PERIODS,

DEVELOPMENTAL
TASKS AND
DOMAINS OF
DEVELOPMENT
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• Human growth and development are a lifelong
process of physical, cognitive, and emotional
growth and behavioural change. Growth is cellular
and is observed in quantifiable changes of physical
aspects of the person such as change in size.
Development is organizational in nature and is seen
in the qualitative overall and progressive changes of
the person and change of structure. Human children
both grow and develop dramatically from birth
through about approximately 18 years of age.
 • There are different terms that we need to know/familiarize
and understand how the child is being developed.

• The development does involve growth in early life, stability in early

adulthood and declines associated with aging in later life as well as
heredity which transmitted the traits of parents through genes.
• is the gradual and orderly unfolding of the
characteristics of the individuals as they
go through the successive stages of
growth. It involves a change from simplicity
to complexity and implies an increasingly
progressive maturity of behavior as well as
the organization of personality and
character. The result of the activities of the
child himself.
• Refers to the totality of surrounding
conditions that influence the growth,
development and survival of
organism. It refers to all the external
physical and social conditions and
events that can affect us, from
crowded living quarters to stimulating
social interactions.
 THE INFLUENCE OF NATURE AND
NURTURE
• One of the prevailing issues in psychology is the age-old debate on
nature and nurture, continuously seeking to understand the
influence of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment) on
human development.
• The debate intends to find out whether genetic factors have more
influence on one’s behavior or personality over environmental
factors or the other way around. Nature refers to genes or hereditary
factors which are commonly seen in appearance and
characteristics while nurture implies environmental variables such
as how a child is raised, the socio-emotional relations and the
surrounding culture.
•
• 1. Plato and Descartes advocated that
there are certain things that are innate,
or that they occur naturally apart from
environmental contexts and influences.
They take the standpoint of nativists
with the concept that all or most
characteristics and behaviours are the
consequences of inheritance and are
the outcomes of evolution. Genetic
traits handed down from
ancestors/parents influence the
individual differences that create
uniqueness in every person.
• 2. John Locke, on the other hand,
come with the concept of tabula
rasa, which gives the impression
that the mind begins as a blank
slate – atbirth, the human mind
has no innate ideas. Thus,
everything that a person knows
(knowledge) is determined by
the encounter (experience) with
the varied stimuli around him or
her.
• 3. Empiricists and behaviourists
take the perspective that all or
most characteristics and
behaviours result from learning.
The behaviourists believe that all
actions and behaviours are the
results of conditioning. Irrespective
of genetic background,
behavioural theorists such as John
B. Watson believed that people
could be trained to do and/or to
become anything.
• 4. Contemporary views present that more
and more psychologists and researchers
are now starting to become aware of the
reality that these two factors do not
individually influence development instead,
they work together (interact). Thus, they find
interest in examining how nature (genes)
modulates nurture (environmental
influences) or the other way around.
Nevertheless, while few take the extreme
nativist or radical empiricist/behaviourist
approach, the debate on the degree to
which heredity and environment influence
behaviour remains.
• Conception signals the beginning of
prenatal development which starts with
fertilization in the germinal stage through
the implantation in the embryonic
development and continues through cell
differentiation in fetal development. The
average duration for prenatal development
to complete is 38 weeks from the date of
conception.
• The three stages of prenatal
development are called
germinal, embryonic and
fetal periods. Germinal stage
happens in the first two weeks
after conception, embryonic
stage is the third through the
eighth week, and from the
ninth week up until birth is the
fetal period.
• It may be helpful to mention that while the major
structures of the developing body are forming, the
health of the mother is equally of primary concern
because the health of the mother will determine
the health of the developing child. Evolutionary
psychology helps us understand that the interplay
of nature and nurture are markedly evident in this
period. For instance, environmental factors such as
maternal nutrition and teratogens can affect to a
great extent the development of the child.
• After birth, dramatic growth and
changes occur during the first 18 to
24 months wherein a newborn,
equipped with several involuntary
reflexes and an initially strong
sense of audition (hearing) but
poor vision (sight), is transformed
into an actively walking and talking
toddler.
• Eventually, there is a change in
the roles of caregivers from
managing feeding and sleep to
constantly repositioning guides
and acting as safety inspectors
for the enormously energetic
toddlers. There is remarkable
rate of brain development as
well so do physical growth and
language development.
• This time, infants display their own
temperaments, attitudes and styles
in play. Sense of attachment to
primary caregivers develops so that
interactions with them changes very
much with possible separation
anxiety. Social and cultural issues
mainly address concerns that include
breastfeeding vs formula-feeding,
sleeping in cribs vs in the bed with
parents, toilet training and the like.
• Early childhood
consists of the years
after toddlerhood and
goes before formal
schooling, hence
often referred to as
preschool age.
• It is roughly between the ages of
2 to 5 or 6. While the child is
actively developing his or her fine
(use of small muscles) and gross
(use of large muscles) motor
skills, he or she gains remarkable
growth in vocabulary and
cognitive development and
dramatically acquires language
(first and second) and gains a
sense of self and greater
independence.
• A child in this stage has an
aggressive and
sometimes violent
willpower of doing
something that may give
him or her the chance to
experience guilt upon the
disapproval of significant
others.
• This is the grade school age,
ranging from six through
eleven. Much of what
children experience at this
age is linked to their
management in the early
grades of elementary school.
• Physical growth slows down and
while the child’s world becomes
one of acquiring academic skills,
the children are able to refine their
motor skills, acquire foundational
skills for building healthy social
relationships beyond the family
and learn roles that will prepare
them for adolescence and
adulthood. It is the time for children
to show off their accomplishments
in school in varied areas.
• Adolescence is a period of
development with specific health
and developmental needs and rights.
It is also a time to develop knowledge
and skills, learn to manage emotions
and relationships, and acquire
attributes and abilities that will be
valuable for experiencing the
adolescent years and later assuming
adult responsibilities.
• Important development in the
nerve cells also take place during
the adolescence. These
developments are linked to
hormonal changes but are not
always dependent on them.
Developments are taking place in
regions of the brain, such as the
limbic system which is responsible
for pleasure seeking and reward
processing, emotional responses
and sleep regulation.
• Changes in the pre-frontal
cortex happen later in
adolescence and these are for
organization, decision-making,
impulse control and planning.
• Linked to the hormonal and
neurodevelopmental changes
that are taking place are
psychosocial and emotional
changes and increasing
cognitive and intellectual
capacities.
• Early adulthood is in the ages of
20 through 40. While physical
maturation is done,
physiological capabilities such
as sensory abilities, reaction
time, muscle strength, and even
cardiac functioning are at their
peak.
• Foremost tasks of the stage
include establishing identity,
developing more stable
emotional stability, establishing
a career, forming intimate and
long-term relationship,
becoming involved with various
groups in the community,
establishing a residence, and
adjusting to marital relationship
and learning how to be a parent.
• Though not apparent, the aging
process starts toward the age range
of 30 to 35 where a lot of changes
begin to happen in various parts
and functions of the body like the
following: hair starts to thin and turn
grey, wrinkles appear because the
skin becomes drier, there are
changes in vision, sensitivity to
sound decreases (twice as quickly
for men), the immune system
weakens, and reproductive ability
declines.
• Towards the age of 40 and
through the mid-60's is
middle adulthood. Though
characterized by
physiological aging, two
forms of intelligence are
highlighted: the crystallized
and the fluid. Crystallized
intelligence is contingent
upon the pile up knowledge
and experiences that the
person has accumulated.
• These include the information and
competencies/skills one has acquired all
the way through a lifetime. It tends to hold
and may even be enriched as we age. For
example, adults show relatively stable to
increasing scores on intelligence tests until
their mid-30s to mid-50s (Bayley & Oden,
1955).
 • Late adulthood covers a wide
range of ages with varied
descriptions, categorized as
follows:
1) the “young old” (65-74 years old),
2) the “old old” (75-84 years old), and
3) the “oldest old” (85 years old and
above).
• The young old are similar
to middle-aged adults;
possibly still working, is in
very good health for his
or her age and keeps
moving to have a lively
and interesting life.
• The oldest old are normally
aging in which the changes are
similar to most of those of the
same age and may have certain
health problems to deal with. The
oldest old are repeatedly weak
and need long-term health care
and services.
• Robert L. Havighurst (1953) stated: “a
development task is a task which arise at or
about a certain period in the life of the
individual, successful achievement of which
leads to his happiness and to success with
later tasks, while failure leads to
unhappiness and difficulty with later task".
• It implies that it is a task which an individual
has to and would like to perform in a
specific period in life.
• Havighurst further writes, “a
developmental-task is the
midway between an individual
need and a social demand. It
assumes an active learner
interacting with an active
social environment”.
• Developmental tasks arise from three different sources
(Havighurst, 1948, 1953). First, some are mainly based on
physical maturation (e.g., learning to walk). Another source
of developmental tasks relates to sociostructurally and
cultural forces. Such influences are based on, for instance,
laws (e.g., minimum age for marriage) and culturally shared
expectations of development e.g., age norms (Neugarten,
Moore, and Lowe, 1965), determining the age range in which
specific developmental tasks have to be mastered.
• The third source of developmental tasks
involves personal values and
aspirations. These personal factors result
from the interaction between ontogenetic
and environmental factors, and play an
active role in the emergence of specific
developmental tasks (e.g., choosing a
certain occupational pathway).
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Learning to walk
✓ Learning to take solid foods
✓ Learning to talk
1. Infancy and
✓ Learning to control the elimination of body
Early
wastes
Childhood
✓ Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
✓ Forming concepts and learning language to
describe social and physical reality.
✓ Getting ready to read
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games.
✓ Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing
organism
✓ Learning to get along with age-mates
2. Middle ✓ Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role
✓ Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
Childhood ✓ Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
✓ Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
✓ Achieving personal independence
✓ Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Achieving new and more mature relations with age-
mates of both sexes
✓ Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
✓ Accepting one's physique and using the body effectively
✓ Achieving emotional independence of parents and other
3. Adolescence adults
✓ Preparing for marriage, family life, and an economic
career
✓ Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a
guide to behaviour; developing an ideology
✓ Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Selecting a mate
✓ Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
✓ Learning to live with a marriage partner
✓ Starting a family
4. Early ✓ Rearing children
Adulthood ✓ Managing a home
✓ Getting started in an occupation
✓ Taking on civic responsibility
✓ Finding a congenial social group
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Achieving adult civic and social responsibility
✓ Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of
living
✓ Assisting teenage children to become responsible and
happy adults
5. Middle Age ✓ Developing adult leisure-time activities
✓ Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
✓ Accepting and adjusting to the physiologic changes or
middle age
✓ Adjusting to aging parents
Stages of G & D Developmental Tasks
✓ Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and
health
✓ Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
✓ Adjusting to death of a spouse
6. Later
✓ Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age
Maturity
group
✓ Meeting social and civil obligations
✓ Establishing satisfactory physical living
arrangement