CHAPTER 3

HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
 INTRODUCTION

• You will notice that from birth onwards changes of various kinds are taking
place in an individual’s life, which continue even during old age.

• This chapter will familiarize you with the changes observed in people
during the course of their life-span in different domains.

• You will learn about key developmental processes and changes taking
place in major periods during the life span .

• The study of human development would also help you to deal with others
better.
 MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT

• Development is the pattern of progressive, orderly and predictable

changes that begin at conception and continue throughout life.

• Development is influenced 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. all point towards the role of
biological processes.

• The role of Cognitive processes in development relate to mental activities

associated with the processes of knowing and experiencing, such as
thought, perception , attention, problem solving etc.
 LIFE-SPAN PERSPECTIVE
ON DEVELOPMENT
• The study of development according to the Life-span
Perspective (LSP) includes the following assumptions.
1. Development is lifelong ,i.e. it takes place across all age
groups
starting from conception to old age.
2. The various processes of human development i.e. biological ,cognitive
and socio-emotional are interwoven in the development of a person
throughout the life-span.
3. Development is multi-directional. Some dimensions or components of a
given dimension of development may increase while others show
decrement.
4. Development is highly plastic, i.e. within person , modifiability is found in
psychological development.
LIFE-SPAN PERSPECTIVE
ON DEVELOPMENT
5. Development is influenced by historical conditions.

6. Development is the concern of number of disciplines.

7. An individual responds and acts on contexts, which include what was

inherited, the physical environment ,social, historical and cultural
contexts
FACTORS INFLUENCING DEVELOPMENT

• Genetic transmission is very complex.

• Most characteristics that we observe in humans are

combinations of large number of genes.

• The actual genetic material or a person’s genetic heritage is known as

genotype.

• Not all of this genetic material is apparent or distinctly

identifiable in our observable characteristics.

• Phenotype is the way an individual’s genotype is

expressed in observable and measurable characteristics.
FACTORS INFLUENCING DEVELOPMENT

• Phenotype include physical traits, such as height ,weight ,eye, skin

colour and many psychological characteristics such as
intelligence, creativity and personality.

• Genes provide a distinct blue print and time table for the development
of an individual.

• Environment has its influence on development

• Genes set the limit and within that limit the

environment influences development.
 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

• Example : Imagine a child , with a

genotype that predisposes her/him
to be introverted , in an
environment that promotes social
interaction and extroversion.

• The influence of such an

environment may make the child a
little extroverted
 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

PARENTS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DETERMINING THE

TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT THEIR CHILDREN WILL
ENCOUNTER
 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

• Besides these children

themselves choose certain
environments based on their
genotypes.

• Example : Because of their

genotype , children may perform
well in music or sports and they
will seek and spend more time in
environments which will
enable them to perform their
musical skills; similarly an
athlete will would seek
sports-related environment.
CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT
CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT
 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s contextual view of development emphasis the

role of environmental factors in the development of an
individual
 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

• The microsystem is the immediate environment/setting in

which the individual lives.

• This includes family, teachers, peers and neighbourhood.

• It is in these settings where the child directly interacts with social agents.

• The mesosystem consists of relations between these contexts.

• Example : how a child’s parents relate to teachers

 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

• The exosystem includes events in social settings where the child does not
participate directly , but they influence the child’s experiences in the
immediate context.

• Macro system 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 , divorce of parents or
parent’s economic setback and their effect on the child.
• Durganand Sinha (1977) has presented an ecological model for
understanding the development of children in Indian context.
 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

•Ecology of the child could be viewed in terms of two concentric layers.

•The “upper and the more visible layers” and “surrounding layers”

•The “upper and the more visible layers consists of home ,school peer
groups and so on.

•Home : its conditions in terms of overcrowding, space available

to each member, technological devices used etc.

•School: Nature and quality of schooling, facilities to which the child is

exposed.

•Peer groups: Nature of interactions and activities undertaken

with peer groups from childhood onwards.
 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

• The elements of the surrounding layer of ecology constitutes of

1. 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 .

2. Institutional setting provided by caste, class and other factors

3. General amenities available to child like drinking water , electricity, means of

entertainment.
 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT
• The visible and surrounding layer factors interact with one another and
may have different consequences for development in different people.

• The ecological environment can change or alter during any time of

the individual’s life span.

• To understand differences in the functioning of an individual, it is

important to see the individual in the context of her/his experiences.
 OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTAL
STAGES
• Development is commonly described in terms of periods or
stages

• Variations are commonly because everyone is in different stages

of life

• Human life proceeds through different stages

• Certain patterns of behavior and certain skills are learned more

easily and successfully during certain stages.
 OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTAL

• These accomplishments of a person becomes the societal expectations of

that stage of development.

• They are known as developmental tasks.

• You will now read about the different stages of development and their main
features.

• Prenatal Stage : The period from conception to birth is known as the

prenatal period. Typically, it lasts for about 40 weeks.

• Prenatal development is also affected by maternal

characteristics, which include mother’s age, nutrition and emotional
state.
PRENATAL STAGE
PRENATAL STAGE
PRENATAL STAGE
PRENATAL STAGE
 OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTAL
STAGES
• Disease or infection carried by mother can adversely affect prenatal development.

• Another source of threat to prenatal development is teratogons-environmental

agents that cause deviations in normal development that cause deviations in normal
development that can lead to serious abnormalities or death.

• Common teratogons include drugs, infections, radiations and pollution.

• Intake of drugs, alcohol, tobacco etc. by women during pregnancy may have
harmful effects.

• Environmental pollutants, radiations and toxic wastes are also sources of danger to
the unborn child
INFANCY
 INFANCY
• 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 new born-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.

• They can imitate simple gestures.

 INFANCY
• MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
• The new born’s movements are governed by reflexes-which are
automatic, built-in responses to stimuli.

• Before thenewborns have had the opportunity to learn,

reflexes act as adaptive mechanisms.

• Some reflexes present in the newborn persists throughout their lives other
disappear as the brain functions mature and voluntary control over
behaviour starts developing.

• As 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.
 INFANCY
• SENSORY ABILITIES
• A newborn’s vision is estimated to be lower than the adult vision

• By six months it improves and by about the first year , vision is almost
the same as that of an adult.

• Can a newborn see colour ?

• The current consensus is that they might be able to between red

distinguish and white colours but in general they are colour
deficient.

• Full colour vision develops by 3 months of age.

 INFANCY
• SENSORY ABILITIES

• As infants develop , proficiency at localizing sound improves.

• Newborns respond to touch and they can even feel pain

• Both smell and taste capacities are also present in newborn

 INFANCY
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Piaget stressed that children actively construct their understanding of
the world

• Piaget believed that a child’s mind passes through a series of thought

from infancy to adolescence.

• Each stage is characterized by a distinct way of thinking and is age related.

• The child during infancy i.e. the first two years of life , experiences the
world through senses and interactions with objects –through looking
,hearing
,touching ,mouthing and grasping.
 INFANCY
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 INFANCY
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Gradually by 8 months of age the child starts pursuing the objects partially
covered in her/his presence.

• The basis of verbal communication seems to be present in infants.

Vocalization begins with the infant’s babbling, sometime between 3 to 6
months of age.
 INFANCY
• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Babies from birth are social creatures.

• An infant starts preferring familiar faces and responds to parent’s by cooing

and gurgling.

• They become more mobile 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.

• The close emotional bond of affection that develop between infants and
their parents is called Attachment
 INFANCY

Harlow’s Experiment
 INFANCY
• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• According to Erik Erikson , the first year of life is the key time for the
development of attachment.

• It represents the stage of trust and mistrust

• A sense of trust is built on a feeling of physical comfort which builds an

expectation of the world as a secure and good place.

• An infants sense of trust is developed by responsive and sensitive parenting.

• If parents are sensitive, affectionate and accepting ,it provides the infant
a strong base to explore the environment.
 INFANCY
• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• 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 responds positively when picked up, move freely
and plays.

• 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.
 CHILDHOOD
• The child’s slows down early childhood as
during compared
growth to infancy.

• 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.

• During childhood , children have increased physical capacities , can

perform tasks independently, can set goals and meet adult expectations.
 CHILDHOOD

• PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

• Early development follows two principles

1. Development proceeds cephalocaudally

2. Growth follows proximodistal trend

 CHILDHOOD

• Development proceeds cephalocaudally

• Development proceedsfrom cephalic

head region to 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
 CHILDHOOD

• Growth follows proximodistal trend

• Growth proceeds from the centre of

body and moves towards the
extremities .

• Initially infants reach for objects by

turning their entire body, gradually
they extend their arms to reach
for things.
 CHILDHOOD

• 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.

• 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.
 CHILDHOOD

• 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.

• Finer motor skills like eye –hand coordination and finger dexterity
improve substantially during early childhood.

• During these years the child’s preference for left or right hand also
develops.
 CHILDHOOD

• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• The child’s ability to acquire the concept of object permanence

enables her/him to use mental symbols to represent objects.

• 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,

tree dog house etc.
 CHILDHOOD
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 CHILDHOOD
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 CHILDHOOD

• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• The ability of child to engage in symbolic thought helps to expand

her/his mental world.

• A salient feature of preoperational thought is egocentrism.

• 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

 CHILDHOOD

• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Animism-Thinking that all things are

living ,like oneself.

• They attribute life-like qualities to

inanimate objects.

• Example: If a child while running slips

on the road, s/he might show animism
by saying “ road hurt me”.

• As child grows and are approximately 4

to 7 years of age they want answers to
all their questions.
 CHILDHOOD

• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Another feature of thought during

preoperational stage is
characterized by children having
a tendency for centration.

• Centration : Focusing on a single

characteristic or feature for
understanding an event.

• Example: A child may insist on

drinking a “big glass "of juice ,
preferring a tall narrow glass to a
short broad one, even though both
might be holding the same amount
of juice.
 CHILDHOOD

• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Approximately between 7 and 11 years of age intuitive thought is replaced
by logical thought.

• This is the stage of concrete operational thought

• Concrete operations are also mental actions that are reversible.

• Concrete operations allow the child to focus on different characteristics

and not focus on one aspect of the object.

• This helps the child to appreciate that there are different ways of looking
at things , which also results in decline of his/her egocentrism
 CHILDHOOD

• 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 socialization has developed a sense who s/he is and whom
s/he wants to be identified with.
• The developing sense of independence makes children to 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.
 CHILDHOOD
• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Self understanding in early childhood is limited to defining oneself through

physical characteristics

• Example : 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 group like being a member of school’s music club,
environment club etc.
 CHILDHOOD
• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Children’s self understanding also includes social comparison.

• Children are likely to think about what theycan do

or cannot do in comparison with others.

• 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.

• Increased timethat children spend withtheir their

peers shapes development.
 CHILDHOOD

MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 CHILDHOOD
• MORAL DEVELOPMENT
• Another important aspect of the child’s development is learning
differentiate betweenttohe rightness or wrongness of human
acts.

COMPONENTS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• The way children come to

1. Distinguish right from wrong

2. Feel guilty
3. Put themselves in others position
4. Help others when they are in trouble
 CHILDHOOD
• MORAL DEVELOPMENT
• Another important aspect of the child’s development is learning
differentiate betweenttohe rightness or wrongness of human
acts.

COMPONENTS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• The way children come to

1. Distinguish right from wrong

2. Feel guilty
3. Put themselves in others position
4. Help others when they are in trouble
• The Submarine Crew
• Mark is a crewperson on a marine-research submarine
traveling underneath a large iceberg. An onboard explosion
has damaged the ship, killed and injured several
crewmembers. Additionally, it has collapsed the only access
corridor between the upper and lower parts of the ship. The
upper section, where Mark and most of the others are
located, does not have enough oxygen remaining for all of
them to survive until Mark has reached the surface. Only
one remaining crewmember is located in the lower section,
where there is enough oxygen.
• There is an emergency access hatch between the upper and
lower sections of the ship. If released by an emergency
switch, it will fall to the deck and allow oxygen to reach the
area where Mark and the others are. However, the hatch will
crush the crewmember below, since he was knocked
unconscious and is lying beneath it. Mark and the rest of the
crew are almost out of air though, and they will all die if Mark
does not do this.
 CHILDHOOD
• MORAL 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.

• Before 9 years of age , children thinks in terms of external authority.

According to her/him actions are wrong because s/he is punished and right
because s/he is rewarded.
 CHILDHOOD
• MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• 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.

• As they grow they gradually develop a personal moral code.

• By the end of childhood a more gradual growth rate enables the child to
develop skills of coordination and balance.
 CHALLENGES OF ADOLESCENCE
• The term adolescence is derived from the Latin word adolescere
meaning “to grow into maturity”.

• It is the transitional period in a person’s life between

childhood and adulthood.

• 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.

• Physical changes are universal

• The social and psychological dimensions of the adolescent’s

experiences depend on the cultural context.
 ADOLESCENCE
• PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Pubertal changes in boys are marked by acceleration in growth , facial
hair and changes in voice.

• Ingirls 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.

 ADOLESCENCE
• PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• Puberty or sexual maturity marks the end of childhood and signifies the
beginning of adolescence.

• Puberty is a part of a gradual process.

• The hormones released during puberty result 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.
 ADOLESCENCE
• PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
• 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.

• Many adolescents lack adequate knowledge or have misconceptions about

sex and sexuality.

• Sex is a topic parents find difficult to discuss with children, so adolescent

tend to become secretive about sexual concerns which make exchange of
information and communication difficult.
 ADOLESCENCE
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Adolescents’ thought becomes more abstract, logical, and idealistic ; they

become more capable of examining their own thoughts, other 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 11
and 15.

• In addition to being abstract , adolescent thought is also idealistic.

 ADOLESCENCE
• COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Adolescent begin to think about ideal characteristics for themselves

and others and compare themselves and others with these ideal standards.

• Example :Adolescents may think what an ideal parent is like and

compare their parents with these ideal standards.

• 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.

• Piagetcalled this typeof logical thinking –

hypothetical deductive reasoning
According to David Elkind , imaginary audience and
personal fable are two components of adolescents’
egocentrism.

IMAGINARY AUDIENCE PERSONAL FABLE

 ADOLESCENCE
• 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.
 ADOLESCENCE
• FORMING AN IDENTITY

• 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 conflicting identities develop a

new sense of self.

• Others experience “identity confusion”

• According to Erikson , this “identity confusion” can lead to

individuals isolating themselves from peers and family.

• Rapid fluctuations between self-confidence and insecurity are typical

in this stage.
 ADOLESCENCE
• FORMING 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 adolescents’ search for a place
in society.
• 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 influence on adolescents
 ADOLESCENCE
• FORMING AN IDENTITY

• Vocational commitment is another factor influencing adolescent identity

formation.

• What are you going to be when you grow up ?

• This requires the ability to think about the future and to be able to set
realistic and achievable goals.

• In some culture 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.
 ADOLESCENCE
• SOME MAJOR CONCERNS
• Adolescent years is a vulnerable period.

• During adolescence peer influence, new gained freedom, unresolved problems

may create difficulties.

• 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.

• Adolescents may face periods of joy, feelings of competence ,

excitement, uncertainty , loneliness self doubt ,anxiety
 ADOLESCENCE
• SOME MAJOR CONCERNS

• DELINQUENCY- It refers to a variety of behaviours , ranging from

socially unacceptable behaviour, legal offences to criminal acts.

• Delinquency is often associated with low parental support, inappropriate

discipline and family discord.

• Often adolescents from communities characterized by poverty,

unemployment having feeling of alienation from middle class perform
antisocial acts to gain attention and to be popular.

• Change in their peer group , becoming more aware of their social

responsibilities and feelings of self worth , imitating positive behaviour of
role models , breaking negative attitudes and overcoming poor self
concept help in reduction of
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
 ADOLESCENCE
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE
• Adolescent years are especially vulnerable to smoking, alcohol and drug
abuse.

• Use of drugs can interfere with the development of coping skills and
responsible decision making.

• The reasons for smoking and drug use could be peer pressure and
adolescents’ need to be accepted by the group or desire to act more like
adults.

• The addictive powers of nicotine make it difficult to stop smoking.

 ADOLESCENCE
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE
• Positive relationship withparents , peers, siblings and adults
play an
important role in preventing drug abuse.

• In India , a successful anti-drug program is the Society for Theatre IN

Education Program 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 Program |( UNDCP) has chosen the program as
example to be adopted by other non –governmental organizations in the
region.
 ADOLESCENCE

• EATING DISORDERS
• Anorexia nervosa is an eating
disorder that involves relentless
pursuit of thinness through
starvation.

• The media also projects thinness.

• Bulimia is another form of eating

disorder

• These are primarily female

disorders more common in urban
families
ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• ADULTHOOD
• An adult is generally defined as someone who is responsible , mature,
self-supporting, and well integrated into society.

• There is variation in developing these attributes.

• 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.

 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• ADULTHOOD

• 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.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• ADULTHOOD

• 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.

• In addition to getting married, becoming a parent can be a difficult and

stressful transition in young adults.

• Parenting is also affected by different situations such as the number

children in the family, the availability of social support and the happiness
or unhappiness of the married couple.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• ADULTHOOD

• Marriage ,Parenthood and Family

• 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

• Parenting is also affected by the work of parents.

• Despite the stresses associated with parenting , it provides a unique

opportunity for growth and satisfaction.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• ADULTHOOD

• Physical changes during middle ages are caused by malnutritional

changes in body.

• Middle aged people shows gradual deterioration in some aspects of their

physical functioning.

• Memory tends to decline , while wisdom may improve with age.

• Individualdifferences exist in intelligence at every age and

as not all children are exceptional, neither do all adults show wisdom.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• OLD AGE
• Some challenges , which the aged have to cope with retirement,
include widowhood, illness or death in the family.

• The image of old age is changing in certain ways.

• The myth of old age as an incapacitating and therefore, frightening phase

of life is changing.

• 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.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• OLD AGE
• 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.

• Older adults also need to adjust to changes in the family structure and
new roles that have to be learnt.

• Older adults may depend on their children for financial support and to
overcome their loneliness.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• OLD AGE

• 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.

• It is important to give the elderly a sense of security and belonging , a

feeling that people care for them and to remember that we all have to grow
old one day.

• Although death is more likely to occur in late adulthood, death can come at
any point in development.
 ADULT HOOD AND OLD AGE
• OLD AGE

• 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 spouse is usually seen as the most difficult loss.

• People in different cultures view death differently.

• Human development as you have read in this chapter thus helps you to
understand the influence of various factors in an individual’s lifetime.
THANK YOU