On Development:
It is a life-long process that has gains and losses in
multiple dimensions. It can be affected either by
nature1 and nurture2 but gradations of these vary
over time. It is also systematic, thus predictable. Ergo,
it is scientific. [Its ends are for: survival, adaptation,
wholeness, integrity, wisdom, conscience and logical
thinking.] Its goal is to CONTROL.
Dev’t. psych. is optimistic and resilient.
There are 4 kinds of development:
Physical Dev’t.-
Infancy and Childhood- Reflexes, almost complete
development of senses, lack of language
Adolescence- Puberty, change is sexual
characteristics,
Adulthood- (20’s-death) decline of physical and neural
features, menopause (female) or andropause (men).
Aging as defined in 3 theories: The Cellular Clock
Theory stating that the body cells has a definite span
of repairing, the Wear-and-Tear Theory stating the
body wears down through strenuous physical
activities, the Free Radical Theory stating that
restates the prior theory through free radicals that
damage the cells, and the Activity Theory stating
that as the body is more fit, the longer it can endure.
The 5 stages of death by Elisabeth Kübler- Ross:
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression,
Acceptance
Cognitive Dev’t. - developed by Jean Piaget and
postulated 4 stages.
1. Sensory-motor – (0-2yo.) relate through
senses of sight, touch and taste. Acts through
reflexes3. Lack of mental representations and
object permanence.
2. Preoperational- (2-6yo.) symbolic thinking
improves as language is learned. Imagination,
animism4, egocentricity5 and intuition6 are
developing. They still lack the ability to conserve7.
But they have already learned object
permanence.
1 they succeed in taking responsibility, they become
Physical environment and companions
2
Care given and affection received.
3
Involuntary actions. Examples of which are rooting
reflex, Babinski reflex, grasping reflex, sucking reflex,
startle reflex etc.
4 eidos.
Giving life to inanimate objects like dolls, cars etc.
5 Adding new information to an existing network of
Lack of ability to see the world in others’ perspective
6
Giving an answer without a reason but ‘basta’
7
Changing accidents but not essence
EugeneP.
3. Concrete operational- (6-12yo.) child can
now perform operations, but with help of visuals,
thus concrete.
4. Formal operational- (12yo.-death) child can
now think abstractly, and do conceptual operations.
The driving force behind learning is the schemas8.
These schemas are developed either by
assimilation9 or accommodation10.
Moral Dev’t. – developed by Lawrence Kohlberg.
Defines ‘morality’ as a system of deciding between
‘good’ and ‘evil’; how one’s conscience affects others.
He postulates 3 levels (6 stages) of moral dev’t.
I. Pre-conventional- (most children) main objective is
self-fulfillment.
Ia. Punishment Avoidance - act to avoid punishment.
Ib. Reward acquisition – act to get rewards
II. Conventional- (most teens and adults) other-
centeredness, conformity to norms and laws
IIa. Approval of others – act to get affirmation of
others
IIb. Law and order – act because of law and respect
to authority.
III. Post-conventional- (few adults) acts for a
‘universal good’; own scrutinised morals.
IIIa. Social principles contract- act for others’ welfare
and for others’ happiness, even at the cost of law.
IIIb. Universal principles of conscience- act acc. to
one’s conscience; Emphasis is on respect, dignity,
equity, even at the cost of order.
Psychosocial Dev’t. - 8 stages developed by E.
Erikson with each stage characterised by a specific
conflict.
Stages:
1. Infant- (0-1yo.) Trust vs. Mistrust= when
basic needs (milk, sleep, food) are met, trust is
gained. V.V.
2. Toddler- (1-3yo.) Autonomy vs. Doubt= if
they realise they can direct their behaviour, they
develop autonomy. V.V.
3. Preschool- (3-5yo.) Initiative vs. Guilt= if
they develop initiative. V.V.
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Mental images which are similar to the concept of
9
thought
10
Adjusting knowledge in response to new
information
4. Elementary- (5-12yo.) Industry vs.
Inferiority= If they develop new skills, they learn to
be competent, therefore industrial. V.V.
5. 11
Adolescence- (13-early20’s) Identity vs.
Role Confusion= answering “Who am I?” and
“What must I do?” builds a sense of identity. V.V.
6. Early Adulthood- (20’s-30’s) Intimacy vs.
Isolation= finding “the One” bears intimacy. V.V.
7. Mid-adulthood- (40’s-50’s) Generativity vs.
Stagnation= if one succeeds in preparing for the
next generation will be nurturing. V.V.
8. Late Adulthood- (60’s beyond) Ego
Integrity vs. Despair= When one achieves that
‘inner peace’ gives off confidence in facing death/
integrity. V.V.
Other related concepts to Psychosocial Dev’t.:
Temperament: the emotional and behavioural
characteristics fairly well established after birth.
• Easy- Babies with regular body rhythm and
are easily controlled
• Difficult- Active, hard to stay still, and loud
• Slow to warm up- they are as quiet as the
easy ones but are slow to adapt to change
Attachment- an emotional bond formed between the
baby and its primary guardian. Mary Ainsworth
postulated 4 kinds:
• Secure- willing to let go of guardian and is willing to
welcome him/her back
• Avoidant- willing to let go but not willing to
welcome back
• Ambivalent- unwilling to let go and unwilling to
return
• Disorganised/Disoriented- willing to let go but
unsure about welcoming back
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Another unique factor is the parent-adolescent
conflict.