind that
puberty also involves cognitive and social changes along with physical changes.
Human Development

Cognitive Developmental Changes

Adolescents’ thought becomes more abstract, logical, and idealistic; they become more capable of examining
their own thoughts, others’ thoughts, and what others are thinking about them. Adolescents’ developing
ability to reason gives them a new level of cognitive and social awareness. Piaget believed that formal
operational thought appears between the age of 11 and 15. During this stage adolescent thinking expands
beyond actual concrete experiences and they begin to think more in abstract terms and reason about them. In
addition to being abstract, adolescent thought is also idealistic. Adolescents begin to think about ideal
characteristics for themselves and others and compare themselves and others with these ideal standards.
compare their parents with these ideal standards. This may at times make adolescents wonder which of the
new-found ideal standards they should adopt. In contrast to trial and error approach used by children in
earlier stages of development, adolescent thinking becomes more systematic in solving problems — they
think of possible courses of action, why something is happening the way it is, and systematically seek
solutions. Piaget called this type of logical thinking — hypothetical deductive reasoning. Logical thought
also influences the development of moral reasoning. Social rules are not considered as absolute standards
and moral thinking shows some flexibility. The adolescent recognises alternative moral courses, explores
options, and then decides on a personal moral code. For example, should I smoke as everyone I know does? Is
it ethical to copy answers in the examinations? This also lends the possibility of adolescents not following
society’s norms if they conflict with personal code of ethics. For example, individuals at this age might
participate in a protest march for a cause rather than adhere/ conform to college norm
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Adolescents also develop a special kind of egocentrism. According to David Elkind, imaginary
audience and personal fable are two components of adolescents’ egocentrism. Imaginary audience is
adolescent’s belief that others are as preoccupied with them as they are about themselves. They
imagine that people are always noticing them and are observing each and every behaviour of theirs.
It is this imaginary audience, which makes them extremely self-conscious. The personal fable is part
of the adolescents’ egocentrism that involves their sense of uniqueness. Adolescents’ sense of
uniqueness makes them think that no one understands them or their feelings. To retain their sense
of personal uniqueness they may weave stories filled with fantasy around them to create a world
that is away from reality. Personal fables are often part of adolescent diaries.
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Forming an Identity
You must have sought answers to questions such as : Who am I? Which subjects should I study? Do I believe in God? The answers to
all these questions involve the quest to define one’s sense of self or the search for identity. Identity is who you are and what your
values, commitments and beliefs are. The primary task of adolescence is to establish an identity separate from the parents. During
adolescence a detachment process enables the individual to develop a personalised set of beliefs that are uniquely her or his own. In
the process of achieving an identity the adolescent could experience conflict with parents and within herself or himself. Those
adolescents who can cope with the conflicting identities develop a new sense of self. Adolescents who are not able to cope with this
identity crisis are confused. This “identity confusion”, according to Erikson, can lead to individuals isolating themselves from peers
and family; or they may lose their identity in the crowd. Adolescents on one hand, may desire independence but may also be afraid of
it and show a great deal of dependence on their parents. Rapid fluctuations between self-confidence and insecurity are typical of this
stage. Adolescents may at one time complain of being “treated like a baby” whereas on other occasions they may seek comfort by
depending on their parents. Seeking an identity involves searching for continuity and sameness in oneself, greater responsibility and
trying to get a clear sense of who one is, i.e. an identity. The formation of identity during adolescence is influenced by several
factors. The cultural background, family and societal values, ethnic background, and socio-economic status all prevail upon the
adolescents’ search for a place in society.
Human Development

Family relationships become less important as the adolescent spends more time outside the home and develops a strong need
for peer support and acceptance. Increased interactions with peers provide them with opportunities for refining their social
skills and trying out different social behaviours. Peers
and parents are dual forces having major influences on adolescents. At times conflicting situations with parents lead to
increased identification with peers. But generally parents and peers serve complementary functions and fulfil different needs
of the adolescents. Vocational commitment is another factor influencing adolescent identity formation. The question “What
are you going to be when you grow up?”, requires the ability to think about the future and to be able to set realistic and
achievable goals. In some cultures freedom is given to the young people to choose an occupation, whereas in certain other
cultures the option of making this choice is not given to the children. Here parents’ decision is likely to be accepted by the
children. What has been your experience while making a choice in the selection of subjects? Career counselling in schools
offers information regarding appraisal of the students for various courses and jobs and provides guidance in making a
decision about career choices
Some Concerns of Adolescence
During adolescence peer influence, new gained freedom, unresolved problems may create
difficulties for many of you. Conforming to peer pressure can be both positive and negative. Adolescents are often
confronted with decisions regarding smoking, drugs, alcohol, and breaking parental rules, etc. These decisions are taken
without much regard to the effect they can have. Adolescents may face periods of uncertainty, loneliness, self-doubt,
anxiety, and concern about themselves and their future, they are also likely to experience excitement, joy, and feelings of
competence as they overcome the developmental challenges. We will discuss about some of the major challenges faced by
adolescents like delinquency, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
Delinquency : Delinquency refers to a variety of behaviours, ranging from socially unacceptable
behaviour, legal offences, to criminal acts. Examples include truancy, running away from home,
stealing or burglary or acts of vandalism. Adolescents with delinquency and behavioural problems
tend to have a negative self-identity, decreased trust, and low level of achievement. Delinquency is
often associated with low parental support, inappropriate discipline, and family discord. Often
adolescents from communities characterised by poverty, unemployment, and having feelings of
alienation from the middle class perform antisocial acts to gain attention and to be popular with
their peers. However, most delinquent children do not remain delinquent forever. Change in their
peer group, becoming more aware of their social responsibilities and developing feelings of self-
worth, imitating positive behaviour of the role models, breaking negative attitudes, and
overcoming poor self-concept help in reduction of delinquent behaviour.
Human Development

Substance abuse:
Adolescent years are especially vulnerable to smoking, alcohol and drug abuse. Some adolescents take recourse to smoking and drugs
as a way of coping with stress. This can interfere with the development of coping skills and responsible decision-making. The
reasons for smoking and drug use could be peer pressure and the adolescents’ need to be accepted by the group, or desire to act more
like adults, or feel a need to escape the pressure of school work or social activities. The addictive powers of nicotine make it
difficult to stop smoking. It has been found that adolescents who are more vulnerable to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine use, are
impulsive, aggressive, anxious, depressive, and unpredictable, have low self-esteem, and low expectation for achievement. Peer
pressure and the need to be with their peer group make the adolescent either go along with their demands to experiment with
drugs, alcohol, and smoking or be ridiculed. Drug use if continued long enough can lead to physiological dependency, i.e.
addiction to drugs, alcohol or nicotine may seriously jeopardise the rest of the adolescents’ lives. Positive relationships with
parents, peers, siblings, and adults play an important role in preventing drug abuse. In India, a successful anti-drug programme is
the Society for Theatre in Education Programme in New Delhi. It uses street performances to entertain people between 13 to 25
years of age while teaching them how to say no to drugs. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme
(UNDCP) has chosen the programme as an example to be adopted by other non-governmental organizations in the region.
Human Development
Human Development

Adulthood and Old Age

Adulthood
An adult is generally defined as someone who is responsible, mature, self-supporting, and well integrated into society. There
is a variation in developing these attributes, which suggests that there is a shift in timing when an individual becomes an
adult or assumes adult roles. Some people take up jobs along with their college studies or may get married and not pursue
their studies. Others may continue to live with their parents even after getting married and being financially independent.
The assumption of adult roles is directed by an individual’s social context. The best time for some of the most important life
events (i.e. marriage, job, having children) might be quite different in different cultures but within a culture there is
similarity in the course of adult development. In early adulthood, two major tasks are, exploring the possibilities for adult
living and developing a stable life structure. The twenties represent the novice phase of adult development. Gradually, a
transition from dependence to independence should occur. This could be marked by an image of the kind of life the young
person wants, especially in terms of marriage and a career.
Human Development

Career and Work : Earning a living, choosing an occupation, and developing a

career are important themes for people in their twenties and thirties. Entering
work life is a challenging event in anyone’s life. There are apprehensions
regarding different adjustments, proving one’s competence, performance, dealing
with competition, and coping with expectations both of the employers and oneself.
It is also the beginning of new roles and responsibilities. Developing and
evaluating a career becomes an important task of adulthood.
Human Development

Marriage, Parenthood, and Family : The adjustments that young adults have to make when entering a marriage relate to
knowing the other person if not known earlier, coping with each other’s likes, dislikes, tastes, and choices. If both the
partners are working, adjustments are required regarding sharing and performing roles and responsibilities at home. In
addition to getting married, becoming a parent can be a difficult and stressful transition in young adults, even though it is
usually accompanied by the feeling of love for the baby. How adults experience parenting is affected by different situations
such as the number of children in the family, the availability of social support, and the happiness or unhappiness of the
married couple. Death of a spouse or divorce creates a family structure in which a single parent either the mother or the
father has to take up the responsibility of the children. In recent times, women are increasingly seeking employment outside
the home thus creating another type of family in which both parents work. The stressors when both parents are working are
quite the same as of a single working parent, namely, taking care of children, their school-work, illness, and coping with
workload at home and in the office, etc. Despite the stresses associated with parenting, it provides a unique opportunity for
growth and satisfaction and is perceived as a way of establishing concern and guiding the next generation
Human Development

Physical changes during middle ages are caused by maturational changes in the body. Though individuals may vary in
the rate at which these changes occur, almost all middle-aged people notice gradual deterioration in some aspects of their
physical functioning such as decline in vision, sensitivity to glare, hearing loss and changes in physical appearance (e.g.,
wrinkles, grey hair or thinning of hair, weight gain). It is believed that some cognitive abilities decline with age while
others do not. Decline in memory is more in tasks involving long-term memory than short-term memory. Memory tends to
show greater decline, while wisdom may improve with age. Remember that individual differences exist in intelligence at
every age and as not all children are exceptional, neither do all adults show wisdom.
Human Development

Old Age
Just when “old age” begins, is not easy to determine. Traditionally, the age of retirement was linked to old age. Now that
people are living longer, age of retiring from work is changing, and the cut-off point for the definition of “old age” is
moving upward. Some of the challenges, which the aged have to cope with include retirement, widowhood, illness, or
death in the family. The image of old age is changing in certain ways. Now there are people who have crossed seventy
years of age or so and are quite active, energetic, and creative. They are competent and are therefore, valued by society in
many walks of life. In particular, we have aged people in politics, literature, business, art and science. The myth of old
age as an incapacitating and therefore, frightening phase of life is changing.
Human Development

Of course, the experience of old age also depends on the socio-economic conditions, availability of health care, attitude of
people, expectations of society and the available support system. Work is most important during early adult years, then
family becomes most important and beyond that health becomes the most important issue in the person’s life. Clearly,
successful ageing for much of our adult life focuses on how effective we are at work, how loving our relationships are in our
family, how good our friendships are, how healthy we are, and how cognitively fit we are. Retirement from active
vocational life is quite significant. Some people perceive retirement as a negative change. They consider it as a separation
from an important source of satisfaction and self-esteem. Others view it as a shift in life with more time to pursue their
own interests. It is seen that older adults who show openness to new experiences, more striving and achievement-oriented
behaviour prefer to keep busy and are better adjusted.
Human Development

Older adults also need to adjust to changes in the family structure and new roles (grand parenting) that have to be learnt.
Children usually are busy in their careers and families and may set up independent homes. Older adults may depend on
their children for financial support and to overcome their loneliness (after children have moved out). This might trigger-
off feelings of hopelessness and depression in some people. In old age feeling of loss of energy, and dwindling of health
and financial assets, lead to insecurity and dependency. The elderly tend to look towards others to lean on and to care for
them. Indian culture favours dependency of elderly on their children, for old age needs caring. In fact, parents in most
oriental cultures rear their children with the fond hope that they will care for them during old age. It is important to give
the elderly a sense of security and belonging, a feeling that people care for them (especially in the time of crisis), and to
remember that we all have to grow old one day.
Human Development

Although death is more likely to occur in late adulthood, death can come at any point in development. The deaths, especially
of children and younger adults, are often perceived to be more tragic than those of others. In children and younger adults,
death is more likely to occur because of accidents but in older adults it is more likely to occur because of chronic disease. The
death of a spouse is usually seen as the most difficult loss. Those left behind after the death of their partner suffer deep
grief, cope with loneliness, depression, financial loss and are also at risk of many health related problems. Widows by far
out number widowers, because studies show that women live longer than men and tend to marry men older than themselves.
During such times, support from children, grandchildren, and friends can help the individual cope with the loss of spouse.
People in different cultures view death differently. In the Gond culture in our country, it is believed that death is caused by
magic and demon. In the Tanala culture of Madagascar, natural forces are thought to cause death..
Thank You