CHP 2: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

By the end of the lesson, a student should be able to:

 Explain growth and development
 List 4 characteristics and differences between growth and
development
 Describe at least 3 principles of growth and development
 Describe stages of physical, cognitive, and moral
development
 Explain at least 3 factors that influence growth and
development
 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
 Growth: Growth refers to the biological/physical changes that
are observed as people grow from babies to adults. It involves
the increase in height, weight, and body size of a person as well
as unobservable patterns of growth, such as the growth of
internal structures and organs, like the brain and lungs.
 Development: Development is an all-encompassing word that
refers to the overall changes, structure and shape of an
individual. It describes how people change over time
(biologically, socially, mentally, and morally etc). Development is
influenced by both biological and environmental. For example
some body parts have to form before their function can be
attained
 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ctd
Differences between growth and development
Growth Development
Growth can be quantified eg growth in Development is both quantitative and
height qualitative eg language development
Growth refers to biological/physical Development refers to functional or
changes behavioral changes
Growth stops when organism reaches Development happens across the
stage of maturity lifespan
Growth is an external process Development is an internal process
The term ‘Growth’ refers to physical Development refers to overall changes
changes of an individual like an increase in a physical organ or the structure that
in height, size, length, weight, etc. results in improved functioning of the
physical organ
 GROWTH-PRINCIPLES
The process of growth is based on some principles:
 Cephalocaudal Principle: Development proceeds from top to bottom; both physical
growth and functional motor skill development start at the head and ends at the toes
 Development is Continuous: Growth and development continues from conception till
the individual reaches maturity or death; one stage lays the foundation for the next stage
of development
 Proximodistal Principle: Development proceeds from the center of the body outward;
begins along the inner-most parts of the body and continues towards the outermost parts
 Development is Predictable: Predictable and orderly processes due to uniformity of
pattern and sequence of development. Hence, physiological and psychological
potentialities can be predicated by observation and psychological tests.
 GROWTH-PRINCIPLES
 Development Proceeds from General to Specific: Development proceeds from
general to specific. In motor development the infant will be able to grasp an object
with the whole hand before using only his thumb and finger.
 Growth is asynchronous: Rate of development is not uniform. Individuals differ
in the rate of growth and development;
 Orthogenetic Principle: development proceeds from the simple to the complex.
This means that mastery of simple tasks first happens before development of more
difficult tasks.
 Development is Sequential: Development is sequential, or orderly. Every
species, whether animal or human, follows a pattern of development peculiar to it.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage Period Developmental Milestones

Prenatal 9 months Development of zygote, embryo, and foetus

Growth or 40
weeks

First two Zygote: Fertilized ovum is called zygote. Develops through self-
weeks duplication and multiplication from single cells into tens of thousands of
new cells.

8 weeks Embryo: Cells become specialized and organized to form the different
tissues, organs, and bodily systems

From 9th Foetus: Differentiation and specialization into tissues, organs, and bodily
week systems is largely complete. Growth continues to be rapid during this
period attaining 90% of body weight at birth. Bodily systems e.g blood
circulation, breathing, and digestion develop
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ctd
Stage Period Developmental Milestones

Post natal Birth to late Infancy (2-birth 2/3 years) : Transition from the womb to the outside
growth and childhood environment and is characterized with rapid growth of inmost physical
development dimensions and bodily systems. The head in infancy is relatively large
representing 25% of the total body length and is almost 70% of its eventual
adult size. development of the musculoskeletal frame and the nervous
system, especially the brain, which grows more rapidly during infancy than
any other tissue or organ of the body. Movements noted early are
characterized by reflex actions

Between 3 Early Childhood: Children are weaned, remain dependent on adult support,
and 7 years and continue developing cognitive and movement capabilities. Children
develop and gains mastery of basic movement skills and for testing oneself
physically in different environments. Movement are classified into fine motor
(requiring precision and dexterity, use of hands and eyes together) activities
and gross motor activities(whole body or major segments)
7-12 years Late Childhood: Rate of growth then declines between age 7 and the onset
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ctd
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ctd
Adolescence
 After childhood (specifically late childhood) comes adolescence.
 Marked by a rapid acceleration in the velocity of growth of almost all body parts,
although different parts of the body reach their peak rate of growth at different times.
 The duration of the period of acceleration, called the adolescent growth spurt, is usually
greater in boys than in girls often resulting in men being taller and heavier than women.
 Characterized by individual difference.
 Sexual maturation takes place in adolescence with visible signs such as sudden increase
in the density of pubic hair, and, in the case of girls, the development of the breast bud.
Others include the production of viable sperm in boys and egg cells in girls, although
these do not signal full sexual maturity.
 Secondary sexual characteristics such as changes to the external genitalia and
differences in body size and body composition also happen in adolescence.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ctd
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ctd
Adulthood and Senescence
 characterized by two events: the end of increases in height and full reproductive maturity, and
stability.
 Men and women from high socioeconomic societies (often characterised by quality nutrition and
health care) tend to reach adult height at about 20 years and 18 years whereas their counterparts
from poor societies reach theirs a bit later owing to factors such as poverty, undernutrition, and
relatively or severe poor health.
 Later adulthood is the period humans experience aging, or senescence, which is generally
characterized by decline in an individual's ability to reproduce and adapt to stress with signs such as
loss of skin elasticity, reduced movement capacity, and female menopause (end of menstruation
between ages 45
and 55 year).
 Others include cardiovascular diseases, brittle bones, and arthritis. Again, there is a large degree of
variability in the onset, nature and experience of senescence. The end to adulthood is death, which
is cessation of life, and could be caused by natural and or environmental causes (Bailey, 2005).
 CONCLUSION
 Humans develop through various stages
 Each stage is unique and has its characteristics
 Stages: Zygote to Senescence
 Growth and development based on principles
 Factors affect growth and development
 At what stage are you? Do you experience characteristics
unique to your age level? What are your thoughts on your
current level of growth and development?