Module 2: Human Development

Human Development
• is a pattern of movement or change that begins at conception
and continues throughout the life span

• involves interwoven and interdependent processes

 physical processes: changes in an individual’s
biological nature (maturation)
 cognitive processes: changes in an individual’s
thought, intelligence, and language
 socioemotional processes: changes in an individual’s
relationships with other people, changes in emotions,
and changes in personality

• can be characterized as
 lifelong: No age period dominates development
 multidimensional: Development consists of the physical,
cognitive, socioemotional processes or dimensions
 multidirectional: development may increase or
decrease
 plastic: Development is not the same for all as it
generally depends on the individual's life
circumstances
 historically embedded: Historical conditions
influence development
 multidisciplinary: The study of human development is
a field shared by psychologists, sociologists,
anthropologists, neuroscientists and medical
researchers
 contextual: A person’s biological makeup, physical
environment, social, historical, and cultural contexts
are all important contributing factors to development

1. In the process of understanding human development, it is important

to look into the key issues and questions usually raised in the
discussion
• Is development continuous or discontinuous?
• Is there such a thing as a critical period in development?
• Are life span approaches better than stage-specific
approaches?
• Is development influenced by nature or nurture?
2. There are several theories (depending on one’s perspective or
approach) that one can use to explain and understand human
development

 Psychoanalytic Approach: development is basically

motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts that are
not conscious to individuals
• Freud’s theory suggests that unconscious forces
act to determine personality, behavior, and
development.

• Erikson’s psychosocial theory suggests that

developmental change occurs throughout life span in
eight distinct stages; emerging in a fixed pattern that
are similar for all people; each stage presents a crisis
or conflict that the individual must resolve; the
individual must at least address the crisis of each
stage sufficiently to deal with demands made during
the next stage of development.

 Cognitive Approach: focuses on the processes that allow

people to know, understand and think about the world.
The cognitive perspective emphasizes how people
internally represent and think about the world.

• Jean Piaget proposed that all people pass in a

fixed sequence through a series of universal
stages of cognitive development. In each stage,
there is an increase in the quantity of information
and the quality of knowledge and understanding.
Piaget suggests that the growth in children’s
understanding of the world can be explained by
two basic principles, assimilation (the process in
which people understand an experience in terms
of their current state of cognitive development
and way of thinking) and accommodation
(changes in existing ways of thinking in response
to encounters with new stimuli or events).

 Behavioral Approach proposes that the keys to

understanding development are observable behavior and
outside stimuli in the environment. Developmental
patterns are viewed as personal, reflecting a particular set
of environmental stimuli, and development is the result of
continuing exposure to specific factors in the environment.
 • John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner’s theories of
classical and operant conditioning hold that
all behavior is learned as a response to external
stimuli.

• Social-cognitive learning theorist Albert

Bandura, on the other hand, proposed that
behavior is learned through observation and
imitation, not conditioning through reinforcement
or punishment.

 Humanistic Approach contends that people have a

natural tendency to make decisions about their lives and
control their behavior. The humanistic perspective
emphasizes free will, the ability of humans to make choices
and come to decisions about their lives.

• Carl Rogers suggested that all people have a

need for positive regard that results from an
underlying wish to be loved and respected. Their
view of themselves and their self-worth is a
reflection of how they think others view them

• Abraham Maslow suggests that self-

actualization is a primary goal in life. Self-
actualization is a state of self-fulfillment in which
people achieve their highest potential in their own
unique way

 Sociocultural Approach or the Ecological model, the

major proponent of which is Urie Bronfenbrenner, seeks to
explain individual knowledge, development, and
competencies in terms of the guidance, support, and
structure provided by society and to explain social change
over time in terms of the cumulative effect of individual
choices (Berger, 2000)

• Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s

sociocultural theory proposes that a full
understanding of development is impossible
without taking into account the culture in which
children develop.
 • Urie Bronfenbrenner, each person is
significantly affected by interactions among a
number of overlapping ecosystems: the individual
(center), microsystems (the systems that
intimately and immediately shape human
development) include the family, peer group,
classroom, neighborhood, and sometimes a
church, temple, or mosque as well, mesosystem
(interactions among the microsystems, as when
parents and teachers coordinate their efforts to
educate the child, take place through the), the
exosystem, (the external networks, such as
community structures and local educational,
medical, employment, and communications
systems, that influence the Microsystems), and
the macrosystem, (which includes cultural
values, political philosophies, economic patterns,
and social conditions)

 Biological or Evolutionary Approach: stresses that

behavior and development are strongly influenced by
biology, are tied to evolution, and are characterized by
critical or sensitive periods. Evolutionary approaches grow
out of the groundbreaking work of Charles Darwin.

• The evolutionary perspective encompasses one of

the fastest growing areas within the field of
lifespan development, behavioral genetics.
Behavioral genetics studies the effects of heredity
and genetics on behavior.

3. Given the different perspectives, child development in the

different processes can now be looked into:

• Prenatal Development
• There are basically 3 stages: germinal, embryonic,
and fetal
• Threats to the fetus development include mother’s
environment and teratogens (any nongenetic agent
that causes birth defect)

• Physical Development
 • Infants: reflexes (grasping, sucking, stepping, and
startle reflexes), many of which weaken or disappear
by 6 months
• Physical development in the first two years is
dramatic: sit, stand, climb, and walk by 12 months.
• Early childhood: growth rate begins to slow;
developing an increasing sense of control over large
and fine motor skills
• Middle and Late childhood: Motor development
results in smoother, more coordinated actions;
Physical activities are essential for refining large and
fine motor skills

• Cognitive Development
• According to Piaget, children construct their world
through the use of schemas, either through
assimilation or accommodation

• Piaget’s Stages
1. Sensorimotor Stage (ages 0–2)
2. Preoperational Stage (ages 2–7)
3. Concrete Operational Stage (ages 7–11)

• Socioemotional Development in Childhood

• Erikson’s Theory of Socioemotional Development
1. Trust versus mistrust (0–1 years)
2. Autonomy versus shame and doubt (1–3
years)
3. Initiative versus guilt (3–5 years)
4. Industry versus inferiority (6 years until
puberty)

• Parenting styles are believed to influence

socioemotional development as well (authoritarian,
authoritative, indulgent, neglectful)

• Moral Development
1. Kohlberg’s Theory
a. The Preconventional Stage: Moral
thinking is based on punishments and
rewards
b. The Conventional Stage: Moral
thinking is based on parental
standards or societal laws
 c. The Postconventional Stage: Moral
development is based on self-
governing standards

• Gender development: Gender refers to the social

and psychological aspects of being male or female;
there are several factors and issues that influence
gender development

4. Adolescence Development.
Positive Psychology and Adolescents
• Freud described adolescents as sexually driven and
conflicted
• Many view adolescents as abnormal and deviant
• Acting out and boundary testing are normal events in
adolescent development
• Adolescence is a time of evaluation, decision-making,
and commitment
• Many adolescents have a healthy self-image

• Physical Development in Adolescence

• characterized by rapid skeletal and sexual maturation
• development of genitals, increased height, beard
growth, pubic hair growth, and voice changes for males
• development of breasts, uterus, skeletal development,
and late in puberty, menstruation for females

Cognitive Development in Adolescence

• Piaget’s Formal Operations
• Adolescents’ thinking is characterized by abstraction,
idealism, and hypothetical-deductive reasoning
• Adolescent egocentrism involves the belief that others
are preoccupied with the adolescent, that the
adolescent is unique, and that the adolescent is
indestructible

• Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

• Erikson’s Theory: adolescents experiment with different
roles in an effort to establish their identity
• Identity confusion can result in withdrawal and
isolation or immersion in the crowd
• A moratorium is a temporal and psychological gap
between childhood and adulthood
 • James Marcia proposes four identity statuses (identity
diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium,
identity achievement) that are based on the dimensions
of exploration and commitment

• Potential Problems: delinquency, substance abuse,

unprotected sex and pregnancy, and school-related problems

• Issues to consider to develop a positive identity (Santrock,

2001)
• Identity is complex and takes a long time to develop
• The college years are an important time for identity development
• Whether or not to adopt the parents’ identities is a challenge
• Identities continue to change

5. Adult Development and Aging

• Physical Development in Adulthood
• Early Adulthood: healthiest and performance is at peak
• Middle Adulthood: concern with health and health habits
• Late Adulthood: arthritis, hypertension, osteoporosis,
and weight loss may become evident

• Cognitive Development in Adulthood

• Early Adulthood: For Piaget, no changes occur in
thinking during adulthood although others believe that
adults use less idealism
• Middle Adulthood: Crystallized intelligence
(accumulated knowledge) increases in middle
adulthood, and fluid intelligence (abstract reasoning)
begins to decline
• Late Adulthood: decline in speed of processing and
some plasticity; Wisdom is expert knowledge about the
practical aspects of life: This area may improve with
age

• Socioemotional Development in Adulthood

• Early Adulthood: Erikson’s intimacy versus isolation
stage focuses on developing loving, stable relationships
• Middle Adulthood: In the generativity versus stagnation
stage, concern about contributions to society and
future generations emerges
• Late Adulthood: In the integrity versus despair stage,
reviewing life’s past experiences becomes a focus
6. Late Adulthood and Aging
• Older adulthood is a time of reflection—of evaluating the
accomplishments of a lifetime
• Successful aging depends on health, exercise, mental
stimulation, and social support
• Successful aging for much of adult life focuses on successful
work, successful relationships, maintaining good health, and
maintaining cognitive fitness