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Human development is the scientific study of quantitative and qualitative ways

people change and do not change over time. Qualitative change is marked by

appearance of new phenomena that cannot be predicted from earlier functioning.

Developmental change is systematic and adaptive. The various aspects of

development (physical, emotional, psychosocial) do not occur in isolation. Each affects

each other (Papalia, 1998).

INFANCY

Physical Development

Newborn babies alternate between states of sleep, wakefulness, and activity with

sleep taking up the majority of the time. (Papalia,1998). Growth follows the

cephalocaudal principle in which the head and trunk develop before the legs. Infants

acquire series of motor skills calumniating in walking a few months after the first

birthday. They are already able to perceive smell, taste, touch, pain, sound, however

their visual acuity is relatively poor, but 1 year olds can see as well as an adult with

normal vision (Kail, 2000).

Cognitive Development

As babies progress through substages of Piaget’s sensory motor period, they

develop their minds through their active efforts to perceive and act upon the world. They

acquire symbolic capacity- the capacity to let one thing stand for another- which is

central to intellectual activity throughout the remainder of the life-span (Hughes, 1990).

By 9 or 10 months, babies begin to understand meaningful speech. During the second

year of life, the typical toddler begins to speak the language of the culture. The first two-
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word sentences which are called telegraphic, generally come between 18-24 months

(Papalia, 1998 ) .

Psychosocial Development

Infant’s temperaments, coupled with their parents’ style of interacting with them,

influence how successfully they resolve Erikson’s first psychosocial conflict, that of trust

vs mistrust, and whether they form secure, resistant, avoidant attachment to their

caregivers starting at about 7 months of age (Hughes, 1990).

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Physical development

Physical growth increases during the years from 3 to 6, but more slowly than

during infancy and toddlerhood. Boys on average are slightly taller and heavier than

girls. Children eats less than before and need a balanced diet. Motor development

advances rapidly. (papalia)

Cognitive Development

During Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development, young children

make wonderful use of their symbolic capacity, mastering all the basic rules of

language. (Hughes, 1990) Private speech-children’s talking aloud to themselves-

appears to help children gain control over their actions. (Papalia, 1998)
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Psychosocial Development

Preschoolers struggle with Erickson’s conflict of autonomy vs shame and

initiative vs guilt. If all goes well, they could achieve high self- confidence. They start to

develop a theory of mind that allows them to predict and explain human behaviour in

terms of mental states, although they describe people largely in terms of physical

characteristics and activities rather than inner qualities.(Hughes, 1990) They learn the

importance of being a friend in order to have a friend. (Papalia, 1998)

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

Physical Development

Physical development is less rapid in middle childhood than in the earlier years.

Boys are slightly larger than girls in this period. (Papalia, 1998) They continue to refine

their motor skills and use their senses ever more intelligently by directing their attention

on what needs to be directed (Hughes, 1990)

Cognitive Development

As they enter Piaget’s concrete operations stage, they become able to perform in

their heads actions that previously had to be performed with their hands. They acquire

the memory strategies and other information processing skills it takes to do schoolwork.

(Hughes, 1990)

Psychosocial Development

School-aged children work through Erickson’s conflict of industry vs inferiority as

they attempt to master new skills, compare their accomplishments with those of their
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classmates, and absorb feedback about where they stand in reading groups. They also

continue to learn about and conform to prevailing social standards regarding how boys

and girls should behave, but their thinking is more flexible than those of the pre-

schoolers. (Hughes, 1990)

ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is a developmental transition between childhood and adulthood.

This transition involves biological, social, and psychological changes, though the

biological or physiological ones are the easiest to measure objectively. (Wikipedia,

2010) It begins with puberty, a process that leads to sexual maturity. Puberty is

triggered by hormonal changes.

Physical Development

During puberty, both boys and girls undergo an adolescent growth spurt: sharp

growth in height, weight, and muscular and skeletal development. Primary sex

characteristics (the female and male reproductive organs) enlarge and mature during

puberty. Secondary sex characteristics also appear. The principal signs of sexual

maturity, or fertility, are menstruation for females, and production of sperms for males

(Kail, 2000).

Cognitive Development

Adolescence is the stage of a psychological breakthrough in a person's life when

the cognitive development is rapid] and the thoughts, ideas and concepts developed at

this period of life greatly influence one's future life, playing a major role in character and
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personality formation. (Wikipedia, 2010)The brain undergoes growth spurt, particularly

the pre-frontal areas of the cortex that are involved in planning and sustained attention.

(Papalia, 1998) With the onset of formal-operational thinking, adolescents think

hypothetically and reason abstractly. In deductive reasoning, they understand that

conclusions are based on logic, not on experience. (Kail, 2000) This is the time when

they reach Piaget’s formal operations stage. These and other new cognitive capacities

sometimes leave adolescents susceptible to adolescent egocentrism, thoroughly

confuse about what to believe, painfully aware of the gaps between what is and what

should be, an rebellious when their parents or other authorities figures are not “logical”

enough for their tastes. (Hughes, 1990)

Psychosocial Developments

Cognitive gains also put adolescents in a position to think about themselves and

other people in more sophisticated ways. They begin to describe themselves in more

abstract term referring to their core values and philosophies in life (Hughes, 1990).

Erikson claimed that the crisis of adolescence is to achieve and identity. This leads to

the identity vs role confusion. Experimentation with different possible selves is an

integral part of the quest for identity. (Kail, 2000) Adolescents become more and more

involved in peer activities, intimate friendships with same-and other-sex peers and

dating relationships, often showing heightened conformity to gender-role norms

(Hughes, 1990).
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EARLY ADULTHOOD

The years of infancy, childhood, and adolescence are all preparation for entry in

adulthood. (Kail, 2000)

Physical Development

Physiologically, young adults are at their peek; strength, endurance, reaction

time, perceptual abilities, and sexual responsiveness are all optimal, even though the

the aging process is taking slight and usually not even noticeable, tolls on the body.

Cognitive Development

Early adulthood is the prime of cognitive thinking. (Hughes, 1990) New

experiences may evoke new, distinctively adult thinking patterns as young adults

question long-held assumptions and values. College students tend to develop from rigid

to relativist thinking, sometimes called post-formal thought. The experiential (insightful)

and contextual (practical) aspects become particularly important during adulthood

(Papalia, 1998).

Psychosocial Development

Early adults are likely to be working on through Erikson’s intimacy vs isolation. If

all goes well, this would result to committing themselves with a partner. They are

changed by marriage, parenthood, and other normal events of family life cycle. (Kail,

2000)
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MIDDLE AGED ADULTHOOD

Physical Development

Gradual declines in body and physical activities become noticeable. Women

experience the changes of menopause around the age of 50. Most of the physical

changes occur slowly.

Cognitive Development

They gradually gain some intellectual capacity and lose others. They reach perks

of creative achievement in their careers. Toward the end of middle adulthood, some

individuals may feel that their memories are slipping a bit, but most intellectual skills

hold up to middle aged. (Paplia, 1998)

Psychosocial Development

According to Erikson, middle aged adults successfully resolve conflict of

generativity vs stagnation if they can invest their energies in nurturing the younger

generation or in producing something of lasting value, but they experience a sense of

stagnation if they feel they have failed their children , or are preoccupied with their own

needs. (Hughes, 1990)

SENESCENCE

Wear –and-tear theory postulates that aging is caused by body systems simply

wearing out. Cellular theories focus on reactions within the cells, involving free radicals

and cross linking. Metabolic theories focus on changes in cell metabolism. Programmed
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cell death theories propose that aging is genetically programmed. No single theory is

sufficient to explain aging. (Kail, 2000)

Physical Development

Most of them have physical impairments of some kind. They have slower

nervous system and slower reaction (Hughes, 1990). In women, the process

Cognitive Development

As they enter their 80s and 90s, more and more adults take longer to learn

things, experience occasional memory lapse, or have difficulty solving problems. Most

retain the knowledge that they have crystallized over a lifetime and the cognitive and

linguistic skills that they practice every day.

Psychosocial Development

Old people tend to lead active social lives and enjoy close ties with families and

friends. Most are able to resolve Erikson’s conflict of integrity vs despair, finding

meaning in their lives and coming to terms with the inevitability of death (Kail, 2000)
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EPILOGUE

Figure 1. Summary of Physical, Cognitive, Personal and Social Human Developments

(Hughes, 1990)

Physical development Cognitive development

Period

Sensory motor period:

Rapid bran and body growth. acquire symbolic capacity
Reflexes, then more and object-permanence
voluntary motor control, concept. Cooing, babbling
Infancy (0-2) walking at 1 year. Functioning and then one-word and
senses at birth; early ability to two-word sentences.
make sense of sensory Learning capacity and
information. recognition memory from
birth: improvements in
recall

Pre-operational stage:
Thought guided by
Continued rapid brain perceptions rather thatn
development. Improved logic. Blossoming of
Preschool child (2-5) coordination and fine motor symbolic capacity
skills. Perceptual anilities are (language acquisition and
good; attention span is short pretend play) Some limits
information-processing
capacity, use of memory
strategies and reasoning

Concrete operations stage:

Logical actions in the head;
Slow physical growth, mastery of conservation.
School age child (6- gradually improved motor Mastery of fine points of
11) skills. Perceptual abilities are language; improved
good; attention span is short memory strategies and
problem solving with
concrete objects. IQs begin
to stabilize
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Formal operations stage:

Dramatic growth spurt and Hypothetical and abstract
attainment of sexual maturity. thought; scientific problem
Adolescent (12-19) Improved physical solving. Continued
functioning. Concern with improvement of attention and
body image information-processing skills
linked to brain growth spurt

Sophisticated cognitive skills,

time of peak functioning, but especially in areas of
gradual declines in physical expertise. Possibility of
Young Adult (20-39)
and perceptual capacities growth beyond formal
begin thought and gains in
knowledge

Mostly stable intellectual

functioning and often peak
Physical decline becomes
expertise and creative
Middle Aged adult (40- noticeable. Increased chronic
achievement. Fluid
64) illness. Menopause and male
intelligence may begin to
climacteric.
decline, but crystallized
knowledge is maintained

Continued physical decline; Declines in cognition are

more chronic disease, common, but not inevitable.
disability and sensory Slower learning, memory
Older Adult (65 and impairment; slower reaction problem, declines in IQ and
older) time. But also continued problem solving, especially if
plasticity and reorganization skills are rarely exercised,
of the brain response to but crystallized intelligence
intellectual stimulation survives longer than fluid.
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Period Emotional Development Social development

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A social being from birth.

Acquisition of sense of self, self Attachment to caregiver
recognition, early signs of at 7 months; separation
theory of mind such as joint and stranger anxiety
Infancy (0-2) attention. Awareness of gender follows. Increased social
identity. Temperament as basis skills with parents and
of later personality. Erickson's peers; capacity for simple
conflict of trust vs mistrust pretend play. Family-
cantered lifestyle

Concrete, physical self-concept. Parent-child relationship

Rapid acquisition of gender still central in social
role. Mastery of theory of mind world. Increased social-
Preschool child (2-5) concept that people can have cognitive abilities allow
false beliefs; largely egocentric more cooperation with
notion of morality. Conflicts of peers, and social pretend
autonomy versus shame and play blossoms. First
initiative vs guilt. exposure to schooling.

Increase involvement of
Self concept includes same sex peers;
psychological traits. Stronger formation of close
gender typing. Internalization of chumships. Role-taking
School age child (6-11) moral standards, but mainly skills advance. Play
pre-conventional morality. Much centre on organized
social comparison as cope with games with rules. School
conflict of industry vs inferiority. and television are
important socialization
agents

Peak peer involvement

More abstract and integrated and conformity. More
self concept. Adjustment to emotionally intimate
sexuality and gender roles. friendships; dating
Adolescent (12-19) Conventional moral reasoning relationships begin.
reflecting internalization of Parent-child relationship
society's rules. Conflict of becomes more equal;
identity vs role confusion. autonomy increases.
Involved in school and
career exploration
Continues work on identity. Social networks continue
Some shift from conventional to to expand. Romantic
Young Adult (20-39) post-conventional moral relationships form. Most
reasoning. Increased establish families and
confidence. Divergence of roles take on roles as spouses
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and parents. Careers are

launched; job switching is
in family according to sex.
common. Period of much
Personality fairly stable. Conflict
life change; high risk of
of intimacy vs isolation
divorce and psychological
problems

Grandparent role is often

added to existing roles.
Continued personality stability; High responsibility for
Middle Aged adult (40- for minority midlife questioning younger and older
64) and androgyny shift. Conflict of generations. Career is
generativity vs stagnation. more stable, and peak
success is attained.
Family and work roles
dominate

Continued close family

Most maintain their ties and friends;
characteristic personality traits, loneliness is rare.
Older Adult (65 and self-esteem, and life Generally smooth
older) satisfaction. Many grow as they adjustment to retirement,
resolve conflict of integrity vs and maintenance of
despair social activities. For
women especially, loss of
spouse adjustment

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hughes, F., & Noppe, L. (1990).Human development across the life span.
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New York, Toronto: Collier-Macmillan.

Kail, R., & Cavanaugh, J. (2000). Human Development. California: Brooks/Cole

Publishing Company.

Papalia, D., Wendoks, S., & Fieldman, R. D. (1998). Human Development.

USA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Adolescence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescence