Growth and Development

 

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

 

Most people use the terms „growth‟ and „development‟ interchangeably and accept them as synonymous. But in reality, the meanings of these two terms are different.

 

 GROWTH: CONCEPT AND DEFINITION

 

Growth refers to physical increase in some quantity over time. It includes changes in terms of height, weight, body proportions and general physical appearance.

 

In Encyclopedia Britannica, growth is defined as “an increase in size or the amount  of  an  entity”.  It  means  growth  involves  all  those  structural  and physiological changes that take place within individual during the process of maturation. For example, growth of a child means the increase in weight, height and different organs of the child‟s body.

 

Hurlock has defined Growth as “change in size, in proportion, disappearance of old features and acquisition of new ones”.

 

Growth refers to structural and physiological changes (Crow and Crow, 1962). Thus, growth refers to an increase in physical size of whole or any of its part and can be measured.

 

DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPT AND DEFINITION

 

Development refers to the qualitative changes in the organism as whole. Development is a continuous process through which physical, emotional and intellectual changes occur. It is a more wider and comprehensive term than growth. It is also possible without growth.

In Webster‟s dictionary development is defined as “the series of changes which an organism undergoes in passing from an embryonic stage to maturity.”

 

In   Encyclopedia   Britannica   is   the   term   development   defined   as   “the progressive change in size, shape and function during the life of an organism by which its genetic potential are translated into functioning adult system.” So, development includes all those psychological changes that take in the functions and activities of different organs of an organism.

 

Development is continuous and gradual process (Skinner). According to Crow and Crow (1965) development is concerned with growth as well as those changes in behavior which results from environmental situation.”

 

Thus, development is a process of change in growth and capability over time due to function of both maturation and interaction with the environment.

 

Comparison of Growth and Development

Ø Growth refers to physiological					Ø Development refers to overall changes in the individual. It involves changes in an orderly and coherent type towards the goal of maturity.
changes.
Ø Changes  in  the  quantitative					Ø Development  changes  in  the quality along with quantitative aspect.
respect is termed as growth.
Ø Growth   does		not   continue			Ø Development	continues
throughout li	fe.				throughout life.
Ø Growth	stops			after	Ø Development is progressive.
maturation.
Ø Growth   occurs		due	to	the	Ø Development  occurs  due  to
multiplication of cells.					both         maturation         and
					interaction          with          the
					environment.
Ø Growth is cellular.					Ø Development	is
					organizational.
Ø Growth is one of the part of					Ø Development  is  a  wider  and comprehensive term.
the developmental process.

 

Ø Growth  may  be  referred  to	Ø Development   describes   the changes in the organism as a whole.
describe    the    changes    in
particular aspects of the body and behavior of the organism.
Ø The   changes produced by growth  are subjects of measurements. They  may be quantified  and observable In nature.	Ø Development                 brings
	qualitative changes which are
	difficult to measure directly.
	They   are   assessed   through
	keen observation of behavior in different situations.
Ø Growth may or may not bring	Ø Development is possible without growth.
development.

 

 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

 

Developmental psychologists believe that knowledge of an accurate pattern of development is fundamental to an understanding of children. There are several basic principles that characterizes the pattern and process of growth and development. These principles describe typical development as a predictable and orderly process. Even though there are individual differences in children‟s personalities, attitudes, behavior and timing of development, the principles and characteristics of development are universal patterns.

 

1.  Development involves change:-

The human being is undergoing changes from the moment of conception to the time of death. There are different types of change occur such as, changes in size, proportions, disappearance of old features and acquisition of new features etc. The goal of these developmental changes is self-realization, which Abraham Maslow has labeled  as  self-actualization.  Each  individual  is  equipped  with  certain abilities and potentialities at birth. By utilizing the innate or inborn abilities one tries to  realize and strive for self actualization during the total life period. Children‟s attitude toward change are generally determined by his knowledge about these changes, social attitudes toward this change and the way people of society treats to children when these changes take place.

2. Development is a continuous process:-

Development continues throughout the life of an individual. This process takes place in interaction with the environment in which a person lives. One stage of development is the basic framework for the next stage of development. A child has limited knowledge and experiences about his environment. But as he develops, he acquires more  information  through  explorations  and  adds  to  the  skills  already acquired and the new skills become the basis for further achievement and mastery of skills. For example, the child is able to write and draw, he must have developed a hand control to hold a pencil and crayon. Thus, a person has vast experiences and knowledge as he grows up.

3.    Development  follows  a  direction and  uniform pattern  in an  orderly manner:-

 

(i)      Development proceeds from the center of the body outward. This is the   principle   of   proximodistal   development   that   describes   the direction of development (from nearer to far apart). It means that the spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body. The child‟s arms develop before the hands and the hands and feet develop before the fingers and toes.

(ii)     Development proceeds from the head downwards. This is called the cephalocaudal principle. According to this principle, development occurs from head to tail. The child gains control of the head first, then the arms and then the legs.

4.  Individual Differences in the Development Process:-   Even though the pattern of development is similar for all children but the rate of development varies  among  children.  Each  child  develops  as  per  his  abilities  and perception of his environment. Children differ from each other both genetically  and  environmentally.  So,  both  biological  factor  and environmental situations have their impact on individual‟s development which leads to individual differences in development. Understanding this fact of individual differences in rates of development should aware us to be careful about using and relying on age and stage characteristics to label children.

5.  Development depends on maturation and learning:- Maturation refers to the sequential characteristic of biological growth and development. The biological changes occur in sequential order and give children new abilities.

Changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for maturation. These changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for maturation. The child‟s environment and the learning that occurs as a result of the child‟s experiences largely determine whether the child will reach optimal development. An enriched environment and varied experiences help the child to develop his/her potential.

6.  Development is predictable:- Human development is predictable during the life  span.  Although  this  development  is  influenced  by both  genetic  and environmental factors, however, it takes place in a pre-defined manner. Specific areas of development, such as: different aspects of motor development, emotional behavior, speech, social behavior, concept development,   goals,   intellectual   development   etc.   follow   predictable patterns. For example, the growth of the child in height and weight etc. continue up to a certain age. In general, it is also found that all children follow a commonality in the development periods of life. All children generally grow following the periods like prenatal period and postnatal period. The postnatal period includes infancy, babyhood, childhood, puberty and so on.

7.  Early  development  is  more  critical  than  later  development:-  Milton writes  “  The  childhood  shows  the  man,  as  morning  shows  the  day.” Similarly, Erikson views “childhood is the scene of man‟s  beginning as man.” He explains that if parents gratify the needs of the child for food, attention and love etc. , his perception towards people and situation remains positive throughout his life. He develops positive attitudes, feels secure, emotionally stable and adjust well with the environment. If negative experiences occur during early life of the child, maladjustments may take place. Glueck concludes that delinquents can be identified as early as 2-3 years of age. Different researchers view that the preschool years age are most  important  years  of  development  as  basic  foundation  is  laid  down during this period which is difficult to change.

8.  Development  involves  Social  expectations:-  In  every  society  there  are certain rules, standards and traditions which everyone is expected to follow. Development is determined by social norms and expectations of behaviors form the individuals. Children learn customs, traditions and values of the

society and also what behaviors are expected from them. They realize from the approval or disapproval of their behavior.

Social expectations are otherwise known as “developmental tasks”. Havinghurst defines developmental task as a “task which arises at or about a certain period in the life of an individual. Developmental tasks arise mainly (a) as a result of physical maturation, (b) form the cultural pressures of society, (c) out of the personal values and aspirations of the individual. The developmental tasks remain the same from one generation after another in a particular culture. As societies are evolving, changing traditions and cultural patterns of a society are learned automatically by children during their development process. These developmental tasks help in motivating children to learn as well as help parents to guide their children.

9.  Development has potential hazards:-  Development may be hampered by various   hazards.   Hazards   may   be   of   physical,   environmental   or psychological type. These hazards may be originated from the environment in which the child grows or due to hereditary factors. They have negative impact on physical as well as sociopsychological development of the child. The growth of the child may be retarded, he may be an aggressive person or he may encounter adjustment problems. For example, if a child is slurring or stammering and parents neglect the child, the child may continue with this problem.

10. Happiness varies at different periods of development:-  Happiness varies at different periods in the development process. Childhood is the happiest period of life and puberty is the most unhappy. The patterns of happiness vary from child to child and it is influenced by the rearing process of the child.

Paul B. Baltes stated six principles of development of life span approach. The six principles of development are mentioned below:

1) Development is a lifelong process- Development is a process which continues throughout life. It begins at birth and ends in death of an individual.

2) Development includes both gain and loss during life span. The child may develop in one area and lose in another area.

3) Development    is    influenced    by    the    biological    factor    and environmental situations- The human development is influenced by

biological and environmental factors. For example, the body strength of the child develops in the early period but may deteriorate during old age.

4) Development involves changing allocation of resources. It states that during different developmental periods, resources such as; time, money, social support etc. are used differently. For example, during old age people require more money to maintain their proper health.

5) Development can be modified- This principle reveals that through proper training development can be modified. For example, an individual  can  maintain  his  proper  health  by  doing  different exercises even in old age.

6) Development is based upon historical and cultural environment- The child  grows,  develops,  acquires  knowledge  about  the  traditions, rules, regulations of society according to his historical and cultural

environment.

 

FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

 

Human  development  is  the process  in  which  the changes  occur  in  all  the aspects of an organism from conception to death. It is a natural process for each and every child to grow. But it is observed that all children do not grow in the similar fashion. Some children‟s physical growth occur earlier than others, some

 

are physically stronger than others, some are taller than others and so on. So far as mental development  is  concerned, some children have better cognitive ability, memory, reasoning, thinking ability etc. than others. All children also do not have same type of intelligence. Some have more musical talents, others have more intrapersonal  intelligence,  others  also  have  more  linguistic  abilities  etc.  So, children differ from each other because several factors influence on their development. Some of the important factors have been enumerated below:

 

1) Hereditary Factors:- Heredity exerts an influence on human development.

The child carries genetic endowments from his/her parents. It is genetically transmitted characteristics from one generation to the next. The physical characteristics like height, weight, eye color etc. and psychological characteristics such as intelligence, personality, creativity and so on are innately determined and hereditary. The genetic code provides the base on which brain and body grow and manifest in observable appearance and behavior.

2) Environmental Factors:- Another important factor of human development is the environment where an individual lives. The child lives and grows in his environment. Environment consists of a wide range of stimuli and it provides the necessary input and experiential base for development of the child. Enrichment or impoverishment of the environment would produce differences in his abilities. For example, a child may have inherited music talent from his parents through transmission of genes, but he may not excel in music field if he does not get the proper environment and support to develop his innate ability.

3) Home Environment:- Home environment exerts tremendous influence on child‟s understanding of the external world. It builds self-concept and prepares him to face the external world. The child begins to acquire knowledge through interaction with parents and other family members. During his early years of development, the behaviours of the child are modulated by the home environment. The environment of the family can be supportive  or  stressful  for  the  child.  If  it  is  supportive,  warm  and harmonious environment, the child develops normally. In unsupportive and stressful home environment, broken families or uncaring parents in the family, children may develop as maladjusted persons.

4) Cultural  Factors:-  Culture  refers  to  a  system  of  beliefs,  attitudes  and values that are transmitted from one generation to the next. It is a product of past human behavior and is also a shaper of future aspirations. The development of the child is influenced by family as well as by the society. The  child  learns  the  habits,  beliefs,  attitude,  skills  and  standards  of judgment through the socialization processes. The socialization processes of the child take place according to the culture, customs and traditions of the society. For example, greeting someone is a familiar experience but behavioral experiences are different in different cultures. In Indian culture, people greet others by saying namaskar, folding hands or lying down near the feet but in Western culture, people greet by handshake or kissing or saying hello etc.

5) Socioeconomic Status (SES):- Socioeconomic Status plays a pivotal role in human development. The index of socioeconomic status is determined by parental education, occupation and income. The children of low socioeconomic status may develop as mal-nourished, suffer from lack of knowledge in many aspects and their normal development may get hampered. The parenting in high socioeconomic status families would be different from low socio-economic status families. Children of the high socioeconomic groups of the society get better social opportunities, are nurtured with better nutrition, good medical treatment and are exposed to more intellectual stimulation than low socioeconomic group.

6) Normative influences:- Normative influences occur in a similar way for majority  of  people  in  a  particular  group.  These  influences  may  be biological or environmental. For example, biological events like sexual maturity or deterioration in old age. Environmental events, like entering the school at about 6 yrs of age, parenthood etc. have the same influences on individuals. Most of the people of the same age, at same place and time and generation have common biological and environmental influences such as floods, famines and other natural disasters. Non-normative influences include the unusual life events in an individual‟s life. For example, death of a parent when a child is young or birth defects etc.

7) Education and Training:- Each child is equipped with certain abilities which  need  to  be  nurtured  through  proper  education  and  training. Therefore, the first and foremost step is to identify and recognize the ability of  the  child  and  the  next  step  is  to  provide  adequate  opportunities  to develop the same. If proper identification of the ability is not possible and adequate facilities are not available to the child, then his innate ability may not be developed. Thus, adequate education and training have influence on human development.

 

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 behaviourist 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 that 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.

 

2.2.    STAGES OF HUMAN 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)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ERIKSON THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

 

 

Erik Erikson (1902 – 1994) was a German born psychoanalyst, a pioneer in a life span perspective. Erikson viewed that ego development occurs through one‟s life time. Erikson‟s (1950, 1982) theory of psychosocial development covers eight stages across the life span. According to Erikson each stage involves a “crisis” in personality – that is important at that time and will remain an issue to some degree throughout  the rest  of life.  In  each  stage  there is  the balancing  of a positive tendency and a corresponding negative one. Initiative vs. guilt is a conflict children face between their urge to form and carry out goals. When they fail to reach their goals, they feel guilty.  The sense of right and wrong morality emerges as a result of identification with the parents.  Children can resolve this crisis to acquire the virtue of purpose. Erikson defines it as the courage to envisage and pursue valued goals. Children can then develop into adults who combine spontaneous enjoyment of life with a sense of responsibility. Those who can not resolve this crisis may become repressed. If initiative dominates, they must continue to believe.  Erikson‟s last stage is ego-integrity. The virtue of this stage is wisdom.

As Erikson mentioned different stages of human development, crisis is very typical of each stage and resolution of it is a must. Resolution requires balancing a positive trait and a corresponding negative trait. Both are required for healthy development.  If either of the two predominates, there will be imbalance and the conflict remains. Hence, the development of ego suffers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE:   ERIKSON’S   PSYCHOLOGICAL   STAGES   OF   CHILDHOOD,

 

ADOLSCENT AND ADULT

 

 

State/Stage	Age	Developmental Crisis	Successful Dealing  with Crisis	Unsuccessful Dealing     with Crisis
1	Birth  to  1  year   old	Trust      versus Mistrust   Babies learn to trust or mistrust others based on whether or not their  needs- such   as food and  comfort- are met.	If  babies‟ needs    are met,  they learn to trust people and expect life to be pleasant.	If  babies‟ needs are not met, they learn not to trust.
2	1 to 3 years old	Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt   Toddlers realize that they can direct their own behaviour.	If toddlers are successful   in directing their own behaviour, they  learn  to be independent	If toddlers‟ attempts         at being independent are blocked, they learn self-doubt and  shame  for being unsuccessful.
	3 to 5 years old	Initiative versus Guilt Preschoolers are   challenged to control their own behaviour, such as controlling their exuberance when  they  are in a restaurant.	If preschoolers    succeed in taking responsibility, they feel capable    and develop initiative	If   preschoolers fail   in   taking responsibility, they             feel irresponsible, anxious  and guilty.

 

4	5 to 12 years old	Industry versus Inferiority   When children succeed in learning new skills and obtaining new knowledge, they  develop  a sense             of industry,  a feeling           of industry,  a feeling           of competence arising      from their  work  and effort.	When children succeed       at learning   new skills, they develop  a sense          of industry, a feeling  of competence and         self- esteem arising from their   work and effort.	If  children  fail to develop new ability,they feel incompetent, inadequate, and inferior.
5	Adolescence	Identity versus Role Confusion   Adolescents are faced         with deciding    who or   what they want  to  be  in terms  of occupation, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour patterns	Adolescents who   succeed in      defining who they  are and    find a role for themselves develop a strong    sense of identity.	Adolescents who     fail     to define        their identity become confused and withdraw, or want to inconspicuously blend in the crowd
6	Early Adulthood	Intimacy versus Isolation The task facing those  in   early adulthood is to be able to share who   they   are with      another person    in    a close, committed relationship.	People     who succeed  in this task will have intimate relationships.	Adults who fail at this task will be isolated from other   people and  may suffer from loneliness.
7	Middle   Adulthood	Generativity mversus Stagnation   The    challenge is        to        be creative, productive, and nurturant of the next generation.	Adults who succeed in this challenge will be creative, productive, and nurturant,thereby benefiting themselves, their family,community,country, and future generations.	Adults who fail will be passive,and self- centered , feel that they have done     nothing for the next generation, and feel    that the world is no better off for their  being alive.

 

8

Late Adulthood

Ego   Integrity versus Despair   The    issue    is whether a person        will reach  wisdom, spiritual tranquility, sense  of wholeness,  and acceptance of his or her life.

Elderly people who succeed in addressing this issue will enjoy life and not   fear death.

Elderly   people Who fail   will feel   that   their life  is  empty and will fear death.

 

 

FREUDIAN MODEL OF PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

 

 

Sigmund Freud (1953, 1964a, 1964b) proposed that people are born with biological drives that must be redirected so as to live in society. The personality of the child is formed in childhood, as children deal with unconscious conflicts between these inborn urges and the requirements of civilized life. These conflicts occur in an unvarying sequence of five maturational based stages of psychosexual development, In different stages of development,sexual pleasure shifts from one body zone to another, i.e. from the mouth to the anus and then to the genitals.

According to Sigmund Freud there are five stages of development. Freud believed that personality is formed in first three stages which includes first few years of life, as children deal with conflicts between their biological, sexually related urges and the pressures of the society. At each stage there a change in the main source of gratification. Each stage is characterised by a typical pleasure gaining behaviour as well as a conflict due to the social pressures. These stages are named according to the source of pleasure at the particular stage. They are:

(i) Oral Stage (birth to 18 months):  It begins at birth and extended till 12 to

 

18  months.  In  this  stage  the  mouth  is  the  primary  organ  of  giving pleasure . The experience of the child and mother relationship has an impact  on  unconscious  mind  of  the  child.  This  stage  relates  to  the activities like feeding, crying, teething, biting and thumb sucking, etc.

(ii) Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years): The child gets sensual gratification from withholdings and expelling feces during this stage. Anus is the chief source of pleasure. The child‟s real experiences during this stage have an impact upon the unconscious and behaviours. Pleasure derived from body parts are the centre of the world during this stage.

(iii)Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years): During this period the child derives pleasure from genital region. Many of the normal sexual behaviour of human personality  develop  in  this  period.  The  child‟s  sexual  longing  is intensified at this time. This is the stage in which conflicts related to reproductive issues are resolved.

(iv) Latency Stage (6 to Puberty): This stage is a stage of learning skills rather than a psychosexual stage. There is no sexual development takes place during this period.  This is the time of relative calm between more turbulent  stages.  Previous  experiences,  fears  and  conditioning  have shaped many of the child‟s feelings and attitudes.

(v) Genital Stage (Puberty onwards): This the time of mature adult sexuality. In this stage many hormonal and physical changes take place. Children are engaged in sex-related thoughts and feelings. Narcissism takes place during this stage.

PHYSICAL AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS STAGES OF LIFE

 

1. Infancy and Toddlerhood Stage

 

 

Developmental psychologists used the term infancy to denote the period of development that   generally is from birth to two years of age. The word infant means “without language”. Infancy includes development in the areas of cognition, perception, motor activity, emotion, sociability and language. In the beginning of infancy period infants can recognise human faces and after that they can differentiate   between   known   and   unknown   faces   and   react   differently. Development on different areas take place through infancy to toddlerhood, i.e, the first three years of life.

(I)  Physical development:

 

It  refers  to  the  changes  in  the  body.  This  development  is  rapid  during infancy. Infants increase their body weight almost triple and increase in height by about one-third during the first year alone.  Not only body size and weight of the infant increase but also brain size expands rapidly during the first 18 months and brain weight of the infant reaching more than half of the adult brain due to rapid growth  of  dendrites  and  axons  within  the  brain  and  glia  cells.  Physical development also includes development in vision, hearing, perceptual development etc. Infants motor development takes place in a sequential order and this type of development proceeds from head towards the limbs. Infant first controls his head and trunk, then lift his chest, sit upright, crawling, creeping, stand with help, stand along with holding some objects, walking and so on. This development occurs due to improvement of skills and control of other body parts like legs, arms, etc. Gradually children develop their eye, head and hand coordination and are able to pick up things.

 

In the early life, infant‟s vision, hearing and perception are not clear and focussed. The neonate prefers to perceive brighter colours and which are nearer to him. These senses develop as the child matures from infancy to toddlerhood.  The new born is well equipped with sensory functioning for life. The child is capable to turn his head toward a loud noise or clapping. Gradually he tries to locate the source of noise and he can differentiate between the voice of mother and the father and also recognizes the voices of other people. Another capacity of the infant is his ability to learn from experience. For example, the child learns to suck faster when sucking is pleasant.

 

Piaget noted that the sensory motor stage of cognitive development occurs during infancy. During infancy period there are development in vision, control of muscles and nervous system, start to eat and sleep on regular intervals, sit on their own and to hold objects themselves.

(II)  Social and Emotional Development:

 

Infants at about two months old demonstrate social smiling in response to human faces. When they are four months old, they show laughter and express anger, sadness and surprise by six months. By 8 or 10 months, they actively seek information about other people‟s feelings. They learn to respond when somebody calls them by their names at about age six to twelve months. They also have face to face contact. They are afraid of when their parents or care-taker leaves them. They start expressing anger if their needs are not met. Thus, social and emotional development starts during the period of infancy to toddlerhood  itself Children start expressing  their  feelings  of    trust,  fear,  confidence,  love,  etc.  They  express affection as a form of emotion to others as a part of social emotional development.. If  a  child  is  neglected  during  this  period,  it  affects  his  social  emotional development negatively. During this period as children are attached with their care givers, parents and other siblings, etc., so children develop separation anxiety if they are separated from them. This appears at the age of nine months.

(III)   Cognitive Development

 

Infants express their intellect by making various sounds like gurgling, cooing, etc. They observe their own hands and feet. They gradually learn the relationship between their actions and the external world. They can manipulate various objects to  produce effects.   Infants seem to  acquire knowledge  about  the  world  only through motor activities and sensory impressions. They try to focus their eyes on various objects and people, put everything in their mouth. Children develop ability to form mental representation during infancy. Around the end of the 9th  month infants demonstrate object permanence.   By babyhood stage they learn to make sounds like mama, papa, they try to copy various activities as others do. By 12 months of age many children are able to say some words which can be understood by others. During infancy children start developing language ability, learn through their sense organs and explore the world in their own ways. In this period children are dependent on others where as in toddlerhood stage, creativity and socialisation begins. In infancy period emotions are of simple type but in toddlerhood emotions are of varying types and growth is faster than other periods of life.

2. The Childhood Stage:

This stage includes two sub-stages: one is early childhood and another is late childhood. This period covers the period between the age of 3 to 11 years. Sometimes the girls at 13 years and boys at 14 years of age are considered as adolescents and till then the child is considered being in the childhood stage. During this period significant physical and psychological changes take place. But compared to infancy, growth rate is slow but stable during the childhood. In this stage, children gain 2 to 3 inches in height and 5 to 6 pounds in weight every year. They learn to walk, run, jump and play. They can gain knowledge to distinguish between what is good and what is bad. Their physical capacities increased independently, they perform tasks and meet adult expectations in several ways.

 

(I)      Physical Development:

 

Early childhood stage covers the age range from 3 to 6 years. Children begin to  develop  athletic  appearance  and  they  lose  their  babyish  roundness.  As abdominal muscles develop, the trunk, arms and legs grow longer. Their brain and head grow rapidly than any other parts of the body.

 

The late childhood period extends from 6 to 11 years. This period is known as pre-adolescence. The different parts of the body become stronger during this period. Children learn to use their body parts appropriately with speed and for proper behaviours. During late childhood period some of the habits like table manners interactions with others, eating appropriately, etc. may also be modified wherever  needed.  In  this  period  importance  is  given  to  physical  strength  of children. If a particular child is not growing physically at per with other children of his age, the child may be emotionally and socially depressed.

 

(II) Psycho-Social Development:

In  early  childhood  stage  children  can  say  full  sentences,  express  their feelings and emotions and communicate their needs and feelings and emotions and communicate their needs and feelings with others. During early childhood children have better control of their physical movement and can have better coordination of their body parts. They also learn how to cooperate with other children and conflict resolution when they are about the age of five or six years they are independent in various ways.

 

There are three important socio-emotional developments, such as; development of self, gender roles and moral development, take place during childhood period. Through the process of identification the child comes to know who he is and differentiates from who he wants to be. The child is aware of this process through his observation and imitation of parents and significant others. The child‟s personality is laid down by this identification. The child learns the socially appropriate behaviours by observing and participating in the social events. When the children are about the age of 5 to 6 years they can understand that they belong to a particular gender and also learn to behave gender roles.

 

When the children enter into   school , their interaction changes from supervising adults to classmates. As the social environment changes the children begin to experience feelings of independency and freedom from authority through negotiation,   compromise   and   discussion.   Social   identification   and   social comparison help them to describe themselves.   For example, I am a student of DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar and I got more marks than Dinesh.

 

Parenting style plays an important role in psycho-social development of children. A balanced parenting style which is neither permissive nor authoritative is acceptable and  helps  in social  and  emotional development  of children. But

children of authoritative parents are afraid of their parents and children of permissive parents are impulsive and immature. Besides parenting style peer group influence has also an impact on socialisation process of children.

 

During childhood period the children can able to differentiate between right and wrong. They experience feeling of guilt by doing a mistake, feel sorrow and happiness for them. These are experienced by the children due to their moral development.

(III)  Cognitive Development:

 

 

The childhood period is important for cognitive development of children. Children are curious to know the answers of questions like, “why”, “Where” and “How” for everything that happens. Cognitive abilities include memory, reasoning, perception, problem solving and thinking abilities which continue to emerge throughout childhood. Jean Piaget worked on childhood cognitive development. He concluded that children are not less intelligent than adults but they simply think differently. Piaget explained that human beings acquire knowledge through interaction with the environment in which he lives in, Piaget named early child hood (2 to 7 years) as the preoperational stage of cognitive development which there is a great expansion in the use of symbolic thought, or representational ability.  But they are not able to use logic. In this stage children do not need to be in sensory motor contact with an object, person or event in order to think about it. They are aware that superficial alternations do not change the nature of things and also understand the cause-effect relationship. They develop the ability to classify objects, people and events. Children can count and deal with quantities. They become more able to imagine how others might feel and aware of mental activity

and the functioning of the mind.For example, Ranu saw a pencil rolling down from behind and she looks back for the person who threw it.

 

According to Piaget children enter the concrete operational stage during middle childhood period which begins at about age 7 and ends at age 12 years. In this period children can use mental operations to solve actual problems and they can think more logically. They can perform many tasks at a much higher level than before.     They  have  developed  abilities  to  use  maps  and  models  and  to communicate spatial information improve with age.   They have a better understanding of cause and effect relationship, of categorisation of inductive and deductive reasoning and of conservation.

 

3. Adolescence

 

 

The term adolescence is derived from the Latin word adolescere, which means to sprout into maturity. It is the intermediate period between childhood and adulthood. This period is otherwise called as the age of teenagers. It includes three sub periods, such as: early adolescence (12 yrs -14 yrs), middle adolescence (14 yrs   -17  yrs)  and  late  adolescence  (17   yrs   -19  yrs).  Adolescence  is  the developmental  transition  between  childhood  and  adulthood  entailing  major physical, cognitive and psychological changes. During this period physical changes that occur are universal, but social and psychological changes largely depend on the cultural contexts. As this is the transitional phase of life adolescents rebel against their parents and society most often. Therefore, this period is labelled as storm and stress period.

 

(I)  Physical Development

 

 

Sexuality and identity formation are two major challenges of the period of adolescence. During this period the most rapid physical growth occurs. There are

changes in the growth rate, sexual characteristics, and behaviour. Adolescent boys and  girls develop in their height, weight, strength  and development  of bones, muscles, etc. Puberty and sexual maturity for both boys and girls marks the beginning of the adolescent period. Growth  spurts and development  of secondary sex characteristics signal about the onset of adolescence. Menstruration is the first sign of puberty for girl whereas appearance of few whiskers is the sign of puberty for boys. The approximate age for sexual maturation is 12.5 years for boys and

10.5 years for girls. Puberty begins in response to changes in the hormonal system. Sex hormones like testosterone in males and estrogen in females are secreted from the sex glands. The secretion of sex hormones help in pubertal development and also closely associated with emotions. During this period emotion like aggression is found in boys and depression is marked in girls. They try to imitate their idols. Girls are conscious about their shapes and do what their friends do while boys try to go for body building.

 

(II)    Psycho-Social Development

 

During this period the physical changes in adolescents bring about a wide variety of psychological changes. Adolescents become innovative and take interest in learning various skills with great interest. They feel that no one understands them, and they often consider themselves to be „superman‟. Their sense of uniqueness is expressed in the form of personal fable around them away  from  the  world  of  reality.  They  are  argumentative  and  they  have  a tendency  to  find  fault  with  the  authority  figures.  They  do  not  able  to differentiate between ideal and real. Adolescents are very self-conscious and it is expressed in the concept of imagery audiences. These imaginary audiences criticise, encourage and motivate an adolescent. Peer group influence is very important during adolescence. They want to do what their friends are doing, Adolescents  abuse  alcohol  and  drugs  under  peer  pressure.  Developmental

psychologists viewed that adolescence as a period of risk, turmoil, uncertainty and conflict, if proper care is not taken during this period children became anti- social, abusive or depressed. They also develop eating disorders if they are not getting proper love and affection from the parents. In this period if adequate atmosphere is provided to them and they get high parental support, then they can develop their abstract thinking, reasoning skills and other social behaviours. The important task of adolescents is to establish an identity independent of their parents.  They do not like anyone to interfere in their opinions, trust, believes and decision making process.  They have their own expectations and they are also very emotional during this period.   Adolescents suffer from different problems like teenage pregnancy and juvenile delinquency.   So, positive relationship  with  parents,  peers,  siblings  and  adults  play an  important  role during adolescence period.

 

(III)   Cognitive Development

 

During adolescence not only there are changes in body structures occur but also they think differently from younger children.  Jean Piaget opined that adolescents enter the highest level of cognitive development, i.e. formal operational stage of cognitive development. During this period adolescents thoughts change from concrete objects to abstract events.   They can think flexibly enough about the world.   They accumulate knowledge through interaction and apply the learned concepts to new tasks. Teenagers develop their reasoning skills and engage in hypothetical deductive reasoning.   As adolescents develop their logical thinking, they are becoming aggressive and argumentative.   They are able to understand abstract concepts such as congruence and mass and they think in terms of theoretical concepts.  They are conscious about others opinion regarding them and curious enough to know about spirituality, traditions and beliefs.   Thus, during adolescence

people deal with problems on an abstract level, to form hypothesis and to reason from proposition that are contrary to fact.

 

Piaget‟s  theory of cognitive development has been criticised on the following grounds:

 

a)  Piaget has given too much emphasis on physical maturation based on cognitive development.

b)  He has not included environmental factors and experiences that people accumulate during the process of growing up.

c)  He has overlooked the concept of the individual differences in his theory.

 

4. Adulthood Stage

 

 

An adult is someone who is responsible, mature, self-supporting and well integrated into society. Also people do not develop these attributes and characteristics at the same time and with same skills.  This adult stage has three sub-stages of development.  First stage is early adulthood, second stage is middle adulthood, and third stage is late adulthood.

 

In early childhood period adults are at the peak of physical health, strength and energy.  Sensory and motor systems are at their highest functioning.  Adults gain weight and their height increases.  They develop intimate relationships, they marry and begin their families.  At this period of life adults take many important decisions of life like choice of career, type of friends, residence, etc. independently and accept responsibility and consequences for their own decisions.  Every adult tries for recognition, job security and to excel in his job.

 

Middle adulthood period is explained in terms of a gradual decline in one‟s physical abilities, physical health, stamina etc, but the decline is gradual in nature. Both men and women feel tired easily.  In this period people experience stress due to  the  double  responsibility  of  caring  for  the  aged  parents  and  the  growing children. Women usually experience hormonal changes which results in the loss of ability to reproduce, a process called menopause.   Many psychological and intellectual changes occur in middle age.  During this period, women express more assertiveness and men are more nurturant.  The term “late adulthood” is roughly equivalent to old age. This is the final stage of physical change.

 

Robert Havinghurst lists major tasks in the middle years:

 

 

      Accepting and adjusting to physiological changes, such as menopause.

 

      Reaching and maintaining satisfaction in one‟s occupation.

 

      Adjusting to and possibly caring for aging parents.

 

      Helping teenage children to become responsible adults.

 

      Achieving adult, social and civic responsibility.

 

      Relating to one‟s spouse as a person.

 

      Developing leisure time activities.

 

Some people suffer from depression due to middle age crisis by thinking that some important years of their lives are over while some others try hard to achieve their  goals  by  changing  their  life  styles.    Some  people  engage  themselves  in creative activities to get self satisfaction. Other people get worried about the future of their children and some start worrying about their post retirement activities.

 

(I) Physical Development

 

 

Physical growth and development is at its maximum during this period. Physical  strength  usually is  more  than  previous  years  due  to  mature  physical structures.   strength, speed, coordination and endurance for activity is greatest during this period.  A number of sensory and neural functions are optimal levels during this period.  Full brain weight and mature brain wave patterns are observed at this stage of development.  Changing life style pattern has an impact on growth and development.

 

In  the  middle  adulthood  period  (during  20s)  there  is  a  decline    in  our physical  stamina  and  health.    At  that  time  physical  functioning  are  generally perfect, but physical attractiveness declines and biological changes in the sexual life occurs.   The physical changes like loss of elasticity of the skin, resulting in facial lines as well as looseness in other parts of the body are easily noticeable through external physical appearance.  There is a marked change in visual activity. People suffer from presbyopia – the far sightedness associated with aging.   The auditory problem is also associated with increasing age, i.e. presbycusis.  It means progressive loss of hearing.   In this period loss of taste, smell and sensitivity to touch  also  occurs.    Some  physiological  changes  like  enlargement  of prostrate gland, less enzyme secretion in the gastrointestinal tract, diminished ability to pump blood, reduced kidney functioning, etc. take place.

 

(IV)   Psycho-Social Development

 

During  early  years  of  adulthood,  people  face  the  problem  of  choosing, preparing for and entering into careers brings a lot of social changes in the adult. They have cordial relationships with their siblings.   They spend very few times with friends because their energies are consumed for family and work.   Middle adulthood people have children of adolescent age.   It is very difficult to handle their problems.   Conflicts occur between parents and children regarding „giving‟ and „getting‟ independence.  Parents have to help their children in their search for identity.   Middle aged adult also have important responsibilities towards their parents.   In this period they also try to b satisfied at work place.   People are worried about their jobs and pay packages because they have to meet the daily needs of themselves and of the family.

(V)    Cognitive Development

 

Intellectual ability and cognitive skills are high in early adulthood.   Middle adulthood  people  can  not  learn  new  skills.     Recent  research  suggests  that intellectual development continues into late adulthood.   Intellectual development continued and that are influenced by the accumulation of the experiences of life, i.e. verbal skills, social knowledge and moral judgements.   During this period people show changes in logic and morality.  It is observed that creativity peaks in the early adulthood but forms of creativity that require experience, revision and interpretation either remain unchanged or increase in middle age.   People utilise their cognitive skilss and creativity particularly at the work place in order to get recognition.   Studies revealed that intelligence declines with age, but there is no certainty that intelligence and age are related with each other.

 

5. Late Adulthood

 

 

The term late adulthood is rightly equivalent to old age.   This is the final stage of physical change.  It is difficult to consider the exact age of a person for being old.  The onset of old age may vary from country to country.  Although the retirement age is considered as one of the criteria of old age, it varies from job to job.  For example, in India the retirement age for government organisation is 58 years while for Universities it is 62 years and in some other institutions like IIT and IIM it is 65 years.  Now-a-days people beyond 70 years are considered as old. It is the period of decline where the person thinks that he has done what he wanted to do and most of his life span is over.

 

Today researchers used two categories to describe old age people.

 

 

(i)      The young Old: This category of older people irrespective of their actual age, are vital, vigorous and active.

(ii)     The Old Old: Those older individuals who are infirm, inactive and suffer from physical problems include in this group.

 

As most of older persons suffer from physical problems, they became less active.  There are changes in body like wrinkles in face, rough skin, gray hairs, problems in hearing and eye sight, bones and joints problems, change in voice, etc.   They may suffer from various diseases.   Old people also suffer from irreversible  mental  problem,  which  is   organic  in  nature  and  is  called „Alzheimer‟s disease.

 

During late adulthood period significant changes take place which are mentioned below.

 

(I)  Physical Development

 

 

The experiences of old age are not same for everybody. Some people are worried about old age particularly those who are single or there is nobody in the family to support them economically or have continued physical ailments. It is a period in one‟s life span that is characterised by physical decline.  There are two types of physical changes during old age.  They are (a) Primary ageing and (b) Secondary ageing.  Primary ageing is that in which bodily deterioration occur by the passage of time or by genetic factors which is gradual and inevitable.  Secondary ageing results  from  disease,  disuse  or  abuse  of  body  which  is  preventable.    Many structural and functional changes occur as people reach old age.  Common physical changes like decrement in sensory abilities of vision, hearing, taste, smell and other senses, skin becomes inelastic, decrease in fat and muscle tissue, loss of teeth, deterioration of bone tissue, decline in height due to compression of spinal disc and postural strop etc. occur due to primary ageing.   Physical changes occur due to secondary ageing are also different for different people.   For example, physical changes of diabetic people are different from persons who are suffering from arthritis.  Old people are also inefficient in sensory-motor coordination.  They can not respond to the physical demands of stressful situations as quickly or efficiently as possible.   They are prone to accidents due to decline of reserve capacity of physical energy. Thus, ageing affects appearance, sensation and motor abilities of a person.

 

However, despite the problems of old age some people lead a happy life due to their positive thinking towards life and they are physically fit by doing yoga and exercises.  They are developing and enjoying their hobbies and their perception of old age for relaxation help them free from different ailments.

 

(II)    Psycho-Social Development

 

Many  psycho-social  changes  happen  to  people  during  old  age.     The statement that old age is a period for waiting death can prove to be a myth. Commonly people believe that old age is a curse so far as physical and psychological  aspects of life are concerned.

 

According to Erikson during late adulthood the outcome of a well integrated person is wisdom.  Wisdom means accepting life as it is, accepting imperfections in self, parents and in life and having no regrets.  Old people remain in a state of inward depression and dissatisfaction.   These internal feelings are manifested in reaction formations for which they become over sensitive and demanding.  Some old people depend on their children to a large extent.

 

This undue dependence makes them sad. But those people who are independent and less expectations from their children and other support system, they are happy in their old age and they engage themselves in various activities. They think  that old age is  the golden age because they are free from family responsibilities and burdens of job.   There are many social and cultural factors

influence3 the process of successful ageing.   Financial security and close relationship with children or other relatives or good friends make people healthy in old age.

 

Ageing is a process of growing old.  The most important theory that explains the psychosocial  aspects  of  ageing  are:    (i)  The  activity  theory,  and  (ii)  The disengagement theory.

 

(i)      The  Activity  Theory  :    This  theory  states  the  relationship  between keeping active and ageing well.  According to this theory, persons who age successfully keep themselves busy in many activities and they find substitutes for activities which they have lost due to retirement and also they perform many roles. As role decreases, ageing increases.

(ii)     The Disengagement Theory:  This theory reveals that successful ageing by mutual withdrawal between society and the older person.  Generally, older people voluntarily minimise their activities by retiring and also society encourages this by making individuals retire.

(III)   Cognitive Development

 

People commonly believe that with old age intellectual decline occurs. Intellectual decline is associated with respect to certain functions such as; speed, perceptual integration ability, memory and inductive reasoning.   People show variability in intellectual   functioning   in   late   adulthood   period.      Researchers   classified intelligence into two types.  They are: (1) Fluid intelligence and (2) Crystallized intelligence.    Fluid  intelligence  declines  as  age  increases.  Fluid  intelligence involves ability to perceive relations, form concepts and reason abstractly. Crystallized intelligence involves the ability to remember and use learned information.  Fluid  intelligence  includes  reasoning,  memory  and  information,

processing capabilities, whereas crystallized intelligence is the acquired knowledge of the person.   During old age people forget that may lead to dementia or Alzheimer‟s disease which is possible due to Fluid intelligence, because it relates to neurological functioning.  On the other hand, crystallized intelligence helps in storing information.  Therefore, in old age people should keep their minds active by mental exercises such as problem solving analysis and other operations etc.

 

2.6. LET US SUM UP

 

 

   Human  development  is  related  with  physical,  social,  emotional  and cognitive development of individuals.

   There   are   different   issues   in   human   development.      They   are:   a) development   relates   to   heredity   or   environment,   development   is   a continuous process or takes place in various stages and what are the critical periods of development.

   Stages of human development have been classified in various ways by different  psychologists.    Erikson  has  classified  human  development  in terms of psycho-social development, whereas Freud explained this based upon psychosexual stages.

   The infancy and toddlerhood period is from birth to 3 years of age which is an important age for physical, social, emotional as well as cognitive development.

   Childhood stage is from 3 years to 11 years.  During this stage growth rate is slower in comparison to infancy and toddlerhood stage. In this period children develop social and language ability.

        Piaget  has  developed  the  theory  of  cognitive  development.     He  has emphasized four stages of cognitive development, such as: Sensory-moto stage stage, Pre-operational stage, Concrete operational and Formal operational

 

 

      The adolescence period is generally from 11 years to about 20 years of age.

 

This  is  the  most  crucial  period  for  development.    During  this  period children develop physically and psychologically.  They want to take their own decisions independently.   As they are neither considered as children nor adult, they feel that nobody understands them.

   The  adulthood  stage  can  be  classified  as  young  adulthood  and  middle adulthood stage.   The middle adulthood stage is also known as the middle age period in which people start ageing. In young adulthood period people develop relationships and settle down with family and work.

            The late adulthood stage is also called as old age. Generally during this period people are physically weak and they may suffer from various diseases.  Some people enjoy this period of life as they are free from their responsibilities.

   These stages of development depend upon the environmental factors of specific  countries.    For  example,  in  India  some  children  do  not  get nutritious food for which they suffer from various diseases even in their childhood.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

 

 

1.  Describe the various issues in human development with suitable examples.

 

2.  Differentiate between Erikson‟s and Freud‟s stages of human development.

 

3.  Explain the physical developments of human being since infancy to old age.

 

4.  “Old age is a golden age” – Elucidate.

 

5.  Explain  the  physical,  psychological  and  cognitive  development  during

 

adolescence. “Adolescence is a period of storm and stress” – Explain.

 

6.  Describe the middle age crisis by citing suitable examples.

 

7.  Why infancy period is a critical period in development?