Human Development
Definition of Development: the pattern of change in human capabilities that begins at conception and continues throughout the lifespan. Most developments involves GROWTH but it can also consist of DECLINE
3 Main Processes of Development
1. Physical Processes – changes in biological nature
2. Cognitive Processes – changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence and language
3. Socio-Emotional Processes – change in the individual’s relationships w/ other people, changes in emotion and changes in personality
* these processes are interwoven, meaning, mind, body and emotion are interdependent
CHILDHOOD
Pre-natal development: conception occurs when a single sperm cell from the male penetrates the female’s ovum. This is called fertilization. Pre-natal development is divided into 3 periods:
1. Germinal period (weeks 1 & 2)
2. Embryonic period (weeks 3 through 8)
3. Fetal period (months 2 through 9)
Although a fetus is in well protected environment, it can also be affected by the larger environment surrounding the mother.
The following are some threats to the fetus:
1. Teratogen: any agent that causes birth defect. Babies born to heroin users are at risk to many problems such as premature birth, low birth weight, physical defects, breathing problems and death.
2. Fetal-Alcohol Syndrome: abnormalities brought in children with mothers who are heavy drinkers. Some abnormalities may produce children with small heads (microcephaly), defective limbs, face and heart; may also produce below average intelligence.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
During infancy, newborn babies are genetically equipped with certain abilities:
1. Reflexes: infants do not have any fear of water, but they naturally hold their breath and contract their throats to keep water out. Some reflexes persists through life (coughing, blinking, yawning) but others disappear by 6 or 7 months of age.
Examples: Grasping, sucking, stepping, startle
2. Motor and Perceptual skills: Newborn babies have gigantic heads but after 12 months, the infant becomes capable of sitting upright, standing, stooping, climbing and walking. According to Arnold Gesell (1934), motor developments seem to follow a genetic plan:
Months: What they can do:
0-1 month: prone, lifts head
2-4.5 months: chest up, uses arms for support, roll over
3-6.5 months: Support some weight with legs
5-8 months: can sit without support
6-10 months: can stand without support, can pull self to stand
7-12 months: walk using furniture for support
10-14 mos: stand alone easily
11-15 mos: Can walk alone easily
Now however, psychologists focus on how motor skills develop. When infants are motivated to do something, they may create new motor behavior. That behavior can be caused by a lot of factors: developing nervous system, body’s physical properties and movement possibilities, goals, and environmental support.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
During the mid-90’s, psychologist did not have any useful theories in explaining how children’s minds change as they age. They merely used behavioral approach and assumed that children only receive information from the environment.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) – viewed children as actively constructing the world using schemas (a concept or framework that already exists at a given moment in a person’s mind and that organizes and interprets information).
1. Assimilation: incorporating new information into existing knowledge.
e.g. some objects can be picked up like keys and toys
2. Accommodation: occurs when schemas are adjusted because of new information
e.g. some objects require to be picked up by a finger and some by both hands or cannot be picked up at all.
* the schema of sucking: when a baby sucks various objects and assimilates it with taste, texture, shape and it accommodates these information and becomes more selective in what they suck.
4 Stages of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget.
Described by their Qualitative differences; not by the number of things a child knows that produces advance thinking but rather the different ways a child understands the world advances his thinking in an orderly and sequential patterns.
1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2 years): infants construct their understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (seeing, hearing) with motor (physical) actions.
1.1. Object permanence = out of sight means out if mind
2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years): thought becomes more symbolic (using words, images, drawings), egocentric (inability to distinguish one’s perspective and others perspective), intuitive rather than logical. A child cannot perform operations yet (reversibility of events).
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years): thought becomes operational, replacing intuition with logical reasoning and concrete situations. Classification skills are present but abstract thinking is not yet developed.
4. Formal Operational Stage (11-15 years to adult years): thought is more abstract (hypothetical possibilities), idealistic and logical (hypothetical-deductive reasoning).
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
Their world grows as they grow older.
1. Attachment: close emotional bond between the caregiver and infant.
1.1. Imprinting- tendency of an infant animal to form an attachment to the first moving object it sees and/or hears. (Lorenz, 1965)
1.2. Secure attachment- infants use the caregiver, usually the mother, as a secure base from which to explore the environment. (Ainsworth, 1979)
2. Temperament: an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of responding. (Chess and Thomas, 1977)
2.1. Easy Child: generally in a positive mood, establishes regular routines, adapt easily to new experiences
2.2. difficult child: negatively reacts and cries frequently, irregular routines, slow in accepting new experiences
2.3. slow-to-warm-up child: low activity level, somewhat negative, low adaptability, low intensity of mood
* Others proposed different dimensions of temperament: Emotionality (tendency to be distressed), Sociability (prefers the company of others), and Activity Level (tempo and vigor of movement)
3. Parenting Styles (Baumrind, 1991):
Style Parental Behavior Outcome in child
Authoritarian Restrictive and imposes too much Anxiety about social comparison, lack of initiative,
punishment. Orders are not to be poor comm. skills.
questioned. Little verbal exchange
Authoritative Encourage independence but still Social competence, self reliance,
puts limits. Extensive verbal give-and-take. socially responsible.
Warm and nurturant.
Neglectful Uninvolved in the child’s life. Less competent socially, poor self control.
Indulgent Involved in a child without placing NO respect for others, poor social
demands. Highly permissive. skills, spoiled brats.
4. Erik Erikson’s Theory (1902-1994):
8 Psychosocial Stages: each stage represents a developmental task or crisis that a person must resolve.
1. Infancy: trust vs. mistrust – birth to ½ years
2. Toddlerhood: autonomy vs. shame and doubt – 1 ½ - 3 yrs.
3. Early Childhood: initiative vs. guilt – preschool, 3- 5 yrs
4. Middle and Late Childhood: industry vs. inferiority – elementary school years, 6- puberty
5. Adolescence: identity vs. identity confusion – 10-20 yrs.
6. Early Adulthood: intimacy vs. isolation – 20’s-30’s
7. Middle Adulthood: generativity vs. stagnation – 40’s – 50’s
8. Late Adulthood: integrity vs. despair – 60’s – above
5. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Level 1 Pre-Conventional Level: no internalization
Based merely on punishments or rewards that come from the external world.
Level 2 Conventional Level: intermediate internalization
Abides by standards such as those learned from parents or society’s laws.
Level 3 Postconventional Level: full internalization.
Recognizes alternative moral courses, explores options and develops a personal moral code. The code that reflects the principles generally accepted by the community or abstract principles of humanity.
ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. It begins from around 10-12 years old and ends around 18 to 21 years of age.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
The most significant change of physical change in adolescence is puberty—a period of rapid change skeletal and sexual maturation. It is difficult to pinpoint when puberty begins except for menarche (girl’s menstrual cycle) and wet dreams and whiskers ( for boys).
Other physical changes that are noticeable are:
Girls Boys
Height and weight – 2 years earlier for Height and weight
girls around 11.5 y/o
Estradiol – development of breasts, Testosterone – development of genitals,
uterine and skeletal development increase in height, change in voice
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
Piaget’s formal operational thinking: characterized by thoughts that is idealistic, abstract and logical.
Indications: new verbal problem-solving ability, increase tendency to think about “thought” itself, idealism and full of possibilities or fantasies, discusses issues in a logical manner and also the possible outcomes of certain events (hypothetical-deductive reasoning – ability to develop hypotheses about how to solve problems and then narrows it down and conclude the best way to solve it.
* note: not all adolescents and adults go to formal operational thinking, some may stay at the concrete operational stage. On the other hand may be too overwhelmed by their idealistic thinking and may not reason logically.
Adolescent Egocentrism: involves the belief that others are as preoccupied with adolescence as they are, the belief that he/she is unique, and the belief that one is invincible. But take not that these does not mean the feeling of “conceited” or necessarily superior to others. The previous beliefs mean adolescents perceive others to be noticing and watching them more than what actually is happening (e.g. a small pimple, girl vs. her mother).
SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
The increase in abstract reasoning and idealistic thought serves a foundation for exploring one’s identity. It may also include the issues of relationships – parents, peer interaction and friendships, cultural and ethnic values.
Erick Erikson’s Theory and Identity Development:
- encouraged us to look at adolescents not juts hormone-driven creatures but as individuals finding out who they are and finding their place in the world.
Identity vs. identity confusion: adolescents find out who they are, what they are all about and where they are going
- trapped and confronted with their status (security of childhood and autonomy of adulthood) and roles.
- confusion happens when individuals withdraw from peers and family, deep fear of making decisions.
Identity Status: James Marcia (1980)
A. Exploration: refers to the person’s exploring various options for career and for personal values.
B. Commitment: involves making decisions about which path to follow and making personal investment in attaining that identity.
1. Identity Diffusion: a person has not yet explored meaningful alternatives and has not made any commitments.
2. Identity Foreclosure: a person makes a commitment to an identity before adequately exploring various options.
3. Identity Moratorium: a person is exploring alternative paths but has not yet made any commitment.
4. Identity Achievement: a person has explored alternative paths and made a commitment.
HOW to determine Identity Status
ASK Has the person made a commitment?
YES NO
Has the person explored meaningful YES Identity Achievement Identity Moratorium
alternatives regarding some
identity questions?
NO Identity Foreclosure Identity Diffusion
Other issues involved in adolescents: delinquency, substance abuse, unprotected sex, early pregnancy, and school related problems.