CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
--- Development
Development is the pattern of progressive, orderly, and predictable changes that begin at conception and
continue throughout life. Development mostly involves changes — both growth and decline, as observed
during old age.
Development is influenced by the three processes
Biological Processes Cognitive Processes Socio- Emotional Processes
Development due to genes associated with the processes of It refer to changes in an
inherited from parents, such as in knowing, and experiencing, individual’s interactions with
height and weight, brain, heart, such as thought, perception, other people, changes in
and lungs development, etc. all attention, problem solving, etc. emotions, and in personality.
point towards the role of
biological processes.
--- Life Span Perspective on Development
1. Development is lifelong, i.e. it takes 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.
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. For example, the experiences of adults may make 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.
4. 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.
5. Development is influenced by historical conditions. For example, The career orientation of school students
today is very different from those students who were in schools 50 years ago.
6. 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 life-span.
7. An individual responds and acts on contexts, which include what was inherited, the physical environment,
social, historical, and cultural contexts
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
--- Growth, Development, Maturation, Evolution
Maturation:
It refers to the natural unfolding of the genetic potential at the appropriate time in the course of
development. It is specific to individual. Maturational events cannot be speeded up by special efforts as they
are not dependent on training/learning or other environmental factors.
--- Factors influencing Development
a. Genotype: It is the actual genetic material or a person’s genetic heritage. Not all of this genetic
material is apparent or distinctly identifiable in our observable characteristics.
b. Phenotype: It is the way an individual’s genotype is expressed in observable and measurable
characteristics. It includes physical traits such as height, weight, eye and skin colour and many
other psychological characteristics such as intelligence, creativity, and personality.
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
--- Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory of Development
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s contextual view of development emphasises the role of environmental factors in the
development of an individual.
- The microsystem is the immediate environment/setting in which the individual lives. It is in these
settings where the child directly interacts with social agents – the family, peers, teachers, and
neighbourhood.
- The mesosystem consists of relations between these contexts. For instance, how a child’s parents relate
to the teachers, or how the parents view the adolescent’s friends, are experiences likely to influence an
individual’s relationships with others.
- The exosystem includes events in social settings where the child does not participate directly, but they
influence the childs’ experiences in the immediate context.
- Macrosystem includes the culture in which the individual lives. The macrosystem differs from the
previous ecosystems as is does not refer to the specific environments of one developing child, but the
already established society and culture which the child is developing in. This can also include the
socioeconomic status, ethnicity, geographic location and ideologies of the culture.
- Chronosystem consists of all of the environmental changes that occur over the lifetime which
influence development, including major life transitions, and historical events.
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
--- Developmental Stages
1. PRE NATAL STAGE (Conception till Birth)
The period from conception to birth is known as the prenatal period. Typically, it lasts for about 40 weeks. Both genetic and environmental factors
affect our development during different periods of prenatal stage.
PRE NATAL DEVELOPMENT IS AFFECTED BY:
Maternal Characteristics Teratogens (Environmental Agents )
- Mother’s Age - Drugs/ Intake of drugs (marijuana,
- Nutrition heroin, cocaine etc.)
- Emotional Stage - Infection
- Disease or Infection (like rubella, HIV, - Radiations
Genital herpes) - Pollution/Environmental pollutants
(carbon monoxide, mercury, lead)
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Physical/Motor Sensory Cognitive Moral/ Socio Emotional
INFANCY New Born movements are Sensory Abilities: The child Cognitive Abilities: According Infants become more mobile by 6
governed by Reflexes which are during infancy, i.e. the first two to Jean Piaget, the children at to 8 months and start showing
(Birth to 2yrs) automatic, built-in responses to years of life, experiences the this stage do not go beyond their preference for their mother’s
stimulus. world through senses and immediate sensory experience, company. The close emotional
interactions with objects — i.e. lack object permanence — bond of affection that develop
Some reflexes are: through looking, hearing, the awareness that the objects between infants and their parents
touching, mouthing, and continue to exist when not (caregivers) is called attachment.
- Rooting
grasping. perceived. Gradually by 8
- Moro The children from birth to 2 years
months of age the child starts
- Grasp fall under Erik Erickson’s
pursuing the object partially
- Babinski Psycho Social Stages of
covered in her/his presence.
- Sucking Development called Trust vs.
- Yawning Mistrust. It is the First stage
where, A sense of trust is built on
Basic physical motor skills
a feeling of physical comfort
including grasping and reaching
which builds an expectation of the
for objects, sitting, crawling,
world as a secure and good place.
walking and running.
An infant’s sense of trust is
The sequence is universal with developed by responsive and
minor individual exceptions sensitive parenting.
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.
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Physical/Motor Cognitive Socio-Emotional Moral
CHILDHOOD Early development follows 2 According to Jean Piaget, the child According to Eric Erickson, in Another important aspect of the
principles, Development proceeds: is at pre operational thought the childhood period, the children child’s development is learning to
(2 to 11 years) stage (2 to 7 years) where the child go through major changes in terms differentiate between the rightness or
- Cephalocaudal (Head to Tail) gains the ability to mentally of socio emotional development wrongness of human acts. The way
where the child gain control over represent an object that is not these stages are: children come to distinguish right
the upper part of the body before physically present. from wrong, to feel guilty, to put
the lower part. - Initiative vs Guilt the way themselves in other people’s
- Proximodistal (centre to Salient features of Preoperational parents respond to their self- position, and to help others when
extremities of the body) where thought are: initiated activities leads to they are in trouble, are all
the child gain control over their developing a sense of initiative components of moral development.
- Egocentrism: Self Focus,
torso before their extremities. or sense of guilt.
children see the world only in
terms of their own selves and According to Lawrence Kohlberg,
In case of Motor Development: not able to appreciate other’s they pass through the various stages
point of view. During middle and late childhood, of moral development, which are age
- Gross Motor (involves use of - Animism: they think all things the child is likely to define oneself related. Children approach thinking
legs and arms and moving are living like oneself. through internal characteristics about right and wrong differently at
around with confidence and - Centration: Focusing on single such as, “I am smart and I am different ages. The young child, i.e.
more purposely in environment) characteristic or feature for popular” or “I feel proud when before 9 years of age, thinks in terms
understanding an event.
teachers assign me responsibility of external authority. According to
- Fine Motor (finger dexterity, in school”. her/him, actions are wrong because
eye hand coordination develops) As the child grows and is approx. s/he is punished and right because
between 7 and 11 years of age (the s/he is rewarded.
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.
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Fine And Gross Motor Development in Children
Jean Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Physical/Motor Cognitive Socio-Emotional Some Major Concerns
- Become more abstract logical - According to Eric Erickson
ADOLESCENCE - The hormones released during and idealistic. They become the adolescent try to define - Delinquency refers to a variety
your birthday result in the more capable of examining oneself or try to search for an of behaviours, ranging from
(12 to 19 years) development of primary and their own thoughts. Others socially unacceptable
identity.
secondary sexual characteristics thoughts and what others are behaviour, legal offences to
thinking about them. criminal acts
- In the process of achieving an
- In girls rapid growth in height identity, the adolescent could
usually begins about two years experience conflict with - Substance abuse adolescent
before menarche - According to Piaget, Formal parents and within himself or years are specially vulnerable
operational thought appears to smoking alcohol and drug
herself.
- Few bottle changes in boys are between the age of 11 and 15 abuse The reason for the same
marked by acceleration in during This state adolescent could be peer pressure and the
thinking expands beyond adolescent need to be accepted
growth of facial hair and
actual concrete experiences. by the group, or desire to act on
changes in voice And they began to think more - Those adolescents who can like adults, or feel a need to
in abstract terms and reason cope with the conflicting escape the pressure of
- The growth spur generally about them. identities develop a new sense schoolwork or social activities
pickets at the age of 12 or 13 for of self
boys at age of 10 or 11 for girls. - Adolescent thinking becomes
more systematic in solving
- Adolescence, who are not - Eating disorders like
- Both genetics and environment problems. They think of Anorexia Nervosa and
possible forces of action, why able to cope up with this
play a part in this. bulimia where anorexia
something is happening the identity crisis, are confused nervosa involves relentless
way it is, and systematically This confusion can lead to pursuit of thinness through
- Physical development during seeks solutions. This type of individuals isolating starvation and bulimia, an
adolescence is also logical thinking was known as eating disorder in which the
themselves from peers and
accompanied by a number of hypothetical, deductive individual follows a binge and
family, or they may lose their
psychological changes, like reasoning. purge eating pattern.
identity in the crowd.
Director to opposite sex
emphasise place of sexuality by - According to David Elkind
imaginary audience and person
peers, parents and society
fable are two components of a
Haven’t misconceptions about dollar since egocentrism.
sex and sexuality.
CHAPTER 3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Physical/Motor Cognitive Other Areas
- An adult is generally defined as someone who is responsible,
ADULTHOOD - Critical changes are caused by mature, self supporting and bad integrated into society.
maturational changes in the
(20 to 60 years) body. - Decline in memory is more in
task involving long term - In early adulthood, two major tasks are exploring the possibilities
memory than short term for adult living and developing a stabilised structure.
memory.
- Gradual deterioration in some
- Developing and evaluating a career becomes an important task of
aspects of physical functioning, adulthood.
such as declining vision, - Memory tends to show greater
sensitivity to glare hearing loss decline, while wisdom may - Adulthood comprise of marriage parenthood and family
and changes in physical improve with age. responsibilities Despite the stresses associated with parenting,
appearances. marriage a unique opportunity for growth and satisfaction is
perceived as a way of establishing concern in guiding the next
generation.
OLD AGE
- Age of retirement was linked to old age.
(60 Years & above)
- Some of the challenges which the aged have to cope with include, retirement, widowhood illness or death in the family.
- The experience of voltage also depends on the socio economic conditions, availability of healthcare, attitude of people, expectations of society
and the available support system.
- Retirement from active vocational life is quite significant. Older adults also need to adjust to changes in the family structure and new roles that
have to be learnt.
- An old age feeling of loss of energy and dwindling of Health and financial assets leads to insecurity and dependency.
n-gl.com
