DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Introduction

Dear Students, today we are looking at the topic, development and developmental
principles. Let us start with understanding what development is and why we should
study it. Development describes the growth of humans throughout their lifespan, from
conception to death. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand
and explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of
human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and
personality development. Development does not just involve the biological and physical
aspects of growth, but also the cognitive and social aspects associated with
development throughout life. Now let us look at why we need to study development as a
whole, when we are studying for a course on child development. I can think of five
reasons for studying development.

1. Studying development helps you understand yourself better. This is very

important for someone dealing with children. Often as adults, we forget what we
used to think and feel when we were children and there is a huge generation gap
when dealing with children. Studying development helps us stay connected to the
whole picture when dealing with children and find the right way to connect.

2. It also helps you learn more about your children. Sometimes dealing with ones’
own children is very difficult because of our own expectations and cultural
conditioning. Studying development again helps us gain perspective when trying
to understand our own children.

3. You’ll better understand how to interact with kids. Greater understanding of

children through studying development translates into better interactions with
children, our own and our students and patients etc.

4. You will gain a greater appreciation of development throughout life Through

understanding development one gets a better holistic understanding of life.

5. It allows us to understand what's normal, and what's not. This is very important in
today’s globalised world where we are interacting with different people from
different cultural backgrounds and there are so many differences amongst
people.

Most importantly, studying human development makes it easier to spot possible signs of
trouble.

From problems with physical or cognitive development in early childhood to emotional

struggles later in life, being able to identify potential problems is important.
The earlier developmental problems are detected, the sooner intervention can begin. No
matter what the situation, early detection and treatment can lead to better outcomes.

Now that we know what development is and the reasons for studying development, let
us look into the five principles of development.

Development is life long Students, one common mistake people make is to think of
development in terms of only child development.

But one of the most important characteristics of development is that it is life-long.

Some of the important foundations for development are established in childhood, but
real development is always lifelong. We need to recognize that learning is not confined
to childhood or the classroom but takes place throughout life and in a range of
situations.

During the last fifty years, constant scientific and technological innovation and change
has had a profound effect on learning needs and styles.

Learning can no longer be divided into a place and time to acquire knowledge (school)
and a place and time to apply the knowledge acquired (the office).

Instead, learning can be seen as something that takes place on an on-going basis from
our daily interactions with others and with the world around.

Some of the problems involved in studying development as a lifelong process and not
just a childhood process include studying the problems that are special to adults and
youth. For example

• Process – do adults think differently?

• Situations – do adults find themselves in different circumstances to other age
groups?
• Experiences – does the accumulation of experience change things. What
difference does having been through a greater range of things make?
There are three key developmental domains in the lifespan perspective. The physical
domain deals with the physical changes that an individual goes through.

Height, shape changes, weight fluctuations and puberty are all physical changes that
can be identified within the physical domain. Along with physical changes, changes in a
person's perception and how he or she experiences the world can be categorized within
the physical domain. The cognitive domain deals with cognitive issues such as thinking,
the decision making processes, and memory. Any cognitive function is classified within
this domain.

The final domain is the social domain. According to Boyd and Bee (2006), "The social
domain includes changes in variables that are associated with the relationship of an
individual to others. For instance, studies of children's social skills fall into the social
domain, as does research on individual differences in personality". Just as there are
different domains in the lifespan perspective, so too are there different periods of life
that an individual experiences. When an individual discusses certain periods in their life,
they may refer to it as a "stage". There are eight developmental periods that are
covered within the lifespan perspective. From birth to one year, a child goes through the
trust versus mistrust stage. This period could be classified as the critical period. This
concept suggests that "there may be specific periods in development when an organism
is especially sensitive to the presence (or absence) of some particular kind of
experience" (Boyd, D., and Bee, H., 2006 p. 11). For a child, the presence or absence
of a parent or caretaker determines whether or not the child develops trust in his or her
self. The second period of life is early childhood. Children of age 1 to 3 can be classified
as being in early childhood. This period of life is the autonomy versus shame and doubt
stage. During this stage of life, a child will develop new physical skills that will allow him
or her to have more choices in life and through these choices; the child will develop a
personal will. Middle childhood, ages 3 to 6, cover the initiative versus guilt stage of life.
During this age range children are learning goal orientation though the organization of
activities.

Children playing a game of hide and seek are learning how to follow the rules of the
game (organization) in order to win (the goal of the game). This practice in goal
orientated play develops the child's sense of purpose. Ages 6 to 12, or late childhood,
are the industry versus inferiority stage. During this period of life, children are learning
cultural norms, including the structure involved in educational structures. This helps to
aid in the development of competence. Twelve to eighteen are the ages involved in the
identity versus role confusion stage. During adolescents, individuals usually experience
puberty changes. Once these changes occur, the individual is able to gain a more
mature outlook on life. He or she is able to consider the consequences of personal
choices and thus, develops a sense of personal values. Between eighteen and thirty,
the intimacy versus isolation stage, an adult may develop intimate relationships. During
early adulthood many of these individuals decide to marry or live with a significant
partner and start families of their own. Middle to late adulthood, beginning at age thirty,
is the generatively versus stagnation stage. This stage of life is centred on caring.
Adults in this stage of life are focused on raising their children and finding success in
their careers. At this stage of life, an individual has learned to be centred on others
rather than focused on self. Lastly, late adulthood, or the integrity versus despair stage,
individuals become self-acceptant and are wise with life experience. There are many
concerns related to the lifespan perspective of human development.

One of the contemporary concerns is from a biological standpoint. According to Boyd

and Bee (2006), Ethnology assumes that genetic behaviours are encoded into the
individual in order to aid in the survival of the organism. The problem with this and other
biological standpoints is that it does not put enough emphasis on the environment and
these types of theories are difficult to test. Behaviour genetics is another contemporary
concern related to lifespan perspective. Behaviour genetics' focus is on the effect of
heredity on differences between individuals (Boyd. D., and Bee, H., 2006). Heredity is
when traits or behaviours are passed down from one relative to another.
Heredity is important to this concern because it is believed that related Individuals share
more of the same traits and behaviours than those that are not related to one another
do.

This concept allows for a better look at what role environmental factors play on an
individual because it is a bit easier to study. Change is constant and a part of every
stage of life. Understanding the changes, through interpretation of an individual's
situation and culture is grasping a lifespan perspective on human development.

Development is multidimensional

Students, another principle of development is that it is multidimensional. By this, we

mean that development is affected by many intermingled factors, for example biological,
psychological, cognitive and socio-emotional forces. Human development is
multidimensional (or multi-contextual) in that there are a variety of factors, or
dimensions, that affect development. These are social or economic, biological,
cognitive, etc. Multidirectional simply means that development is not linear, moving in
one direction with a predictable pattern. There are increases or decreases, gains or
losses, predictable growth or unexpected changes.

By multidimensionality, Baltes refers to the fact that a complex interplay of factors, both
endogenous and exogenous, influence development across the lifespan.

Baltes argues that a dynamic interaction of these factors is what influences an

individual’s development.

As a result, certain factors may have a more powerful effect on a particular domain than
another factor.

Regardless, Baltes stresses that not one single criterion determines the development of
a domain.

Development is multidirectional By multidirectional we mean that development can

simultaneously proceed in more than one direction. For instance, both physical strength
and cognitive ability can increase at the same time. Don’t forget that multidirectional not
only includes increases in growth and performance occur, but decreases as well.

In the second part of the proposition referring to multi-directionality, Baltes states that
the development of a particular domain does not occur in a strictly linear fashion that
increases towards functional efficacy of a particular modality.

Rather, development can be characterized as having the capacity for both an increase
and decrease in efficacy over the course of an individual’s life. As a result, the
development of various domains is multidirectional in nature.
The developmental process occurring between childhood and adolescence known as
puberty illustrates Baltes’ principle of multidimensionality and multidirectionality. Puberty
is described as a period of “rapid morphological body changes; including physical
growth and hormonal changes, as well as myriad psychological and social contextual
changes”. The types of morphological changes associated with puberty include the
development of primary and secondary sex characteristics, alterations in height and
weight, fluctuations in hormonal levels, along with several other changes. Psychological
changes during adolescence involve a broad range of experiences individuals
encounter over this period of dynamic changes; including the development of advanced
cognitive faculties such as abstraction and other adult cognitive processes, new
emotions, along with other psychosocial changes.

The fact that the term puberty encompasses such a broad range of domains illustrates
the multidimensionality component of the overarching concept. The concept of puberty
is also multidirectional as individual domains may both improve or decline in levels of
effectiveness. Self-regulation is one domain of puberty which undergoes profound
multidirectional changes during the adolescent period. During childhood, individuals
have difficulty effectively regulating their actions and impulsive behaviours.

Scholars have noted that this lack of effective regulation often results in children
engaging in behaviours without fully considering the consequences of one’s actions.
Over the course of puberty, neuronal changes attempt to deal with this unregulated
behaviour by increasing one’s ability to regulate emotions and impulses.

Inversely, the ability for adolescents to engage in spontaneous activity and creativity,
both domains commonly associated with impulse behaviour, decreases over the
adolescent period in response to changes in cognition. In the end, neuronal changes to
the limbic system and prefrontal cortex which are associated with puberty lead to the
development of self-regulation, and the ability to consider the consequences of one’s
actions. Development involves gains and losses Baltes argues development across the
lifespan is influenced by the “joint expression of features of growth (gain) and decline
(loss). ”Extending on the premise of multidirectionality, this principle argues for the
existence of a parallel process of development that is composed of both gains and
losses.

Baltes argues that factors which contribute to gain or loss are not in equal proportions
but adjust according to systematic age-related shifts. The result of this gain/loss
relationship is that an individual’s development occurs within the framework of this
dynamic relationship. This relation between developmental gains and losses occurs in a
direction to selectively optimize particular capacities which requires the sacrificing of
other functions, a process known as selective optimization with compensation.
According to the process of selective optimization, individuals over the life-span
prioritize particular functions above others, reducing the adaptive capacity of particulars
for specialization and improved efficacy of other modalities. The acquisition of effective
self-regulation in adolescents illustrates the gain/loss paradigm put forth by Baltes.

As adolescents gain the ability to effectively regulate their actions, they may be forced
to sacrifice features to selectively optimize their reactions. For example, individuals may
sacrifice their capacity to be spontaneous or creative, if they are constantly required to
make thoughtful decisions and regulate their emotions. Adolescents may also be forced
to sacrifice their reaction times toward processing stimuli in favour being able to fully
consider the consequences of their actions. Development is plastic Students, in this
principle of development you will see that the old saying that “you can’t teach an old
dog, new tricks”, is outdated. Plasticity is the term researchers use to emphasize that
development is highly flexible throughout development. So you young students don’t
have to worry, getting old does not mean the end of life you might have thought it would
be. Plasticity is highly variable, some people seem to adapt much more readily than
others. Unfortunately, plasticity does seem to decline as time goes on. But remember,
since plasticity is highly variable, the rate at which it declines can differ substantially
from one individual to another.

Applications of Plasticity

Neuronal plasticity, or the capability of the brain to adapt to new requirements, is a

prime example of plasticity stressing that the individual’s ability to change is a lifelong
process.

Recently, researchers have been analyzing how the spared senses compensate for the
loss of vision. Without visual input, blind humans have demonstrated that tactile and
auditory functions still fully develop. A superiority of the blind has even been observed
when they are presented with tactile and auditory tasks. This superiority may suggest
that the specific sensory experiences of the blind may influence the development of
certain sensory functions, namely tactile and auditory. One experiment was designed by
Roeder and colleagues to clarify the auditory localization skills of the blind in
comparison to the sighted. They examined both blind human adults’ and sighted human
adults’ abilities to locate sounds presented either central or peripheral to them. Both
congenitally blind adults and sighted adults could locate a sound presented in front of
them with precision but the blind were clearly superior in locating sounds presented
laterally. Currently, brain-imaging studies have revealed that the sensory cortices in the
brain are reorganized after visual deprivation.

These findings suggest that when vision is absent in development, the auditory cortices
in the brain recruit areas that are normally devoted to vision, thus becoming further
refined.

A significant aspect of the aging process is cognitive decline. The dimensions of

cognitive decline are partially reversible however, because the brain retains the lifelong
capacity for plasticity and reorganization of cortical tissue. Mahncke and colleagues
developed a brain plasticity-based training program that induced learning in mature
adults experiencing age-related decline. This training program focused intensively on
aural language reception accuracy and cognitively demanding exercises that have been
proven to partially reverse the age-related losses in memory. It included highly
rewarding novel tasks that required attention control and became progressively more
difficult to perform. In comparison to the control group, who received no training and
showed no significant change in memory function, the experimental training group
displayed a marked enhancement in memory that was sustained at the 3-month follow-
up period. These findings suggest that cognitive function, particularly memory, can be
significantly improved in mature adults with age-related cognitive decline by using brain
plasticity-based training methods Conclusion Any single discipline’s account of
behavioural development across the life span would not be able to express all aspects
of this theoretical framework that is the vast scope of the field of development! It is
suggested explicitly by life span researchers that the combination of disciplines is
necessary to define the origins and directionality of developmental theory.

This combination of disciplines would be able to delineate the source that one discipline,
such as psychology, would find quite difficult to approach. The field of psychology would
only be able to provide a partial representation of human development from conception
to death. The concept of a multidisciplinary perspective assists in helping one to
understand the complexities of lifelong development as well as appreciate just how
incomplete the study of behavioural development actually is. Many disciplines are able
to contribute important concepts that integrate knowledge, which may ultimately result in
the formation of a new and enriched conception of development across the life span. I
hope you have been able to understand the importance of development and
developmental principles in our session today. It is very important to understand both of
these thoroughly and properly, because unless you understand the principles behind
the study of development you will not be able to understand other aspects of
development we will be exploring in this subject over the next few weeks. It is only by
establishing the above principles of human development, which are like the goals of
studying child development, that we can establish the scope of the study of child
development. Unless human development in its totality is understood by the student, a
study of child development will not be possible, because the foundations and the goals
of the study will not be clear to the student in this case.