Chapter 1-STUDY-OF-HUMAN-DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
MODULE 1 – THE STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

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Human Development is not new to you. You have already studied part and partial of it in
your Social Science 11 or Biology subjects. Life-span development is a lifelong process of
development from conception until the time when life ends. It includes the following stages:
pre-natal, infancy, babyhood, early childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood,
middle and late adulthood.
This module is a window into the journey of human development, its universal features,
its individual variations, its’ nature. Examining the shape of life span development allows us to
understand it better. Each of us develops partly like all other individuals and partly like no other
individual that makes us a unique person. However, as humans, we all have travelled some
common paths. Each of us, you, me and other people walked at about 1 year, engaged in play
as a young child, searched for identity as a youth. If we live long enough, we will experience
visual and hearing problems, death of family members and friends during later years.
These are reminders that whenever we talk about human development, we talk about
real people in a real world who undergoes changes, physically, socially, emotionally,
intellectually and morally throughout the life span.
In this module, we will explore the goals, importance, distinctive features and
characteristics of human development. Developmental process and periods of development will
be identified and described. Prominent theories and research methods that are the foundation
of the science of life-span development will be discussed. At the end of the module, some
ethical issues in research are included to inform study participants of their rights and the
investigators of their responsibilities and limitations.
LEARNING OBEJCTIVES: Upon completion of all the topics and activities presented in this
module you are expected to:
1. Define and explain basic concepts and importance of studying Life Span Development.
2. Discuss the distinctive features of a life-span perspective on development.
3. Identify and analyze the broad domains of Human Development and developmental
changes.
4. Describe the orderly stages of Human Development.
5. Explain the issues of development.
6. Compare some prominent theories of Human Development
7. Enumerate and discuss the different methods of developmental research.
LEARNING CONTENTS/TOPICS:
A. DEFINITION OF BASIC TERMS
 Human Development - is the orderly and sequential changes that occur with the
passage of time as an organism moves from conception to death.
 Developmental Psychology - is one area of psychology that explains that explains
the course of physical, psychosocial (social, emotional, moral), intellectual development
(cognitive development) and moral development over a person’s life span.
 Life-span Development – concept of human development as a life long process which
can be studied scientifically.
 Quantitative change – change in number or amount, such as height, weight or size of
vocabulary.
 Qualitative change – change in kind, structure or organization such as the change
from nonverbal to verbal communication.
KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

Isabela State University
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B. IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT
How would you benefit from the study of life-span development? You maybe a parent,
teacher, doctor, nurse, office worker, accountant, engineer, businessman, a preacher, politician
etc today or in the future. Your knowledge about human development would help you
understand and deal better with different people in your everyday life. Perhaps you would like
to know more about yourself as you grow through adult years. What are some of the affected
changes that you may encounter physically, emotionally, socially, mentally as you age? Your
accumulated knowledge through study and research would help you prepare in the future as a
parent understanding your own children, your students as a teacher, your patients as a doctor
or a nurse, your business associates, co-workers, supervisors, subordinates and others. Your
experiences today will prepare and help you and influence your development throughout the
remainder of your life.
C. GOALS OF THE STUDY OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT
1. Description – developmentalists attempt to describe both normal development and

individual differences or variation in development.
2. Explanation – they seek to understand
3. Prediction – knowledge of human development make it possible to predict later
behaviour.
4. Modification – (change behaviour) ex. Understanding of how language develops may
be used to help a child to talk. (research) a child that cannot talk.
D. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIFE-SPAN PERSPECTIVE

 Life Span Perspective – the perspective that development is lifelong, multi-directional
plastic, multidisciplinary and contextual; involves growth, maintenance, and regulation
and is constructed through biological, socio-cultural, and individual factors working
together.
 Development is Lifelong – no age period dominates development, early adulthood is
not the end point of development.
 Development is Multi-dimensional – whatever your age, your body, your mind, your
emotions, and your relationships are changing and affecting each other. Development
consists of biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimension, these are many
components.
 Development is Multi-directional – throughout life, some dimensions or components
of a dimension expand and others shrink.
 Development is Plastic – Plasticity means the capacity for change. Developmentalists
debate how much plasticity people have in various dimensions at different points in their
development.
 Developmental Science is Multidisciplinary - Psychologists, sociologists,
neuroscientists, anthropologists and medical researches share an interest in discovering
the mysteries of development through the life span.
 Development is Contextual – (CONTEXT) the setting in which development occurs,
which is influenced by historical, economic, social and cultural factors. All development
occurs within a context or setting. Context include families, schools, peer groups,
churches, cities, neighborhood, universities, laboratories, communities, countries and so
on. Individuals are changing beings in a changing world. As a result of these changes,
contexts exert three types of influences.
 Development involves Growth, Maintenance and Regulation of Loss – Baltes
and his colleagues assert that the mastery of life involves confidence and competition
among three goals of human development, growth, maintenance and regulation of loss.
E. BROAD DOMAINS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT)
1. Physical Development - these are changes that take place in the person’s body
including changes in weight and height, in the brain, heart, and the other organs,
structures and processes and in the skeletal, muscular and neurological features that
affects your motor skills.

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2. Psychosocial Development - changes and carry over in personal and interpersonal
aspects of development, such as motives, emotions, personality and social relationship.
 Personality Development - is a person’s unique and relatively consistent way
of feeling, reacting and behaving.
 Social Development - refers to changes in relationship with others.
 Emotional Development - subjective feelings such as sadness, joy, and fear
which arise in the response to situations and experiences and are expressed
through some kind of altered behavior.
3. Cognitive Development - are those changes that occur in the mental activity or
thought process - changes in sensation, perception, language, learning, thinking,
memory, problem solving and other mental processes.
Cognition - the activity of knowing and the process through which knowledge is
acquired.
4. Moral Development – are those changes that occur in the individual’s perception of
what is right and wrong and to act on this distinction. Development that involves
feelings and actions regarding rules and conventions about what people should do in
their interaction with other people. These include changes that occur in the individuals’
perception of what is right and wrong and to act on this distinction.
The goal of developmental changes is to enable people to adapt to the environment in which
they live.
F. DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES (Two Kinds)
Quantitative changes - (growth) change in number or amount measurable changes.

Qualitative changes - (development) change in kind, structure or organization.
Example: from non-verbal infant to a child who understands and speaks language.
Types of Changes in Development
1. Change in size - there is a change in physical and mental growth.

2. Change in proportion - physical development is not only limited to size. It also
apparent in mental development.
3. Disappearance of old features - some features that disappear are the thymus
gland, baby hair, Darwinian reflexes, Babinski reflex and the baby forms of locomotion
such as creeping and crawling.
4. Acquisition of new features - new features are acquired such as the primary and
secondary characteristics as well as new mental traits such as curiosity, sex, urge,
knowledge, morals and standards, religious beliefs, forms of language and types of
neurotic tendencies.
Factors of Development
 Maturation - is the development or unfolding of traits potentially present in the

individual considering his hereditary endowment.
 Learning - is the result of activities or day-to-day experiences of the child himself.
Rate of Development
 Rapid Development - observed during the prenatal period and continues throughout
babyhood (except for the first two weeks which is known as the “plateau” stage when
no physical development takes place) up to the first six years.
 Slow Development - starts from six years to adolescence.
Factors Influencing Attitudes towards Developmental Changes

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1. Appearance - changes that improve one’s appearance are welcome and lead to
favourable attitudes while those that detract from one’s appearance are resisted and
every possible attempt is made to camouflage them.
2. Changes in behavior - those that are the disconcerting especially during puberty and
senescence, affects attitudes toward the changes unfavourably. The reverse is true
when changes are favourable, as when the helplessness of babyhood gradually gives
away to the independence of childhood.
3. Cultural Stereotypes - people learn cultural stereotype associated with different ages
from mass media and they use them to judge people of these age
4. Cultural values - every culture has certain values associated with different ages.
Maximum productivity is associated with young adulthood through early middle
adulthood in the Filipino today; thus attitude towards this age group is more favourable
than attitudes towards any other group.
5. Role changes - attitudes toward people of different ages are greatly influences by the
roles they play. When people change their roles to less favourable ones, social attitudes
toward them become less sympathetic.
6. Personal experience - these have profound effect on an individual’s attitude toward
developmental changes. Since the authority and prestige of middle-aged executives
decreases as they approach retirement.
G. SIGNIFICANT FACTS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT
1. Early facts are critical. - Attitudes, habits, and patterns of behavior established
during the early years determine to a large extent how successful individuals will adjust
to life as they grow older.
3 conditions under which change is likely to occur:

a. Change may come about when the individual receives help and guidance in making
the change.
b. Changes are likely to occur when significant people treat individual in new and
different ways.
c. Change exists where there is strong motivation on the part of the individual himself
to make the change.
2. The role of maturation and learning in development. - Maturation and learning

play important roles in development.
3. Development follows a definite and predictable pattern. There are orderly

patterns of physical, motor, speech and intellectual development.
 Cephalocaudal Law - which maintains that development spreads over the
body from head to foot.
 Proximodistal law- which maintains that development spreads outward from
the central axis of the body to the extremities.

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4. All individual is different. - All people are biologically and genetically different from
one another, even identical twins. Since all individuals are different, no two people can
be expected to react in the same manner to the same environmental stimuli.
5. Each phase of development has a characteristic “pattern of behavior”. - The

patterns are marked by period of equilibrium when individuals adapt easily to
environmental demands and, as a result make good personal and social adjustments,
and by the periods of disequilibrium, when they experience difficulties in adaptation and,
as a result, make poor personal and social adjustments.
6. Each phase of development has hazards. - Evidences show that each period in a
life span has associated with it certain developmental hazards, whether physical,
psychological or environmental in origin and these inevitably involve adjustment
problems.
7. Development is aided by stimulation. - While most development will occur are

result of maturation and environmental experiences, much can be done to aid
development so that it will reach its full potential, this can be done by stimulating
development through directly encouraging the individual to use an ability which is in the
process of developing.
8. Development is affected by cultural changes. - Development is molded to

conform to cultural standards and ideas, thus, changes in these standards affect the
development pattern.
9. There is social expectation for every stage of development. - Every cultural

group expects its members to master certain essential skills and acquire approved
patterns of behavior at various ages during the life span.
10. There are traditional beliefs about people of all ages. - These beliefs about
physical and psychosocial characteristics affect the judgments of others as well as their
self-evaluation.
H. STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Prenatal period (conception-birth)
Is the time elapsing between conception & birth. It normally averages about 266 days,
or 280 days from the last day of the last menstrual period.
2. Newborn/Infancy (birth to the end of the 2nd week)

The infant arrives with all sensory system functioning. To the watchful observer, babies
communicate at least some of their perceptions and abilities. Newborns tell us what they
hear, see & feel in the same manner that any other organisms do-through systematic
responses to stimulating events.
3. Babyhood (from the end of the 2nd week to the end of 2nd year)
At this stage babies expend enormous amount of energy in exploring, learning about
and mastering their world. They continually initiate activities by which they can interact
effectively with the environment. Children at one year of age are poised for fundamental
development in language and social skills
Children’s physical growth takes place in a generally orderly fashion with predictable
changes occurring at given age levels.
4. Early Childhood (3-6 years)

The period between age 3 and 6 when children enlarge their repertoire of behaviors.
They refine their previously learned skills and evolve new ones for relating to other people
and to the large world. By doing so, they became progressively integrated into the broader
context of group life and in this way the child’s needs and capacities are fused with the
ideas and sentiment of the culture.

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5. Late Childhood (7-12 years)
During the elementary school years, marked development occurs in children’s ability to
receive, create and use knowledge about their physical; and social worlds. Children confront
the challenges of developing healthy self-conceptions. The stage is marked by growth in
children’s cognitive sophistication.
6. Adolescence (13-19 years)

This stage is frequently depicted s a carefree age of physical attractiveness, vitality,
robust fan, love, enthusiasm, & activity. Some authors find it a n extremely difficult period.
They hold contrasting images of adolescence like they are given to juvenile delinquency,
drug addiction, prenatal pregnancies and disrespect for authority. Adolescents experience a
very rapid increase in height and weight referred to as adolescent growth spurt. This stage
is also characterized by the development of reproductive system accompanied by extensive
physical changes, and development of formal operations.
7. Early Adulthood (20-39 years)

The age of infancy, childhood and adolescence are all preparation for entry to adult life.
Physiologically, young adults are at their peak; strength, endurance, reaction time,
perceptual abilities and sexual responsiveness are all optimal even though the aging process
is taking slight and usually not even tolls on the body. Early adulthood is also a period of
effective cognitive functioning. Young adults are physically and intellectually capable for
they face many challenges, they are changed by marriage, new parenthood, and other
normal events of the family life cycle, just as they are affected by their work and
experiences.
8. Middle Adulthood (40-64 years)

Stage characterized by the gradual decline in the body and its physical capacities that
began in the 20’s & 30’s may now become noticeable. Gray hairs or (no hairs) shortness of
breath after exercise, a need for reading glasses proclaims that one is aging. Women
experiences menopause around age 50, both men and women become more vulnerable to
heart diseases and other chronic illnesses.
Although intellectual capacities generally remain quite stable, middle aged adults
gradually gain some intellectual capacities and lose others. After emptiness & middle-aged
adults are freed of major parenting responsibilities, they often find their marriages more
satisfying take pride in their grown children & grandchildren.
9. Late Adulthood (65-above)

Old age brings with it some losses and declines in functioning, but it is also for most, a
period of continued growth & many satisfactions. By the time adults are in their 60’s and
70’s, most of them have a physical impairment of some kind – a chronic disease, a
disability, failing eyesight or hearing, or, at the least a slower nervous system and slower
reactions. Most adults continue to carry out daily activities effectively and they enjoy just as
much self-esteem and life satisfaction as younger adults do. They continue to lead active
social lives, use their sophisticated social cognitive skills to understand other people and
engage in complex moral reasoning and enjoy close ties with both family and friends.
Issues in Human Development
 Nature versus Nurture

 Continuity versus discontinuity
 Stability versus change
Nature vs. Nurture
The degree to which human behavior is determined by genetics/ biology (nature) or learned
through interacting with the environment.

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Nature
 Behavior is caused by innate characteristics: The physiological/ biological characteristics

we are born with.
 Behavior is therefore determined by biology
 Also a Determinist view- suggest all behavior is determined by hereditary factors:
Inherited characteristics, or genetic makeup we are born with.
 All possible behaviors are said to be present from conception.
 Genes provide the blueprint for all behaviors; some present from birth, others pre-
programmed to emerge with age.
Nurture
 An individual’s behavior is determined by the environment- the things people teach

them, the things they observe and because of the different situations they are in.
 Also a determinist view-proposed all human behavior is the result of interactions with
environment.
 Behaviorist theories are nurture theories:
 Behavior is shape by interactions with the environment.
 Born an empty vessel – waiting to be filled up by experiences gained from
environmental interaction.
Nature Nurture interaction
 Behavior is often a result of the interaction between nature and nurture

 An individual’s characteristics may elicit particular responses in other people e.g.
Temperament: how active, responsive or emotional an infant is influences in part
determines their caregivers responses.
Gender: people tend to react differently to boys and girls due to expectations of
masculine and feminine characteristics.
 Aggression: Displaying aggressive behavior create particular responses from other
people.
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Continuity and discontinuity are two competing theories in developmental psychology that
attempt to explain how people change through the course of their lives, someone change
through the course of their lives, where the continuity theory says that someone changes
throughout their life along a smooth course while the discontinuity theory instead contends that
people change abruptly. These change can be described as a wide variety of someone’s social
and behavioral make up, like their emotions, traditions, beliefs.
Stability vs. change
Deals with the issue of whether or not personality traits present during infancy endure
throughout the lifespan.
 The stability- change debate describes the developmental psychology discussion

about whether personality traits that are present in an individual at birth remain
constant or change throughout the life span.
 For example, does a naturally extroverted and talkative baby remain that way for
their entire life?

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J. THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT
Theory/Phenomena is a set of logically related concepts of statements which seeks to
describe and explain development and predict what kinds of behavior might occur under certain
conditions.
Theories are particularly useful if they are concise and yet applicable to a wide range of
phenomena. Good theories are also precise, that is, capable if making explicit prediction that
can be evaluated in later research.
All theorists agree that human change all the time and that there are biological,
psychological and social causes of this development.
We will put into consideration 4 theories of human development, the Cognitive Theory
by Piaget, Psychosocial Theory by Erikson, Psychosexual Theory by Freud and Moral Theory by
Kohlberg.
Theory of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)
The Swiss researcher who believed that children’s thinking is

qualitatively different from adults. His theory outlined children’s
cognitive progress through a series of stages.
 Cognitive Development refers to how a person

perceives, thinks & gains an understanding of his/her world
through the interaction and influence of genetic and learned
factors.
Piaget believed that children learn to understand things such as
whether to eat or stack blocks, through two active processes:
assimilation & accommodation.
Basic Concepts:
 Assimilation – is a process by which a child uses old methods or experience to deal

with new situations.
 Accommodation – is the process by which a child changes old methods to deal

with or adjust to new situations.
 Equilibration - Achieving proper balance between assimilation and

accommodation.
 Schema - Cognitive structures by which individuals intellectually adapt to

and organize their environment.
Piaget’s cognitive stages refer to four (4) different stages: sensorimotor, pre-
operational, concrete operations & formal operations – each of which is more advanced than
the preceding stage because it involves new reasoning and thinking abilities.

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I. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (from birth to about 2 years old)
The first stage of Piaget’s cognitive stages. During this stage, infants interact with and
learn about their environments by relating their sensory experience (such as hearing or seeing)
to their motor action (mouthing & grasping).
Object permanence – refers to the understanding that objects or events continue to
exist even if they can no longer be heard, touch or seen.
The idea of object permanence develops slowly over a period of about 9 months. By
the end of the sensorimotor stage (about age 2) an infant will search long and hard for lost of,
or disappearance objects indicating a fully developed concept of object permanence.
II. PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE (from 2-7 years old)
During the 2nd stage, children learn to use symbols such as words or mental images to
solve simple problems and to think or talk about things that are not present.
This stage is highlighted by the following important events:
a. conservation – refers to the fact that even though the shape of some objects or substances
is changed, the total amount remains the same.
b. egocentric thinking – refers to seeing and thinking of the world only from your own
viewpoint & having difficulty appreciating someone else’s point of view.
c. centration – the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect of a thing or event and
exclude other aspects.
d. irreversibility – pre operational children have the inability to reverse their thinking. They
can understand that 2+3=5 but can’t understand that 5-3=2.
e.animism – the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or characteristics to

inanimate objects.
f. transductive reasoning – the pre operational child’s type of reasoning that is neither
inductive nor deductive.
III. STAGE OF CONCRETE OPERATIONS (from about 7 to 11 years)
During this 3rd stage, children can perform a number of logical mental operations or concrete
objects (those that are physically present). It is marked by the following:

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a. Decentering – the ability of the child to perceive the different features of objects and
situations. No longer is the child focused or limited to one aspect or dimension.
b. Reversibility – the child can now follow that certain operations can be done in reverse.
Ex. Addition is the reverse of subtraction.
c. Conservation – that ability to know that certain properties of objects like number,
mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in appearance.
d. Seriation – the ability to order or arrange things in a series based on one dimension
such as weight, volume, or size.
e. Classification – process of sorting stimuli into categories of characteristics, such as in

length, weight, amount, etc.
IV. STAGE OF FORMAL OPERATIONS (from about 12 years old to adulthood)

During this 4th & last stage, adolescents and adults develop the ability to think & solve
abstract problems in a logical manner. It is the stage when adolescents develop thinking &
reasoning like typical adults. It is characterized by the following:
a. Hypothetical Reasoning – the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a

problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or judgment.
The student can now deal with ‘what if” question.
b. Analogical Reasoning –the ability to perceive the relationship in one instance and
then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in another similar situation
or problem.
c. Deductive Reasoning – the ability to think logically by applying general rule to a

particular instance or situation.
Psychosexual Development Theory (Sigmund Freud)
Freud (1940 – 1961) hypothesized that each of us the individual

seeks pleasure from different areas of the body associated with sexual
feelings. Freud emphasized that the child’s first five years are most
important to social and personality development.
In Freud’s theory there is often conflict between the child and the
parent. The conflict arise because the child wants immediate satisfaction
of its needs while parents often place restrictions.
Basic Concepts:
Basic Concepts:
Frustration, Overindulgence, Fixation, Errogenous zones
Some people do not seem to be able to leave one stage and proceed on to the next. One
reason for this may be that the needs of the developing individual at any particular stage may
not have been adequately met in which case there is frustration.

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Or possibly the person's needs may have been so well satisfied that he/she is reluctant to leave
the psychological benefits of a particular stage in which there is overindulgence.
Both frustration and overindulgence (or any combination of the two) may lead to what
psychoanalysts call fixation at a particular psychosexual stage.
Fixation refers to the theoretical notion that a portion of the individual's libido has been
permanently 'invested' in a particular stage of his development. It is assumed that some libido
is permanently invested in each psychosexual stage and thus each person will behave in some
ways that are characteristic of infancy, or early childhood.
Errogenous zones are pleasure areas that become focal points for the particular stage.
I. ORAL STAGE
Period: Early infancy to the first 18 months of life.
Errogenous Zone: mouth.
Important Event: Pleasure seeking activities include sucking, chewing and biting.
Fixation: If the child is locked into or fixated at this stage because his oral wishes
were gratified too much (overindulgence) or too little (frustration), he would continue to seek
oral gratifications as an adult manifested in smoking, overeating, being orally receptive or orally
aggressive.
II. ANAL STAGE

Period. Late infancy to 1.5 – 3 years.
Errogenous Zone. anus
Important Event: The child finds satisfaction in eliminating and retaining feces. The
child needs to work on toilet training.
Fixation: If a child was locked into or fixated at this stage, he would continue to engage
in behavioral activities related to retention of elimination. Retention may take the form of being
anal retentive – obsession with cleanliness, perfection and control, stingy or behaviorally rigid,
or anal expulsive – the person becomes messy and disorganized, or being too generous.
III. PHALLIC STAGE
Period. Early childhood to 3 – 6 years.

Errogenous zone: genitals
Important Event: During this stage, the child will compete with the parent of the same
sex (father/mother) for the affection and pleasure of the parent of the opposite sex
(father/mother). Children become interested in what makes boys and girls different.
Fixation: Problems in resolving this competition (called Oedipus/Electra complex) may
result in feelings of inferiority for men and of having to prove something for women and vice
versa.
IV. LATENCY STAGE
Period. Middle and late childhood from six to puberty.

Errogenous Zones: None
Important Event. The latency stage, which lasts from about age six to puberty, is a time
when the child represses sexual thoughts and engages in non-sexual activities, such as
developing social and intellectual skills.
Fixation: None
At puberty, sexuality reappears and marks the beginning of a new stage.
V. GENITAL STAGE
Period. Puberty through adulthood.
Errogenous zones: genitals
Important Event. A time when the individual has renewed sexual desires that he or she
seeks to fulfill through the relationships with members of the opposite sex.

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If the child successfully resolved conflicts in the first three stages, she will have the
energy to develop a loving relationship and mature personality.
Psychosocial Stages of Development (Erik Homberger Erikson)
Erickson’s theory draws our attention to the continual process of

personality development that takes place throughout a person’s life
span. It focuses on the individual’s interaction with society. According
to Erikson, personality develops through a progressive resolution of
conflicts between needs and social demands.
According to Erikson, a child will encounter a psychosocial
problem at each stage. If he successfully solves the problem, he will
develop a good social trait that will help him solve the next problem. If
he is unsuccessful, he will develop a bad social trait that will hinder his
or her solving a new problem at the next stage. The more successful an
individual resolves the problem the healthier development will be.
Basic Concepts:
Epigenetic Principle – this principle says that we develop through a predetermined unfolding of
our personalities in eight stages. Our progress through each stage is in part determined by our
success, or lack of success, in all the previous stages.
Psychological crisis – two opposing emotional in every stage of development.
Virtue – is attained when a stage is managed well or when the stage is successfully passed
through.
I. TRUST vs. MISTRUST

Period. Early infancy – birth through the first year.
Important Event. Feeding
Potential problem. The child comes into the world as a helpless infant who needs much
care and attention.
Outcome. If the child’s parents are responsive and sensitive to his needs, he will
develop what Erikson calls basic trust, which makes it easier for him to trust people later in life.
If the child’s parents neglect his needs, he may view his world as uncaring, learns to become
mistrustful, and have difficulty dealing with the second stage.
Virtue. Hope
II. AUTONOMY vs. SHAME & DOUBT

Period. Late infancy to 1-3 years.
Important Event. Toilet Training
Potential problem. Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical
skills and a sense of independence. As a child begins walking, talking and exploring, he is
bound to get into conflict with the wishes of his parents.
Outcome: If his parents encourage him to explore. He will develop a sense of
independence or autonomy. If his parents disapprove of or punish his explorations, he may
develop a feeling that independence is bad and feels the shame and doubt.
Virtue. Will
III. INITIATIVE vs. GUILT

Period. Early childhood to 3 – 5 years.
Important Event. Exploration
Potential problem. As a preschooler, a child has developed a number of cognitive and
social skills he is expected to use to meet the challenges in his small world. Some of these
challenges involve assuming responsibility and making plan and initiating new things.

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Outcome: If people around the child discourage initiative, however, he may feel
uncomfortable or guilty and may develop a feeling of being unable to plan his future.
Virtue. Purpose
IV. INDUSTRY vs. INFERIORITY

Period. Middle and late childhood to 6-12 years.
Important Event. Attending school.
Potential problem. A child’s grade school years are an exciting time, filled with
participating in school, playing games with other children, and working to complete projects.
Outcome. If he can direct his energy into working at and completing tasks, he will
develop a feeling of industry. If he has difficulty applying himself and completing homework, he
may develop a feeling of inferiority and incompetence. Feedback from peers, parents &
teachers they receive regarding their adequacy shapes their self-image & self-esteem.
Virtue. Competence
V. IDENTITY vs. CONFUSION

Period. Adolescence. (ages 13-20)
Important Event. Social Relationships
Potential problem. Adolescents need to leave behind the carefree, irresponsible, and
impulsive behaviors of childhood and to develop the more purposeful, responsible, planned
behaviors of adults.
Outcome. If he is successful in making this change, he will develop a sense of
confidence and a positive identity. If he is successful he will experience role confusion, which
will result in low self-esteem and become socially withdrawn.
Virtue. Fidelity
VI. INTIMACY vs. ISOLATION

Period. Early adulthood. (20-30 years)
Important Event. Intimate Relationships
Potential problem. Early adulthood is a time for finding intimacy by developing loving
and meaningful relationships. On the positive side, we can find intimacy in caring relationships.
On the negative side, without intimacy, we will have a painful feeling of isolation and our
relationship will be impersonal.
Outcome. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and
isolation
Virtue. Love
VII. GENERATIVITY vs. STAGNATION

Period. Middle adulthood (40 – 65)
Important Event. Work and Parenthood.
Potential problem: Middle adulthood is a time for helping the younger generation
develop worthwhile lives. Generativity is achieved through raising our own children. If adults
have no children of their own, they can achieve generativity through close relationships with
children of friends or relatives. Generativity can also be achieved through mentoring at work
and in helping others. On the other side, lack of involvement leads to a feeling of stagnation, of
having done nothing for the younger generation.
Outcome. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and
isolation
Virtue. Care
VIII. INTEGRITY vs. DESPAIR

Period. Late adulthood. (65 and older)
Important Event. Reflection on life.
Potential problem. Late adulthood is a time for reflecting on and reviewing how we met
previous challenges and lived our lives.
Outcome. If we can look back and feel contented about how we lived and what we
accomplished, we will have a feeling of satisfaction or integrity. On the negative side, if we

13
reflect and see a series of crises, problems and bad experiences, we will have a feeling of regret
and despair.
Virtue. Wisdom
Theory of Moral Reasoning(Lawrence Kohlberg)
Kohlberg believed that moral judgment develops with age. His

theory has two distinct features. First, he classifies moral reasoning to
three distinct levels – preconventional, conventional and
postconventional. Second, he suggests that everyone progresses through
the levels in order, from lowest to higher. Not everyone reaches,
however, the highest levels of moral development.
I. PRECONVENTIONAL LEVEL (before age 9)

Kohlberg’s lowest level of moral reasoning. At this level, good and bad are interpreted in
terms of external rewards and punishments.
This level represents Kohlberg’s lowest level of moral reasoning. It has two stages:
 Stage 1 (heteronomous morality age 4-7) – moral decisions are based primary
on fear of punishment or the need to be obedient.
 Stage 2 (individualism, instrumental purpose and exchange) – at this stage,
individuals reason that pursuing their own interests is the right thing to do but they
let others do the same. Thus, they think that what is right involves an equal
exchange. They reason that if they are nice to others, others will be nice to them in
return.
II. CONVENTIONAL LEVEL (Adolescence) – the second or intermediate level, at this level
individuals apply certain standards, but they are standards set by others such as parents of the
government. This level represents an intermediate level of moral reasoning.
 Stage 3 (mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships and
interpersonal conformity) At this stage, individuals value trust, caring and loyalty
to others as a basis of moral judgments.
 Stage 4 (social systems morality) at this stage, moral judgments are based on
understanding the social order, law, justice, and duty.

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III. POSTCONVENTIONAL LEVEL the highest level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development. At this level, an individual recognizes alternative moral causes explores the
options, and then decides on a personal moral code.
 Stage 5 (social contract or utility and individual rights) at this stage,
individuals reason that values, rights and principles undergrid or transcend the law.
 Stage 6 (universal ethical principles) the highest stage in Kohlberg’s theory of
moral development. At this stage, the person has developed a moral standard based
on universal human rights.
Kohlberg believe that these levels and stages occur in a sequence and are age related.
Before age 9, most children use level 1, pre-conventional reasoning based on external rewards
and punishments, when they consider moral choices. By early adolescence, their moral
reasoning is increasingly based on the application of standards set by others. Most adolescents
reason at stage 3, with some signs of stage 2 and 4. By early adulthood a small member of
individuals reason in post conventional ways
Ecological Theory of Human Development
 Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Biological theory looks at a child’s development within the

context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment.
 The interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate
family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his
development.
 Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a
child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate
environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.
I. The Microsystem
 This is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with which
the child has direct contact.
 The microsystem encompasses the relationships and interactions a child has

with her immediate surroundings (Berk, 2000). Structures in the microsystem
include family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments.
 Relationships have impact in two directions - both away from the child and
toward the child. For example, a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and

15
behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the
parent.
 At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the
greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still
impact the inner structures
II. The Mesosystem
This layer provides the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem
(Berk, 2000). Examples: the connection between the child’s teacher and his parents,
between his church and his neighborhood, etc.
III. The Exosystem
This layer defines the larger social system in which the child does not function
directly. The structures in this layer impact the child’s development by interacting
with some structure in her microsystem (Berk, 2000).
Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources are examples.
IV. The Macrosystem
This layer may be considered the outermost layer in the child’s environment. While
not being a specific framework, this layer is comprised of cultural values, customs,
and laws (Berk, 2000).
The effects of larger principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading

influence throughout the interactions of all other layers.
DETERMINANTS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Two groups of determinants of human development
a. biological or genetic factors &
b. environmental or contextual factors.
A model of the determinants of life span development was describe by Dr. Aldrich in his
‘WATERMELON THEORY” Aldrich divides determinants into two (2) categories that are
similar to the genetic and environmental factors, biological aspect (the top half of the
watermelon )and psychosocial aspects (the bottom half of the watermelon).
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
These are the genetic or inherited aspects of development including physical features and
physiological organs.
 Cardiovascular system (Lungs & heart)

 Central nervous system (Brain & Spinal Cord)
 musculoskeletal system (bones & attached muscles)
 Endocrine System (ductless gland)
 Skin
PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS
These factors are the physical environment (e.g. school, and neighborhood) and the social
environment (e.g. parents, teachers, peers, and co-workers), as well as the individual’s personal
or psychological “interpretations” of these environments, including:
 Cognitive development (the development of thinking and language)

16
 Personality development ( the development of the self concept, including behaviour
patterns and values)
 Social Development (the lifelong process by which individuals develop attitudes,
beliefs, knowledge, the awareness of expectations, and appropriate role behaviour).
THE INTERACTION OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Both heredity and environment are intimately involved in the development of human
beings, but how do heredity and environment interact in the process of development?
The concepts of canalization, gene expression and range of reaction are important to an
understanding of this process of interaction and mutual regulation of development.
CANALIZATION – a model of genetic traits in which such traits can be thought of as a ball
rolling down a canal. Where the canals are fairly deep, it is difficult for the environment to
change the direction of the ball. At other times (called the sensitive periods) the rolling ball may
arrive at a point where several shallow canals meet. During this period the environment may
influence the course of the ball (or the genetic trait)
THE CONCEPT OF GENE EXPRESSION - The possession of a genetic endowment for a

particular trait does not mean that the trait will automatically be translated into a physical
characteristic.
RANGE OF REACTION – This is the variation in traits, skills, or abilities that can develop from
the same genetic endowment under variety of conditions.
K. RESEARCH METHODS
Researchers in human development work within two methodological traditions:
 Quantitative Research – deals with “hard” objectively measurable data: ex. How
much fear or anxiety does job applicants feel before interview, as measured by
standardized tests, physiological changes or statistical analysis.
 Qualitative Research – deals with soft data about the nature or quality of
participants’ subjective experiences, feelings or belief – for instance, how job applicants
describe their emotions before interview.
 Sampling – (Sample) group of participants chosen to represent the entire population
for study.
FORMS OF DATA COLLECTION

Common ways of gathering data include self reports (verbal reports by study
participants), tests and other behavioural measures, and observation. Researches may use one
or more of those data collection techniques in any research design. Qualitative research tends
to depend heavily on interviews and or observation in natural settings, where as quantitative
research makes use of more structured methods.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MAJOR METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Self-Reports: Diaries, Interviews, Questionnaires.

 Diaries – a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has
happened over the course of a day or other period.
 Interview – a face to face encounter between the interviewee and the interviewer as a
means of gathering data.
 Questionnaire – an instrument for gathering data in the form of printed questions
about a given subject.

17
The simplest form of self report is a diary or log. Ex. Adolescents may be asked to record what
they eat each day or the times they feel depressed. In studying young children, parental self-
reports – diaries, journals, interviews or questionnaires – are commonly used, often together
with other methods such as videotaping or recording.
In a face-to-face or telephone interview, researchers ask questions about attitudes,
opinions, or behaviour. In structured interview, each participant is asked the same set of
questions. An open-ended interview, more often is used in qualitative research is more
flexible, the interviewer can vary the topics and order of questions and ask follow up questions
based on the responses. To reach more people and protect their privacy, researchers,
sometimes distribute a printed questionnaire which participants fill out and return.
Advantage: Can provide first hand information about a person’s life, attitudes or opinions.
Disadvantage: Participant may remember information accurately or may distort responses in a
socially desirable way; how question is asked or by whom may affect answer.
 Behavioral and Performance Measure – shows something about a person rather than
asking the person or someone else (such as parent or friend) to tell about it.
Advantage: Provide objectively measurable information; avoids subjective distortions.

Disadvantage: Cannot measure attitudes or other non-behavioral phenomena; results may be
affected by extraneous factors.
 Naturalistic and Laboratory Observation

o Naturalistic observation – research method in which behaviour is studies in
natural settings without intervention or manipulation. This is common in
qualitative research where researchers look at people in real life setting and
record what they see without changing the situation.
o Laboratory observation – research method in which all participants are
observed under the same controlled conditions.
Advantage: Provides good description of behavior; does not subject people to unnatural
settings that may distort behaviour.
Disadvantage: Lack of control; observer bias.
BASIC RESEARCH DESIGNS

A research design is a plan for conducting a scientific investigation: what questions are
to be selected, how data are to be collected and interpreted, and how valid conclusions can be
drawn. Four of the basic designs used in developmental research are case studies, ethnographic
studies, correlational studies and experiments
 Case Studies – a study that focuses on a single individual rather than a group of
subjects, neuropsychological measures, biographical, autobiographical or documentary
material.
Advantage: Flexibility: provides detailed picture of one’s behavior and development; can
generate hypotheses
Disadvantage: May not generalize to others, conclusions not directly testable, cannot establish
cause and effect.
 Ethnographic studies – seeks to describe the pattern of relationships, customs,

beliefs, technology, arts, and traditions that make up a society’s way of life.
Ethnographic research can be qualitative, quantitative or both. It was a combination of
methods, including participant observation – a form of naturalistic observation in
which researchers live or participate in the societies or groups they observe.
Advantage: Can help overcome culturally-based biases in theory and research; can test
university of developmental phenomena
Disadvantage: Subject to observer bias.
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 Correlational Studies – research design intended to discover a correlation or
statistical relationship between variables, phenomena that change or vary among people
or can be varied for purposes of research.
Advantage: Allows prediction of one variable on basis of another; an suggest hypotheses about
causal relationships.
Disadvantage: Cannot establish cause and effect.
 Experimental Method – a method that makes use of an experiment in a controlled,

replicable procedure in which the experimenter manipulates variables to learn how one
affects another.
Advantage: Establishes cause-and-effect relationships; highly controlled procedure that can be

repeated by another investigator. Degree of control is greatest in the laboratory experiment.
Disadvantage: Findings, especially when derived from laboratory experiments, may not
generalize to situations outside the laboratory.
A common way to conduct an experiment is to divide the participants into two kinds groups.
DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
 Longitudinal study. A study approach in which scientist study the same individuals at
different points of their lives. This allows the researcher to study the same individuals at
regular intervals between birth and death.
Advantage: Can show age-related change or continuity; avoids confounding age with
cohort effects.
Disadvantage: Time-consuming, expensive; problems of attrition, bias in sample, and
effects of repeated testing; results may be valid only for cohort tested or sample
studied.
 Cross-sectional study. Study design in which people of different ages are assessed on
one occasion.
Advantage: Can show similarities and differences among age groups; speedy
economical; no problem of attrition or repeated testing.
Disadvantage: Cannot establish age effects; masks individual differences, can be
confounded by cohort effects.
 Sequential method. A study that combines both the longitudinal and cross-sectional
method.
Advantage: Can avoid drawbacks of both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.

Disadvantage: Requires large amount of time and effort and the analysis of very
complex data.
 Microgenetic study. Study design that allows researches to directly observe change
by repeated testing over a short time.
Advantage: occurs as changes are happening, allows us to see what causes changes
and why change occurs, very in depth
Disadvantage : the experience used to stimulate change may be atypical and may
not cause change outside of the lab or the change may not persist over long periods

19
 Survey Method - A procedure for gathering date in which people are interviewed
through questions read from prepared questionnaires, or people received questionnaires
in mail, etc. fill out and return it.
 Interview - a face to face encounter between the interviewees and the
interviewer as means of gathering data
 Questionnaire - an instrument for gathering data in the form of printed
questions about a given subject.
 Naturalistic Observation Method - A research approach that entails watching and

recording of behavior as it occurs in their common everyday surroundings. A researcher
simply observes and records what he or she sees without changing the situation.
 Observer influence - tendency of the participant to react to an observer’s

presence by behaving report in unusual ways.
 Structured Observation - an observation method in which the investigator cues
the behavior of interest and observes participant’s response in a laboratory. They
create special conditioned designed to elicit the behavior of interest.
 Modifications in observational techniques:
1. Time Sampling - an observational technique in which the researcher
counts the number of times that a given behavior is exhibited by a subject
in a constant, systematic spaced interval time.
2. Event Sampling - an observational technique in which the researcher
focuses upon a class of behaviors and records the time that is consumed by
a given episode.
Advantage: it is independent of the subject’s ability or willingness to report on given

matters
Disadvantage: with the same amount of time and money fewer people can be directly
observed than interviewed.
 Cross Cultural Method - A technique that involves the comparison of data from two
or more societies, so that culture, rather than the individuals are the unit of analysis.
Advantage: It helps to separate behavior from the context or environment.

Disadvantage: A researcher is unlikely to know much about individual societies when
comparing many societies from different parts of the world. If a tested explanation turns out to
be supported, the lack of detailed knowledge about the sample cases is not much of a
problem.
INDIGENOUS RESEARCH METHOD
Many of the existing and popular methods of gathering data have a Western framework
and are not suited to gauge the thoughts, feelings and actions of Filipinos so Virgilio
Enriquez (1980) Father of Filipino Psychology suggested the use of indigenous methods of
research.
1. Patanung-tanong - method on which emphasis is given not only on how it is

carried out, but on the qualities of the interview as well as the interviewees, the
purpose, the place, the situations, the time and the method of asking questions.
2. Pakapa-kapa - (called the groping method) this approach searches into an
unsystematized mass of cultural and social data to be able to obtain order, meaning
and directions for research.
3. Pagmamasid - is a visual method for monitoring or examining actions of person,
events or other phenomena in a particular place. It may involve:
 Paguusyuso - observing an event that has happened or still happening
 Pakikiramdam - implies sensitivity to what is going on or what is being
studied or observed.

20
4. Pakikipanayam - involves asking questions from, or conversing with experts or
authorities on a topic under investigation
5. Pagdalaw-dalaw - entails frequent visits to participants which enable the
researcher to gain the confidence of community and to allow more freedom of
expressing the respondents inner most feelings which they apt to hold back.

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DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

MODULE 1 – THE STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

A. DEFINITION OF BASIC TERMS

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

C. GOALS OF THE STUDY OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Description – developmentalists attempt to describe both normal development and

D. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIFE-SPAN PERSPECTIVE

E. BROAD DOMAINS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT)

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

F. DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES (Two Kinds)

Quantitative changes - (growth) change in number or amount measurable changes.

Types of Changes in Development

1. Change in size - there is a change in physical and mental growth.

 Maturation - is the development or unfolding of traits potentially present in the

Factors Influencing Attitudes towards Developmental Changes

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

G. SIGNIFICANT FACTS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT

3 conditions under which change is likely to occur:

2. The role of maturation and learning in development. - Maturation and learning

3. Development follows a definite and predictable pattern. There are orderly

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

5. Each phase of development has a characteristic “pattern of behavior”. - The

7. Development is aided by stimulation. - While most development will occur are

8. Development is affected by cultural changes. - Development is molded to

9. There is social expectation for every stage of development. - Every cultural

H. STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2. Newborn/Infancy (birth to the end of the 2nd week)

4. Early Childhood (3-6 years)

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

6. Adolescence (13-19 years)

7. Early Adulthood (20-39 years)

8. Middle Adulthood (40-64 years)

9. Late Adulthood (65-above)

Issues in Human Development

 Nature versus Nurture

Nature vs. Nurture

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

 Behavior is caused by innate characteristics: The physiological/ biological characteristics

 An individual’s behavior is determined by the environment- the things people teach

Nature Nurture interaction

 Behavior is often a result of the interaction between nature and nurture

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

Stability vs. change

 The stability- change debate describes the developmental psychology discussion

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

Theory of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)

The Swiss researcher who believed that children’s thinking is

 Cognitive Development refers to how a person

 Assimilation – is a process by which a child uses old methods or experience to deal

 Accommodation – is the process by which a child changes old methods to deal

 Equilibration - Achieving proper balance between assimilation and

 Schema - Cognitive structures by which individuals intellectually adapt to

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

II. PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE (from 2-7 years old)

e.animism – the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or characteristics to

III. STAGE OF CONCRETE OPERATIONS (from about 7 to 11 years)

KATHREEN CUSTODIO-JOSON, Ph.D.

e. Classification – process of sorting stimuli into categories of characteristics, such as in

IV. STAGE OF FORMAL OPERATIONS (from about 12 years old to adulthood)

a. Hypothetical Reasoning – the ability to come up with different hypothesis about a

c. Deductive Reasoning – the ability to think logically by applying general rule to a

Psychosexual Development Theory (Sigmund Freud)

Freud (1940 – 1961) hypothesized that each of us the individual