TOPIC 3: PROCESSES AND ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
Development essentially means change as a result of the complex interactions between many
processes - biological, social and cognitive.
1. Biological processes involve changes that are physical in nature. Our genetic heritage, growth
of body organs, acquisition of motor skills, hormonal changes at puberty, all reflect the role of
biological processes in development.
2. Cognitive processes involve changes in the thinking, intelligence and language of the child.
Perception, attention, understanding, problem solving, memorizing, imagination, all reflect the
cognitive processes in children’s development.
3. Social processes involve the changes in the child’s relationship with other people, emotions
and personality. The first smile of an infant, the development of attachment between the mother
and child, children learning to share, to assert, to take turns, to play with others, all reflect the
social processes in development.
NB: All these processes are intricately interwoven which means they constantly influence each
other. The cognitive processes promote socio-emotional processes and the biological processes
influence cognitive processes. For example, a sick child (biological process) is irritable and cries
frequently (socio-emotional). If unable to attend school regularly, the child lags behind in studies
(cognitive processes). Constant irritability also influences the relationship with others (social
processes).
The Context of Development
Development does not take place in a vacuum. It is always embedded in a particular
sociocultural context. Transition during one’s lifetime such as entering school, becoming an
adolescent, finding jobs, marrying, having children, retirement, etc. all are joint functions of the
biological changes and changes in one’s environment. The environment can change or alter
during any time of the individual’s lifespan.
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s contextual view of development emphasizes the role of environmental
factors in the development of an individual.
1. 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 neighborhood.
2. The meso-system 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.
3. 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. For example, the transfer of
father or mother may cause tension among the parents which might affect their interactions with
the child or the general amenities available to the child like quality of schooling, libraries,
medical care, means of entertainment, etc.
4. Macrosystem includes the culture in which the individual lives. This is where values, norms
and practices are passed on to the child.
5. Chronosystem involves events in the individual’s life course, and socio-historical
circumstances of the time such as, divorce of parents or parents’ economic setback, and their
effect on the child.
In a nutshell, Bronfenbrenner’s view is that a child’s development is significantly affected by the
complex world that envelops her/him – whether it be the conversations s/he has with her/his
playmates, or the social and economic life circumstances into which s/he is born. Research has
shown that children in impoverished environments have unstimulating environment without
books, magazines, toys, etc., lack experiences such as visits to library, museum, zoo, etc., have
parents who are ineffective as role models, and live in overcrowded and noisy surroundings. As a
result of these conditions children are at a disadvantage and have difficulties in learning.
ISSUES IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Developmental theories differ from each other on three basic issues. They are: (i) the relative
importance of heredity and environment, (ii) the active or passive character of development
(continuous process), and (iii) the existence of stages of development.
I. Heredity vs. Environment
Human development can be explained in terms of both heredity and environment. There is a
debate among theorists that heredity is important in the development of human beings or
environment influences development. It has been observed that some children are introvert while
others are extrovert. The argument is that these characteristics are hereditary or environmentally
determined. John Locke, a philosopher remarked that the child’s mind is just like a blank state
and things are written in interaction with environment and experiences. John Watson was a
behaviorist who argued that it is the environment that influences development of human beings.
He said, “If I get some children, I can make them what I want to make”. J. J. Rousseau and
Gesell were of the view that heredity influences development of individuals. It is revealed from
the research studies that both heredity and environment influence human development. In Indian
settings, it may be observed that children who are reared up in enriched environment behave
differently than to their peer groups who raised in impoverished environment.
II. The Active or Passive character of development
There is a question as to whether people are active in their own development or they are more
passively shaped by external forces. Some theorists believe that human beings always try to
discover and shape their own environment for their development. For example, children are
curious creatures and they actively construct their environment during their role playing games.
Some other psychologists emphasize that developments of human beings are controlled by
outside environment. For example, teachers and parents are blamed for not providing good
environment if a child does not perform well in his study.
III. Stages of Development
This issue relates to the importance of various stages of development. Development is a
continuous process. Early experience of the child is more important than later experience,
Therefore, if the proper experiences are not provided to the child at the right time, development
process may get affected. Developmental psychologists have observed that there are critical
periods of development. The impact of appropriate stimulation during that period is optimal in
specific kinds of behaviour than prior or later to that period. Several studies have been conducted
on animals ( K. Lawrenz, 1937; Harry Harlow, 1978) and later on human beings to see whether
there are critical periods on human development. It has been observed that first six months are
critical period for health, emotional and social development of the child. Although some other
research studies reveal the adverse experiences in early childhood can be mitigated (amended) to
a certain extent in the later stage of life.
STAGES OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Human development is described in terms of stages covering the period from conception to
death. Each stage of development includes a time period during the life span and has its own
characteristics and a specific rate of development. But people vary with respect to time and rate
of development from one stage to another. Even though there is no consensus on classification of
various stages of development, the human life span can be divided into eight developmental
stages:
1. The prenatal period (conception to birth)
2. The stage of Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth to age 3)
3. The early childhood (3 to 6 years)
4. The middle childhood (6 to 11 years)
5. The period of Adolescence (11 years to about 20 years)
6. Young Adulthood (20 to 40 years)
7. Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years)
8. Late Adulthood ( 65 years and above)
