Life-Span And Development

DPSY652

Edited by
Dr. Manish Kumar Verma
Dr. Jotika Judge
Life-Span And Development
Edited By:
Dr. Manish Kumar Verma
Dr. Jotika Judge
 CONTENT

Unit 1: Introduction 1
Smriti Kumari, Lovely Professional University
Unit 2: Methods in Developmental Psychology 8
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Unit 3: Theory of development 14

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Unit 4: Foundations of Development 26

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Unit 5: Prenatal and Perinatal Development 32
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Unit 6: Infancy 40
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Unit 7: Early Childhood 43

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Unit 8: LateChildhood 54
Rubina Fakhr, Lovely Professional University
Unit 9: Puberty 91
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Unit 10: Adolescence 69

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Unit 11: Early Adulthood 78
Saranya T S, Lovely Professional University
Unit 12: Middle Age 85
Kalpana Sharma, Lovely Professional University
Unit 13: Old Age 93
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Unit 14: Death and Dying 99

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Smriti Kumari, Lovely Professional University Unit 1: Introduction

UNIT 1: Introduction

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
1.1. Basic terminologies
1.2 Nature of development
1.3 Biological, cognitive and socioemotional development
1.4 Periods of development
1.5 Interaction nature and nurture
1.6. Summary
1.7. Keywords
1.8. Self-Assessment
1.9. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives

 Understand the basic meaning of human development.

 Understand the basic terminologies used in the developmental psychology
 Get familiar with periods of development
 Gain familiarity with nature and nurture issue

Introduction
Developmental psychology studies the various aspects of human development. Recently, increases
in human life expectancy contributed to the popularity of the lifespan approach to the study of
development emphasizes extensive change frombirth to adolescence (especially during infancy),
little or no change in adulthood,and decline in old age.Development psychologists studied how
growth and change occur during infancy to adulthood.

1.1. Basic terminologies

Development:development has been defined as a pattern of change that begins at conception and
continues throughout life. Most development involves growth, although it also includes decline
brought on by ageing and dying.
Life span development refers to the change and growth from conception to death.
Growth: growth refers to changes in the body parts or overall development of an organism.
Nature: Nature (genes) refers to temperament, abilities, and capacities inherited from parents.
Nurture:Nurture (environment) refers to the environmental influence that shapes our behaviour.

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The individual's systematic changes and continuities between conception and death or "from womb
to tomb" are defined as development. Development starts from the moment of origin in the
mother's womb and continues until the individual reaches fullness. Developmental psychologists
study how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours change over time. Physical development,
cognitive development, and social-emotional development are the three critical dimensions
examined in this field. These three aspects cover motor skills, executive functions, moral
understanding, language acquisition, social transformation, personality, emotional development,
self-concept, and identity formation.
From the moment we first conceived and to the day we die, we are developing and constantly
changing. During the early period of life, the pace of growth is breakneck, and we can perceive it
more quickly than our adulthood period. So our early phase of development seems happy as our
growth is childhood to adolescence and adulthood. But afterwards, we can observe the sudden
change in our outlook and our power as it declines, and we feel unhappy because we are advancing
toward old age. Continuous and regular changes in physical and mental characteristics may be
regarded as growth. And growth may be considered to be a progressive change. Change at one
stage of growth is related to the change at another. For example, growth noticed during childhood
is naturally related to during infancy. That's why growth may be regarded as one continuous
whole. Due to illness or some unfavourable circumstances leads to decline; after reaching good
health or recovering from illness, adverse circumstances have been removed. The significant
changes in humans from infancy to old age.

1.2. Nature of development:

A chronicle of the event in any person's life event can quickly become a confusing and tedious
array of details. The two concepts help provide a framework for describing and understanding an
individual's development: development process and periods.

1.3. Biological (physical), cognitive and socioemotional processes

As we know, development is the pattern of change that begins at conception and continues
through the lifespan. The pattern of the change is very complex because it is the product of the
biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes.

Biological process:
Biological processes produce physical changes within an individual. Genes are inherited from the
parent. Heredity instructions are carried by the chromosomes influence the development
throughout life. It includes the development of the brain, height and weight gains, changes in
motor skills, nourishment, keeping fit, the hormonal changes of adolescence, and cardiovascular
declines affecting human growth.

Cognitive process:
The cognitive processes refer to the change in an individual's higher mental abilities (thought,
intelligence, and language). These activities involved in cognitive processes include reading stories,
solving puzzles, putting together two-word sentences. Visualizing themself would be like
superheroes.

Socioemotional process:

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It refers to changes in the individual's interaction with society regarding relationships with other
people, emotions, and personality changes. An aggressive action has taken by boy, if his wish was
not fulfilled by his parents, love and affection between soulmate are all shown the role of
socioemotional processes in development.

Biological processes

Cognitive Socioemotional
processes processes

Figure 1.1 processes involved in developmental changes. Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional
processes interact as individuals develop.

We can see all these development changes happen within a person simultaneously. So all these
processes are inextricably intertwined. Consider an infant's smile in response to the mother's touch.
It depends on combining all three development processes: biological, cognitive, and socioemotional
processes.

1.4. Periods of development

The interplay of biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes produces the periods of the
human lifespan. As we know, the development period refers to the timeframe in which a person's
life is characterized by specific features. We describe development in terms of particular periods.
There are eight periods of life classified for developmental change. These are listed below:

The prenatal period – it's a time from conception to birth. It involved excessive growth from a
single cell to a complete organism with brain and behaviour capabilities in approximately nine
months.

Infancy is the period of a child from birth to 18 or 24 months. It is the time when an infant has been
highly dependent upon adults. During this time, many psychological activities- language
development, symbolic thought process, sensory-motor coordination, and social learning- begin.

Early childhood is the developmental period from the age of 3 or 6. We can say it is preschool
years. During this time, they learn how to become self-sufficient and care for themselves.

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Middle and late childhood: Developmental period from about 6 to 11 years. This period is called
elementary school years. During this period, they learn fundamental skills (reading, writing and
arithmetic ability). They wanted to spend more time with their peers and play with them.

Adolescence is the developmental period of childhood transition to early adulthood; adolescence

ranges from 12 to 19 years. It begins with rapid physical changes, including height, weight,
development of sexual characteristics, changes in body shape. An identity and pursuit of
independence are prominent. They think more logical, abstract, and idealistic.

Early adulthood- this developmental period begins in the early 20s and lasts through the 30s. This
is a time of establishing economic independence and personal and career development. An intimate
relationship between partners started a family and rearing their kids.

Middle adulthood-approximately 40 years of age to about 60have been seen in this developmental
period. In this period, they indulge in expanding personal and social involvement and fulfilling
responsibility, assisting children in becoming competent, reaching and maintaining satisfaction in
their career.

Late adulthoodbegins in the 60s or 70s and lasts until death. It is a time when individuals review
their lives, think about retirement, and adjust to new social roles involving decreasing strength and
health.

1.5. Interaction of Nature (Genes) and Nurture(Environment)

Human development has been influenced by both Nature and Nurture. Nurture (environment)
refers to the environmental influence that shapes our behaviour, and Nature (genes) relates to
temperament, abilities, and capacities inherited from one's parents.Most developmental
psychologists now explore the interplay between innate and environmental factors (both/and),
rather than taking such polarised viewpoints (either/or) on most aspects of development. The
biopsychosocial paradigm, which posits that biological, psychological, and social (socioeconomic,
socio-environmental, and cultural) elements all play a substantial influence in human development,
is frequently used by developmental psychologists to frame their study.

Beyond our basic genotype, we are all born with certain genetic features inherited from our parents,
such as eye colour, height, and certain personality traits.

Genes and the environment have a complex relationship. The environment, for example, has an
impact on our unique experiences and interactions with the environment, which are influenced by
our genes (Diamond, 2009; Lobo, 2008). Nature and nurture have a reciprocal connection in shaping
who we become, but the proportional contributions are still up for debate.Heritability refers to the
source of individual differences. In biology, imprint refers to the proportion of a trait's variation
due to genetic differences in a population.

Individual development, especially for highly heritable features like eye colour, is influenced by
various environmental circumstances, including other genes in the organism and temperature and
oxygen levels during development. Gene expression can be affected by environmental factors, a
relationship known as gene-environment interaction. Genes and the environment work together to
develop traits by communicating back and forth.
Environment plays a vital role in determining the organism's development and the manifestation of
its behaviours and traits.
I. Culture-the impact of Indian values

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II. Race
III. Social class - the influence of wealth, poverty, middle-class status
IV. Ethnicity-the impact of common language, religion, or national origin

1.6. Summary
 Development starts from the moment of origin in the mother's womb and continues until
the individual reaches fullness. Developmental psychologists study how people's
thoughts, feelings, and behaviours change over time.
 Biological processes produce physical changes within an individual. Genes are inherited
from the parent.
 The cognitive processes refer to the change in an individual's higher mental abilities
(thought, intelligence, and language).
 The interplay of biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes produces the periods
of the human lifespan.
 Genes and the environment have a complex relationship. The environment, for example,
has an impact on our unique experiences and interactions with the environment, which
are influenced by our genes.

1.7. Keywords
Life span development refers to the change and growth from conception to death.
Growth: growth refers to changes in the body parts or overall development of an organism.
Nature: Nature (genes) refers to temperament, abilities, and capacities inherited from parents.
Nurture: Nurture (environment) refers to the environmental influence that shapes our behaviour.
The prenatal period – it's a time from conception to birth. It involved excessive growth from a
single cell to a complete organism with brain and behaviour capabilities in approximately nine
months.
Infancy is the period of a child from birth to 18 or 24 months. It is the time when an infant has been
highly dependent upon adults. During this time, many psychological activities- language
development, symbolic thought process, sensory-motor coordination, and social learning- begin.

1.8. Self-assessment
1. Biological processes produce __________within an individual.
a. Physical changes
b. Social changes
c. Cognitive changes
d. Psychological changes
2. Genes are inherited from the___________.
a. Parents
b. Environment
c. Culture
d. Society
3. What is known as the period of a child from birth to 18 or 24 months?
a. Adolescence
b. Puberty
c. Infancy

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d. None of the above

4. What is known as childhood transition to early adulthood?
a. Infancy
b. Adolescence
c. Adulthood
d. None of the above
5. Life span development refers to the change and growth from
a. Conception to infancy
b. Conception to adulthood
c. Conception to adolescence
d. Conception to death
6. What does happen in adolescence periods?
a. The transition between childhood to adulthood
b. The transition between adulthood to late adulthood
c. The transition between adolescence to adulthood
d. The transition between infancy to adulthood
7. _________________refers to changes in the body parts or overall development of an
organism.
a. Lifespan development
b. development
c. Maturity
d. Growth
8. ______refers to temperament, abilities and capacities inherited from parents.
a. Environment
b. Syndrome
c. Gene
d. Temperament
9. Nurture refers to _________ influence that shapes our behaviour.
a. Gene
b. DNA
c. Environment
d. Personality
10. _______is defined as a pattern of change that begins at conception and continues
throughout life.
a. Development
b. Nature (gene)
c. Nurture
d. Growth

Answer Key:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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a a c b d a d c c a

1.9. Review questions

1. Explain developmental psychology?

2. Describe the human development period?
3. Explain how nature and nurture do influence human development?

Further Readings
 Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental psychology: a life-span approach. New York:
McGraw-Hill
 Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence.
Australia: Wadsworth.

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Smriti Kumari, Lovely Professional University Unit 2: Methods in Developmental Psychology

UNIT 2: Methods in Developmental Psychology

CONTENTS

Objectives
Introduction
2.1. Cross Sectional
2.2. Longitudinal
2.3 Subjective Method
2.4 Survey
2.5 Case Study
2.6. Summary
2.7. Keywords
2.8. Self-Assessment/Evaluation
2.9. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives

 Understand the basic meaning of the methods.

 Classify the different approaches and understand the use.
 Understand the basic terminologies used in the method of developmental psychology.

Introduction
How do we study child development?
To answer this question, there are particular methods that we can use to assess the changes and
growths in child development. We use research methods to gather information, and the research
design is the framework or blueprint and strategies that we use to decide how to collect and
analyze data. So, research design detects which method is appropriate for the present proposed
study and how we will use it.
Developmental research design techniques are used in lifespan development to study the sample.
So, when we explore the developmental research designs most prominently, we use them to
analyze what changes occur and what stays as it is. Thus, we can examine how age, cohort, gender,
and social interaction impact development through this design technique.
The following methods are principally used in the study of developmental psychology:

1. Subjective method
2. Survey method
3. Case history method
4. Experimental method

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5. Psycho-physical method
6. Clinical
7. Cross-sectional approach

8. Longitudinal approach

We are going to understand the above method below. These methods will help obtain data
from persons to gather information related to development.To study child development,
developmental psychologists have to follow two basic approaches. That is the cross-sectional
and longitudinal approach.

2.1. Cross-Sectional
A cross-sectional study is widely used by a psychologist because it is less time consuming and easily
affordable (less expensive). It is designed to examine participants' behaviour at different ages tested
simultaneously. Observation can be used to collect data within a cross-sectional design to find
developmental characteristics at the same specific or particular stage of growth and change in the
overall developmental process of the children in big groups. It can be quickly completed in a
shorter time. Within the cross-sectional approach, various stages of children are selected and
observed to measure the growth in a group simultaneously. So based on obtained data, we can
understand and estimate the average nature of growth at a specific stage of the children.

2.2. Longitudinal Study

The longitudinal study helps to study development in humans or children over time. If researchers
are interested in the studying developmental characteristics of a specific group of children of their
weight, height, vocabulary, social maturity, intelligence, emotional control in a particular lifespan
like the age of five, seven, nine or fourteen years of ages, longitudinal study was used for it.
Through this approach, a comparative picture will be available to understand whether the child is
growing satisfactorily or not. In this manner, we become acquainted with the total picture of its
developmental tendencies. In fact, cumulative records of children were always available in schools
are the results of longitudinal studies of children.

Limitations
1. The longitudinal study is comparatively more expensive and time-consuming than the
cross-sectional study.

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2.3. Subjective Method (Observational Method)

Observation is a very effective strategy for psychological investigation. It is a useful tool for
describing behaviour. Throughout the day, we are occupied with witnessing a variety of things
in our daily lives. We frequently fail to notice what we are seeing or what we have seen. We
see, but we don't pay attention. We are only conscious of a few items that we notice on a
regular basis. Have you ever been in a situation like this? You may have also noticed that
observing a person or event intently for a period of time reveals a wealth of information about
that person or event. In many ways, scientific observation differs from everyday observation.
You may include different observational styles for studying developmental behaviour, such as:
Naturalistic observation & Controlled observation:-Naturalistic Observation is when
observations are made in a natural or real-life situation (in the preceding example, the
observation was made at a school). In this example, the observer makes no attempt to alter or
control the situation in order to make an observation. This form of observation is carried out in
a variety of settings, including hospitals, homes, schools, and day care centres. However,
because they are not the topic of your study, you may need to regulate some elements that
influence behaviour. As a result, many psychological investigations are carried out in
laboratories. This is known as controlled observation.
Non-participant & Participant Observation:- There are two methods for observation. One
option is to stand back and view the person or situation from afar. Two, the observer may
become a member of the group under scrutiny. The individual being observed in the first
situation may not be aware that he or she is being watched. For example, you could wish to
look at how professors and students interact in a particular class. This goal can be
accomplished in a variety of ways. You can use a video camera to record the activity in the
classroom, which you can review and analyse later. Alternatively, you might choose to sit in a
corner of the classroom and observe rather than interfere with or participate in their daily
routines. Non-participant observation is the term for this form of observation.

2.4. Survey Method

In this method, questionnaires are most commonly used to gather information about attitudes,
beliefs, opinions, etc. through this method, we can generate a lot of information for a reasonably
low cost and provide anonymity of participants.
According to Kraemer (1991), survey research has three distinct characteristics. For starters, survey
research is utilised to quantify various elements of a population. Examining the relationships
between variables is a common component of these aspects. Second, the data obtained for survey
research is subjective because it comes from humans. Finally, survey research employs a subset of
the population from which the results can be extrapolated to the entire population.
Independent and dependent variables are used to determine the field of inquiry in survey research,
although they cannot be controlled explicitly by the researcher. The researcher must create a model
that identifies the expected associations between these factors before performing the survey. The
survey is then created to put this model to the test against real-world data.
A survey, according to Pinsonneault and Kraemer (1993), is a "method of collecting information
about the qualities, actions, or opinions of a large group of people."Surveys can also be used to
analyse demand, identify needs, and assess impact (Salant&Dillman, 1994).The phrase "survey
instrument" is frequently used to differentiate the survey tool from the survey study that it is
intended to support.Large samples of the population can be gathered with the use of
surveys.They're also great for collecting demographic information about the sample's make-up
(McIntyre, 1999).
However, we can only gather participants' responses using the Likert scale but cannot see their
reactions like body language. Sometimes participants are affected by social-desirable behaviour.
When knowing about the historical context of occurrences is essential, surveys are often unsuitable,
according to Pinsonneault and Kraemer (1993). Biases can develop, according to Bell (1996), either
in the absence of responses from intended participants or in the form and accuracy of the responses
obtained. Other sources of error include respondents intentionally misreporting behaviours in
order to skew survey results or conceal inappropriate behavior. Finally, respondents may have
trouble evaluating their own actions or recalling the circumstances surrounding their actions.

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2.5. Case Study

Researchers have used this method to gather in-depth studies of one person, group, or event. By
using this method, a researcher can assess every aspect of the life and history of the participants.
The researcher tries to seek patterns and causes of participants' behaviour. You can take an
example of Sigmund Freud's case study of a young woman whom he called "Anna O". She had
hydrophobia symptoms. And through hypnosis, she was diagnosed.
Case studies are handy research methods that provide a level of detailed analysis, and through this,
researchers might gain a sharpened understanding of the particular problems. You can take an
example of any disease or disorder that a specific person has, such as case study on cancer
patients, down syndrome etc.

2.6. Summary
 A cross-sectional study is widely used by a psychologist because it is less time consuming
and easily affordable (less expensive). It is designed to examine participants' behaviour at
different ages tested simultaneously.
 The longitudinal study helps to study development in humans or children over time.

 Participant observation allows researchers to be involved in the same activities while

observing people's behaviour in the environment.

 Case studies are handy research methods that provide a level of detailed analysis, and
through this, researchers might gain a sharpened understanding of the particular
problems.

2.7. Keywords
Cross-sectional study: It examines participants' behaviour at different ages tested simultaneously.
Survey Method: It uses questionnaires to gather information about attitudes, beliefs, opinions, etc.
through this method.
Naturalistic observation: It involves observing people's behaviour in a natural setting without
manipulating the participant's surroundings.
Case Study: Itprovide a level of detailed analysis, and through this, researchers might gain a
sharpened understanding of the particular problems.

2.8. Self-assessment questions

1. _______research design techniques are used in lifespan development to study the sample?
a. Developmental
b. Social
c. Cognitive research design
d. Psychological changes

2. Person’s in-depth study is the part of ___________.

a. Observational study
b. Case study
c. Culture study
d. Social behaviour study

3. In which research study participants are affected by social-desirable behaviour?

a. Case study

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b. Observational study
c. Naturalistic observational study
d. Survey method

4. Which one is correct for the Likert scale?

a. Frequently used psychological questionnaire
b. We can use this in survey methods
c. We cannot record facial reactions while using the Likert scale
d. All of the above

5. In which methods we can use questionnaires to gather information about attitude, belief
etc.
a. Case study
b. Survey method
c. Clinical
d. Longitudinal method

6. Which research study is comparatively more expensive and time-consuming than cross-
sectional study?

a. Longitudinal
b. Observational
c. Case study
d. None of the above

7. In which study researcher allowed to involves with participants?

a. Naturalistic observation
b. Structured observation
c. Participative observation
d. Case study

8. Questionnaire are used to gather information about______________.

a. Attitude
b. Belief
c. Opinion
d. All of the above

9. Observing block puzzle solving by kids is the example of _________.

a. Naturalistic observation
b. Participant observation
c. Structured observation
d. None of the above

10. In depth analysis, we generally do __________.

a. Naturalistic observation
b. Structured observation

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c. Participative observation
d. Case study

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

a b d d b a c d a d

2.9. Review Questions

1. How do we study child development?
2. Explain the various type of research methods?
3. Explain the difference between longitudinal study and cross-sectional study?
4. What is a case study?
5. What is an observational research study and different types of observational research?

Further Readings

 Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and

adolescence. Australia: Wadsworth.

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Smriti Kumari, Lovely Professional University Unit 3: Theory of Development

Unit 3 Theory of development

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
3.1. Psychoanalytic Theories
3.2. Cognitive Theories
3.3. Ecological Theories
3.4. Summary
3.5. Keywords
3.6. Self-Assessment
3.7. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different approaches to development
Understand role of different factors in development;
Understand how psychoanalytic and cognitive factors impact development;
Get familiar with processes in human development

Introduction
In development, what are the roles of stability and change, continuity and discontinuity, and nature
and nurture? Why can memory declines in older adults be prevented, or can special care repair the
harm inflicted by child neglect?The scientific method is the best tool we use to answer such
questions.

Conceptualize a process/problem to be studied, collect research information, then analyze it and

based on analysis conclusion was drawn. These are essential four-step processes in the scientific
method.

A theory is an interrelated and coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and make a
prediction. Theory consisted of all four-step processes of the scientific method. This chapter
outlines key aspects of three theoretical orientations to developmental psychoanalytic, cognitive
and ecological theories to answer the question mentioned above. Each of these theories contributed
an essential piece to lifespan development.

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3.1. Psychoanalytic theories

These theories explained development as an unconscious process and heavily colored by emotion.
This theory was first introduced by Freud. He describes that development is an unconscious
process of the mind and stresses that early experiences with their parents extensively shape child
behaviours.

Analyzed his patients, he came up with the findings that problem is the result of early life
experience as children grow, their focus of pleasure and sexual impulses shifts from the mouth to
the anus and then genitals. Freud explains the five stages of psychosexual development.

Oral Anal Phallic Latency Genital

Pleasure centers- Pleasure focuses- Pleasure focuses- Sexual interest Sexual

mouth anus Genital and reawakening
development- and sexual
social and pleasure become
intellectual skills outside of the
family

Birth to 11/2 11/2 years to 3 3 years to 6 years 6 years to Puberty onward

years years puberty

Three processes of psyche suggested by Freud of personality. The id—based on pleasure principle
it means unconscious source of primitive sexual, dependency, and aggressive impulses; the
superego—subconsciously interjects societal mores, setting standards to live by; and the ego—
represents a sense of self and mediates between current realities and psychic needs and conflicts,
according to psychoanalytic theory. Pain prevents the satisfaction of dependence and sexual
demands, as well as the healthy dissipation of hostile sentiments, according to psychoanalytic
works. Inner unrest results from the inability to communicate these demands. Pain, on the other
hand, provides for unconscious fulfilment of ambivalent dependency demands when it is
recognized as a legitimate physical concern.

Eric Erikson is known as one of the important revisionists of Freud's ideas Psychosocial theory. He
pointed out that Freud misjudged some critical dimensions of human development. They stressed
that we develop in psychosocial stages rather than in psychosexual stages. Freud said that the
primary motivation for human behaviour is sexual; according to Erikson, it is social and reflects a
desire to affiliate with other people.

The stages that make up his theory are as follows:

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

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Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority

Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair

Stage 1:- Trust versus Mistrust

The first stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development occurs between birth and 1 year of
age and is the most fundamental stage in life. Because an infant is utterly dependent, developing
trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child's caregivers.

Stage 2:- Autonomy versus shame and doubt

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Erikson's theory of psychosocial development has a second stage that occurs throughout early
infancy and focuses on children gaining a greater sense of personal control.

Independence's Importance

Children are just beginning to obtain some independence at this stage of development. They are
beginning to take basic acts on their own and making simple selections about their preferences.
Parents and caregivers can help children to develop a sense of autonomy by making decisions and
gaining control.

Stage 3:- Initiative vs. Guilt

During the preschool years, the third stage of psychosocial development occurs. Children learn to
establish their authority and control over the world. At this stage of psychological children develop
by guiding play and other social interactions.Those Children succeed at this stage believe they are
capable of leading others. Those who do not develop these skills experience remorse, self-doubt,
and a lack of effort.

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority

The fourth psychosocial stage occurs in the early school years, between 5 years and 11 years.
Children have started to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and talents due to social
interactions.New social and academic demands must be met by children. Failure leads to emotions
of inferiority, whilst success leads to feelings of competence.

Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion

The fifth psychosocial stage takes place during the often-turbulent teenage years. This stage plays
an essential role in developing a sense of personal identity which will continue to influence
behavior and development for the rest of a person's life. Teens need to develop a sense of self and
personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role
confusion and a weak sense of self.During adolescence, children explore their independence and
develop a sense of self. Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through
personal exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and feelings of
independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will feel insecure
and confused about themselves and the future.

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation

Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong
relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation. This stage covers the period of early
adulthood when people are exploring personal relationships.Erikson believed it was vital that
people develop close, committed relationships with other people. Those who are successful at this
step will form relationships that are enduring and secure.

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Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

Adults must develop or nurture something that will outlast them, which they frequently do by
having children or by making a beneficial change that benefits others. Failure leads to a shallow
sense of connection in the world, whereas success leads to feelings of usefulness and
accomplishment. We continue to create our lives as adults, focusing on our careers and families.
Those that succeed in this phase will feel as though they are making a difference in the world by
being involved in their home and community. Those who do not master this talent will feel
unproductive and disconnected from the rest of the world.

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair

The final psychosocial stage comes in old age and is centred on life reflection.
People at this stage of development reflect on the events of their lives to see if they are satisfied wit
h their lives or if they have regrets about the things they did or did not do.Erikson's theory was uni
que among others in that it addressed development across the lifespan, including old age. Older pe
ople need to reflect on their lives and feel fulfilled. At this stage, success brings sentiments of wisdo
m, whereas failure brings feelings of regret, bitterness, and despair.At this point, people look back
on their lives and assess their accomplishments. Those who reflect on a life well lived will feel
fulfilled and prepared to face the end of their lives with confidence. Those who look back with only
regret will be afraid that their life will end without completing the tasks they believe they should
have completed.

3.2. Cognitive theories of development

The very first theorist ever to study cognitive development scientifically and methodically was Jean
Piaget, whose research generated the most influential theory of cognitive development to date.

According to Piaget's stages of cognitive development, children are not capable of performing
certain tasks or understanding certain concepts until they arrive at a particular stage of cognitive
development

Three Basic Components to Piaget's Cognitive Theory

Cognitive structure (Schemas):- A schema, or scheme, is an abstract concept proposed by J. Piaget

to refer to our, well, abstract concepts. Schemas (or schemata) are units of understanding that can
be hierarchically categorized and webbed into complex relationships with one another. For
example, think of a house.

Cognitive function (Assimilation, Accommodation, Equilibration) - Cognitive development has

been related to ideas on how children process knowledge. How children organize 'data' and settle
on two fundamental responses stimuli: assimilation of knowledge and accommodation of
knowledge.

"Assimilation is like adding air into a balloon. You just keep blowing it up. It gets bigger and
bigger. For example, a two-year-old's schema of a tree is "green and big with bark" — over time, the

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child adds information (some trees lose their leaves, some trees have names, we use a tree at
Christmas, etc.) – Your balloon just gets full of more information that fits neatly with what you
know and adds onto it.

Accommodation is when you have to turn your round balloon into the shape of a poodle. This new
balloon 'animal' is a radical shift in your schema (or balloon shape)….Now that they are in college
in the redwood forest, we have conceptualization (schema) of trees as a source of political warfare,
a commodity, a source of income for some people, we know that people sit and live in trees to save
them; in other words, trees are economical, political, and social vehicles. This complete change in
the schema involves a lot of cognitive energy, or accommodation, a shift in our schema."

Piaget suggested 4 stages for cognitive development

1. Sensorimotor Period (birth to 2 years)

During this stage, a child has little competence in representing the environment using images,
language, or other symbols.An important discovery during this stage is the concept of object
permanence, the awareness that an object continues to exist even when it is not present.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations.

 Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking,
and listening.

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 Infants learn that things exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence).

 They are separate beings from the people and objects around them.

 They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them.

2. The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)

The most important development during the preoperational stage is the use of language. Children
develop internal representational systems that describe people, events, and feelings.

During the preoperational period, children gradually improve their mental images. Although
progress in symbolic thought continues.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 Children begin to think symbolically and use words and pictures to represent objects.

 Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective
of others.

 While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about
things in very concrete terms.

3. Concrete Operational Period (7 to 11yrs)

Concrete operations stage because children can perform operations only on images of tangible
objects and actual events.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 During this stage, children begin to think logically about concrete events.

 They begin to understand the concept of conservation, that the amount of liquid in a short,
wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example.

 Their thinking becomes more logical and organized but still very concrete.

 Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general
principle.

4. Formal Operational Period from 11th year

The final stage in Piaget's theory is the formal operational period, which typically begins around 11
years of age. In this stage, children begin to apply their operations to abstract concepts in addition
to concrete objects.

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

 At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about
hypothetical problems.

 Abstract thought emerges.

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 Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues
that require theoretical and abstract reasoning.

 Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information.

3.3. Ecological theory

Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory views child development as a complex system of

relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment, from immediate family
and school settings to broad cultural values, laws, and customs. 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. Bronfenbrenner divided the person's environment into five di fferent
systems: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem.

Five Ecological Systems

Bronfenbrenner (1977) suggested that the child's environment is a nested arrangement of structures,
each contained within the next. He organized them in order of how much impact they have on a
child. Because the five systems are interrelated, the influence of one system on a child's
development depends on its relationship with the others.

The Microsystem

The microsystem is the first level of Bronfenbrenner's theory and are the things that have direct
contact with the child in their immediate environment, such as parents, siblings, teachers and
school peers.Relationships in a microsystem are bi-directional, meaning the child can be influenced
by other people in their environment and can also change the beliefs and actions of other
people.Furthermore, the child's reactions to individuals in their microsystem can influence how
they treat them in return.

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The interactions within microsystems are often very personal and are crucial for fostering and
supporting the child's development. If a child has a strong nurturing relationship with their
parents, this is said to positively affect the child. Whereas distant and unaffectionate parents will
have a negative effect on the child.

The Mesosystem

The mesosystem encompasses the interactions between the child's microsystems, such as the
interactions between the child's parents and teachers or between school peers and siblings.The
mesosystem is where a person's individual microsystems do not function independently but are interconnected
and assert influence upon one another.

For instance, if a child's parents communicate with the child's teachers, this interaction may
influence the child's development. Essentially, a mesosystem is a system of microsystems.

According to the ecological systems theory, if the child's parents and teachers get along and have a
good relationship, this should positively affect the child's development, compared to the adverse
impacts on development if the teachers and parents do not get along.

The Exosystem

The exosystem is a component of the ecological systems theory developed by UrieBronfenbrenner

in the 1970s. It incorporates other formal and informal social structures, which do not contain the
child but indirectly influence them as they affect one of the microsystems. Examples of ecosystems
include the neighbourhood, parent's workplaces, parent's friends and the mass media. These are
environments in which the child is not involved and external to their experience, but it affects them
anyway.

An instance of ecosystems affecting the child's development could be if one of the parents had a
dispute with their boss at work. The parent may come home and have a short temper with the child
due to something which happened in the workplace, resulting in a negative effect on development.

The Macrosystem

The macrosystem is a component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory that focuses on

how cultural elements affect a child's development, such as socioeconomic status, wealth, poverty,
and ethnicity. Thus, individuals' culture may influence their beliefs and perceptions about events
that transpire in life.

The macrosystem differs from the previous ecosystems as is does not refer to the specific
environments of one developing child, but the already established society and culture in which the
child is developing.This can also include socioeconomic status, ethnicity, geographic location, and
cultural ideologies. For example, a child living in a third world country would experience a
different development than a child living in a wealthier country.

The Chronosystem

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The fifth and final level of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is known as the
chronosystem.This system consists of all of the environmental changes that occur over the lifetime,
which influence development, Including major life transitions and historical events.These can
include normal life transitions such as starting school and non-normative life transitions such as
parents getting a divorce or having to move to a new house.

3.4. Summary

 Eric Erikson is known as one of the important revisionists of Freud's ideas Psychosocial
theory. He pointed out that Freud misjudged some critical dimensions of human
development.
 The very first theorist ever to study cognitive development scientifically and methodically
was Jean Piaget, whose research generated the most influential theory of cognitive
development to date.
 Adults must develop or nurture something that will outlast them, which they frequently
do by having children or by making a beneficial change that benefits others.
 The microsystem is the first level of Bronfenbrenner's theory and are the things that have
direct contact with the child in their immediate environment, such as parents, siblings,
teachers and school peers.
 The macrosystem differs from the previous ecosystems as is does not refer to the specific
environments of one developing child, but the already established society and culture in
which the child is developing.

3.5. Keywords

Psychoanalytic Theory:These theories explained development as an unconscious process and

heavily colored by emotion

Schemas: Schemas (or schemata) are units of understanding that can be hierarchically categorized
and webbed into complex relationships with one another. For example, think of a house.

Macrosystem: It is a component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory that focuses on how

cultural elements affect a child's development, such as socioeconomic status, wealth, poverty, and
ethnicity.

Chronosystem: This system consists of all of the environmental changes that occur over the
lifetime, which influence development, Including major life transitions and historical events.

3.6. Self-Assessment
1. On which stage pleasure center was mouth?
a. Anal
b. Oral
c. Genital

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d. None of the above

2. Freud has proposed which theory?
a. Psychoanalysis
b. Ecological theory
c. Cognitive
d. Contextual theory
3. Psychoanalytic theory explained that development as an _________process.
a. Conscious
b. Subconscious
c. Unconscious
d. None of the above
4. Which one is correct sequence of psychosexual development stages?
a. Anal -Oral- Phallic- Latency – Genital
b. Phallic- Latency – Genital- Anal -Oral
c. Oral- Anal- Phallic- Latency – Genital
d. None of the above
5. The fifth stages of psychosocial theory?
a. Integrity vs disappear
b. Identity vs Role confusion
c. Trust vs mistrust
d. All of the above
6. Who has given psychosocial theory of development?
a. Freud
b. Eric Erikson
c. Maslow
d. Gardner
7. Who has proposed contextual theory of development?
a. Bronfenbrenner
b. Freud
c. Eric Erikson
d. Maslow
8. What is schema?
a. Mental representation
b. Concept
c. Mental map
d. All of the above
9. Which one is the not the part of Jean Piaget theory?
a. Pre-operational
b. Formal operation
c. Concreate operation
d. None of the above

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10. Five ecological system given by__________.

a. Bronfenbrenner
b. Freud
c. Eric Erikson
d. Maslow

Answer key:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

b a c c b b a d d a

3.7. Review Questions

1. What do you mean by development?
2. Explain psychoanalytic theory of development?
3. Explain cognitive development theory?
4. Explain ecological theory of development with appropriate example?

Further Readings
 Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence.
Australia: Wadsworth.

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Smriti Kumari, Lovely Professional University Unit 4: Foundations of Development

Unit 4 – Foundations of Development

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
4.1. Evolutionary and Genetic Perspective
4.2. Nature vs. Nurture
4.3. Reproductive Challenges during Pregnancy
4.4. Summary
4.5. Keywords
4.6. Self-Assessment
4.7. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different perspectives of human development;
Understand role of nature and nurture in development;
Acquire knowledge about evolutionary and genetic development;
Get familiar with reproductive challenges during pregnancy

Introduction
It is essential to understand the factors that determine the development process. Each of us is a
product of genetic factors and environmental influences. The roles of growth and learning have
been briefly described in the previous section. Let us now consider in detail the contributions of
heredity and environment.

4.1. Evolutionary and Genetic Perspective

An evolutionary developmental perspective posits that an extended childhood is necessary to
acquire the skills needed for the complexities of the human social world. Human children have a
longer juvenile period than any other mammal, suggesting that there is a substantial benefit
associated with this costly trait, such as allowing for the development of a large brain capable of
acquiring the skills necessary to navigate the social world (Bjorklund, Cormier, and Rosenberg,
2005; Dunbar, 1995, 2010). The intricacies of the social world are highly varied, and acquiring the
ability to compete and cooperate with other complex humans takes time.

Darwin advocated the evolutionary theory for natural selection. According to this theory,
behaviour and characteristics change and evolve with each generation. Many young are produced,
but not all can survive. The best chance of survival will be those with features that help them cope
with the demands of the environment they can live in.

Darwin wanted to determine how new species emerge, as well as how others vanish and why the
component parts of animals- the long necks of giraffes, the wings of birds, the trunks of elephants--

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existed in those particular forms. And he wanted to explain the apparent purposive quality of those
forms or why they seem to function to help organisms accomplish specific tasks.

The result must be a "struggle for existence," in which favorable variations tend to be preserved,
and unfavorable ones tend to die out. When this process is repeated generation after generation, the
end result is forming a new species. Darwin's answer to all these puzzles of life was the theory of
natural selection and its three essential ingredients: variation, inheritance, and selection.
Individuals that possess favorable traits or variations are more likely to survive and produce
offspring. Environmental context determines whether a trait is beneficial and inherited and passed
on to the next generation.

A. Genetic Influences
At the time of conception, the ovum of the mother and the sperm cell of the father unite to form a
new cell. The small particles in the nucleus of the cell are called chromosomes. The chromosomes
have been existed in pairs. The human cells have 46 chromosomes that arranged in 23 pairs. One
member from each pair comes from the mother and the other one from the father. Chromosomes
store and transmit genetic information. The genes, which are the actual trait carriers, are found in
very large numbers in ach chromosome. The fertilized zygote brings together various combinations
of chromosomes. In this way, different genes are transferred from each child of the same set of
parents. Due to this reason each child bears greater similarity to his on her blood relatives than to
anyone else. At the same time there are also many differences amongst blood relatives.

B. Genotypes and Phenotypes

Genetic transmission is a complex process. Most characteristics that we observe in human beings
are combinations of many genes. Innumerable permutations and combinations of genes are
responsible for the large differences in physical and psychological characteristics. Only identical or
monozygotic twins have exactly the same set of chromosomes and genes as they are formed by
duplication of a single zygote. Most twins are fraternal or di-zygotic, who develop from two
separate zygotes. These fraternal twins may resemble each other like brother and sister, but they
will also be different from one another in many ways.
Heredity: Sum total of potentials inherited at the time of birth.
Heredity instructions are carried by the chromosomes influence the development throughout the
life.
Chromosomes: molecule of DNA that contains the instructions to make proteins. Organized into
genes.Small thread- like structures.The nucleus of every human body cell consists of 46
chromosomes and transmit coded instructions of heredity behaviour. Receive one half of our
chromosomes and genes from each of our parent.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Special molecule that contains the genetic material of the organism.
Ladder like structure.
Gene: Biological unit of heredity and it holds the information to build and maintain their cells and
pass genetic traits to offspring. In cells, gene is portion of DNA.

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Dominant and recessive genes:Some more active genes in influencing the trait are called dominant.
Example – (brown) colour of eye, hair, skin etc.
Some genes that are less active in influencing the trait are called recessive gene.The genes on one
pair- the sex chromosomes (23rd pair of chromosomes) determine the sex of the individuals. Genes
work in pairs. A child who inherits 2 X chromosomes (XX) will be a female. A child who inherits an
x chromosome paired with a Y chromosome (XY) child will be a male child.

4.2. Nature VS Nurture

Developmental psychologists seek to understand whether nature (genetic) influences human
development or nurture (Environment). An essential issue in developmental psychology is the
relationship between the innateness of an attribute (whether or not it is part of our nature) and the
influence of the environment on this attribute (whether it is influenced by our environment or
upbringing). This is often referred to as the nature versus nurture debate, or nativism versus
empiricism.

• The nativist ("natural") view of development asserts that the process in question is innate and
influenced by the organism's genes. Natural human behavior is seen as the result of already present
biological factors, such as genetic code.

• An empiricist ("nurture") perspective would argue that these processes are acquired through
interaction with the environment. Nurtured human behavior is seen as the result of environmental
interaction, which can provoke brain structure and chemistry changes. For example, situations of
extreme stress can cause problems like depression.

The nature vs nurture discussions seeks to understand how our personality and traits are shaped
by our genetic makeup, biological factors, and environment, including our parents, peers, and
culture. For example, why do biological children sometimes behave like their parents? Is it due to
genetic similarity or the childhood environment and what children learn from their parents?

Dizygotic (fraternal) twins – two sperm penetrating two ova, and 50% of their genes. Monozygotic
twins – originate from one zygote, and share 100% genes.

4.3. Reproductive challenges during pregnancy

Down syndrome or trisomy 21,Turner syndrome (47, XXY), Cri du chat syndrome, or the "cry of the
cat" syndrome (46, XX or XY), Sickle cell disease, Huntington's disease, Muscular dystrophy,
Schizophrenia, Addiction, Near-sightedness and diabetes are common disease that infer child
health due to intake of substance and some complication during pregnancy.

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Turner's syndrome: Completely or partially missing X chromosome. A chromosomal disorder in

which a female is born with only one X chromosome. Symptoms include short stature, delayed
puberty, infertility, heart defects and certain learning disabilities.

Cri du chat syndrome is a rare genetic disorder due to a partial chromosome deletion on
chromosome 5. Its name is a French term ("cat-cry" or "call of the cat") referring to the characteristic
cat-like cry of affected children. It was first described by Jérôme Lejeune in 1963.

Sickel cell disease: A group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break
down. This inherited red blood cell disorder.

4.4. Summary

An evolutionary developmental perspective posits that an extended childhood is necessary to

acquire the skills needed for the complexities of the human social world.

Darwin wanted to determine how new species emerge, as well as how others vanish and why the
component parts of animals- the long necks of giraffes, the wings of birds, the trunks of elephants--
existed in those particular forms.

Most characteristics that we observe in human beings are combinations of many genes.

An essential issue in developmental psychology is the relationship between the innateness of an

attribute (whether or not it is part of our nature) and the influence of the environment on this
attribute (whether it is influenced by our environment or upbringing).

4.5. Keywords

Chromosomes:The small particles in the nucleus of the cell

Heredity: Sum total of potentials inherited at the time of birth.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Special molecule that contains the genetic material of the organism.
Gene: Biological unit of heredity and it holds the information to build and maintain their cells and
pass genetic traits to offspring. In cells, gene is portion of DNA.
Sickel cell disease: A group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break
down. This inherited red blood cell disorder.

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4.6.Self-Assessment
1. Fraternal twins are separated from __________.
a. Single egg
b. 2 eggs with 2 sperm
c. Both of the above
d. None of the above
2. Human cells have ____ chromosomes.
a. 46
b. 54
c. 42
d. 50
3. All chromosomes arrange in _______ pairs.
a. 21
b. 24
c. 23
d. 29
4. Chromosome store and transmit __________ information.
a. Environmental
b. Genetic
c. Social
d. Cognitive
5. genes are transferred from each child of the same set of ________.
a. Culture
b. Grandparents
c. Parents
d. None of the above
6. Which pairs of chromosomes do determine the sex of the individuals?
a. 22
b. 23
c. 21
d. 19
7. A child who inherits 2 X chromosomes (XX) will be a ___________child.
a. Boy
b. Transgender
c. Girl
d. None of the above
8. A child who inherits an x chromosome paired with a Y chromosome (XY) child will be
a ___________ child.
a. Boy
b. Transgender
c. Girl
d. None of the above
9. In Turner's syndrome _________ chromosome is Completely or partially missing.
a. Y
b. Z
c. C

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d. X
10. In _____________ disorder, a female is born with only one X chromosome.
a. Chromosomal disorder
b. Personality disorder
c. Down syndrome
d. None of the above

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

b a c b c b c a d a

4.7. Review Questions

1. Explain the evolutionary perspective of development?
2. Discuss how nature and nurture do shape human development?
3. Write a note on reproductive challenges during pregnancy.

Further Readings
 Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental psychology: a life-span approach. New York: McGraw-Hill
 Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence.
Australia: Wadsworth.

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 Unit 5- Prenatal and perinatal Development
Kalpana Sharma, Lovely Professional University

UNIT – 5 Prenatal and Perinatal Development

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
5.1 Conception
5.2 Prenatal Period
5.3 Hazards of prenatal development
5.4. Post-Partum Period
5.5. Summary
5.6. Keywords
5.7 Self-assessment questions
5.8 Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives:
After reading this unit you will be able to learn:

 What is the course of prenatal development?

 What is teratology, and what are some of the main hazards to prenatal development?
 What are the three main stages of birth?
 What is postpartum period?

Introduction
Prenatal development, also called antenatal development, in humans, the process encompassing
the period from the formation of an embryo, through the development of a fetus, to birth (or
parturition). The human body, like that of most animals, develops from a single cell produced by
the union of a male and a female gamete (or sex cell).

5.1Conception
Conception occurs when an egg from the mother is fertilized by a sperm from the father. In humans, the
conception process begins with ovulation, when an ovum, or egg (the largest cell in the human body),
which has been stored in one of the mother’s two ovaries, matures and is released into the fallopian tube.
Ovulation occurs about halfway through the woman’s menstrual cycle and is aided by the release
of a complex combination of hormones. In addition to helping the egg mature, the hormones also
cause the lining of the uterus to grow thicker and more suitable for implantation of a fertilized egg.

5.2. Pre-natal period

This union marks the beginning of the prenatal period, which in humans encompasses three
distinct stages: (1) the pre-embryonic/germinal stage, the first two weeks of development, which is
a period of cell division and initial differentiation (cell maturation), (2) the embryonic period, or
period of organogenesis, which lasts from the third to the eighth week of development, and (3) the
fetal period, which is characterized by the maturation of tissues and organs and rapid growth of
the body. The prenatal period ends with parturition and is followed by a long postnatal period.
Only at about age 25 years are the last progressive changes completed.

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Genes and Chromosomes

All genes are composed of specific sequences of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecules. All cells
in your body, except the sperm and egg, have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. These cells
reproduce by a process called mitosis. During mitosis, the cell’s nucleus—including the
chromosomes—duplicates itself and the cell divides. Two new cells are formed, each containing the
same DNA as the original cell, arranged in the same 23 pairs of chromosomes. However, a different
type of cell division— meiosis—forms eggs and sperm (or gametes). During meiosis, a cell of the
testes (in men) or ovaries (in women) duplicates its chromosomes but then divides twice, thus
forming four cells, each of which has only half of the genetic material of the parent cell. By the end
of meiosis, each egg or sperm has 23 unpaired chromosomes. During fertilization, an egg and a
sperm fuse to create a single cell, called a zygote (see Figure 2.4). In the zygote, the 23 unpaired
chromosomes from the egg and the 23 unpaired chromosomes from the sperm combine to form one
set of 23 paired chromosomes—one chromosome of each pair from the mother’s egg and the other
from the father’s sperm. In this manner, each parent contributes half of the offspring’s genetic
material.
Compare monozygotic twins with dizygotic twins
When a cluster of cells in the ovum split off within the first 2 weeks after fertilization, the result is
two genetically identical zygotes. Because they come from the same original zygote, are called
monozygotic or identical twins. Monozygotic twins are twins who are genetically identical. Any
differences in their future development can be attributed only to environmental factors, since
genetically they are exactly the same.
There is a second, and actually more common, mechanism that produces multiple births. In these
cases, two separate ova are fertilized by two separate sperm at roughly the same time. Twins
produced in this fashion are known as dizygotic twins or fraternal twins. Because they are the
result of two separate ovum–sperm combinations, they are no more genetically similar than two
siblings born at different times.
How the sex of a child is determined
There are 23 matched pairs of chromosomes. In 22 of these pairs, each chromosome is similar to the
other member of its pair. The one exception is the twenty-third pair, which is the one that
determines the sex of the child. In females, the twenty-third pair consists of two matching,
relatively large, X-shaped chromosomes, appropriately identified as XX. In males, one consists of an
X-shaped chromosome, but the other is a shorter, smaller, Y-shaped chromosome. This pair is
identified as XY.
If the sperm contributes an X chromosome when it meets an ovum (which, remember, will always
contribute an X chromosome), the child will have an XX pairing on the twenty-third chromosome—
and will be a female. If the sperm contributes a Y chromosome, the result will be an XY pairing—a
male.
How genes transmit information
In some cases, one gene of a pair always exerts its effects; it is dominant, overriding the potential
influence of the other gene, called the recessive gene. This is the dominant-recessive genes
principle. A recessive gene exerts its influence only if the two genes of a pair are both recessive. If
you inherit a recessive gene for a trait from each of your parents, you will show the trait. If you
inherit a recessive gene from only one parent, you may never know you carry the gene. Brown hair,
farsightedness, and dimples rule over blond hair, nearsightedness, and freckles in the world of
dominant-recessive genes.
Keep in mind, however, that genetic material relating to both parent plants is present in the
offspring, even though it cannot be seen. The genetic information is known as the organism’s
genotype. A genotype is the underlying combination of genetic material present (but outwardly
invisible) in an organism. In contrast, a phenotype is the observable trait, the trait that is actually
seen.

Figure 5.1 Chromosomal and gene linked abnormalities

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Down Syndrome An individual with Down syndrome has a round face, a flattened skull, an extra
fold of skin over the eyelids, a protruding tongue, short limbs, and retardation of motor and mental
abilities. The syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. It is not
known why the extra chromosome is present, but the health of the male sperm or female ovum
may be involved. Down syndrome appears approximately once in every 700 live births. Women
between the ages of 16 and 34 are less likely to give birth to a child with Down syndrome than are
younger or older women. African American children are rarely born with Down syndrome.
Klinefelter syndrome is a genetic disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making
them XXY instead of XY. Males with this disorder have undeveloped testes, and they usually have
enlarged breasts and become tall. Klinefelter syndrome occurs approximately once in every 600 live
male births.
Turner syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in females in which either an X chromosome is
missing, making the person XO instead of XX, or part of one X chromosome is deleted. Females
with Turner syndrome are short in stature and have a webbed neck. They might be infertile and
have difficulty in mathematics, but their verbal ability is often quite good. Turner syndrome occurs
in approximately 1 of every 2,500 live female births.
The XYY syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in which the male has an extra Y chromosome.
Early interest in this syndrome focused on the belief that the extra Y chromosome found in some
males contributed to aggression and violence. However, researchers subsequently found that XYY
males are no more likely to commit crimes than are XY males.
Gene-Linked Abnormalities
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder in which the individual cannot properly metabolize
phenylalanine, an amino acid. It results from a recessive gene and occurs about once in every 10,000
to 20,000 live births. Today, phenylketonuria is easily detected, and it is treated by a diet that
prevents an excess accumulation of phenylalanine. If phenylketonuria is left untreated, however,
excess phenylalanine builds up in the child, producing mental retardation and hyperactivity.
Phenylketonuria accounts for approximately 1 percent of institutionalized individuals who are
mentally retarded, and it occurs primarily in Whites.
Sickle-cell anemia, is a genetic disorder that impairs the body’s red blood cells. Red blood cells
carry oxygen to the body’s cells and are usually shaped like a disk. In sickle-cell anemia, a recessive

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gene causes the red blood cell to become a hook-shaped “sickle” that cannot carry oxygen properly
and dies quickly. As a result, the body’s cells do not receive adequate oxygen, causing anemia and
early death. About 1 in 400 African American babies is affected by sickle-cell anemia. One in 10
African Americans is a carrier, as is 1 in 20 Latin Americans.
Prenatal testing
A variety of techniques can be used to assess the health of an unborn child if a woman is already
pregnant. The earliest test is a first-trimester screen, which combines a blood test and ultrasound
sonography in the eleventh to thirteenth week of pregnancy and can identify chromosomal
abnormalities and other disorders, such as heart problems. In ultrasound sonography, high-
frequency sound waves bombard the mother’s womb. These waves produce a rather indistinct, but
useful, image of the unborn baby, whose size and shape can then be assessed. Repeated use of
ultrasound sonography can reveal developmental patterns. Although the accuracy of blood tests
and ultrasound in identifying abnormalities is not high early in pregnancy, it becomes more
accurate later on.
A more invasive test, chorionic villus sampling (CVS), can be employed in the tenth to thirteenth
week of the first trimester if blood tests and ultrasound have identified a potential problem or if
there is a family history of inherited disorders. CVS involves inserting a thin needle into the fetus
and taking small samples of hair-like material that surrounds the embryo. The test can be done
between the eighth and eleventh week of pregnancy. However, it produces a risk of miscarriage of
1 in 100 to 1 in 200. Because of the risk, its use is relatively infrequent.

The Zygote
Within several hours of conception, half of the 23 chromosomes from the egg and half of the 23
chromosomes from the sperm fuse together, creating a zygote — a fertilized ovum. The zygote
continues to travel down the fallopian tube to the uterus. Although the uterus is only about four
inches away in the woman’s body, the zygote’s journey is nevertheless substantial for a microscopic
organism, and fewer than half of zygotes survive beyond this earliest stage of life. If the zygote is
still viable when it completes the journey, it will attach itself to the wall of the uterus, but if it is not,
it will be flushed out in the woman’s menstrual flow. During this time, the cells in the zygote
continue to divide: the original two cells become four, those four become eight, and so on, until
there are thousands (and eventually trillions) of cells. Soon the cells begin to differentiate, each
taking on a separate function. The earliest differentiation is between the cells on the inside of the
zygote, which will begin to form the developing human being, and the cells on the outside, which
will form the protective environment that will provide support for the new life throughout the
pregnancy.
The Embryo
Once the zygote attaches to the wall of the uterus, it is known as the embryo. During the embryonic
phase, which will last for the next six weeks, the major internal and external organs are formed,
each beginning at the microscopic level, with only a few cells. The changes in the embryo’s
appearance will continue rapidly from this point until birth.
While the inner layer of embryonic cells is busy forming the embryo itself, the outer layer is
forming the surrounding protective environment that will help the embryo survive the pregnancy.
This environment consists of three major structures: The amniotic sac is the fluid-filled reservoir in
which the embryo (soon to be known as a fetus) will live until birth, and which acts as both a cushion against
outside pressure and as a temperature regulator. The placenta is an organ that allows the exchange of
nutrients between the embryo and the mother, while at the same time filtering out harmful material. The
filtering occurs through a thin membrane that separates the mother’s blood from the blood of the
fetus, allowing them to share only the material that is able to pass through the filter. Finally,
the umbilical cord links the embryo directly to the placenta and transfers all material to the fetus. Thus the
placenta and the umbilical cord protect the fetus from many foreign agents in the mother’s system
that might otherwise pose a threat.
The Fetus
Nine week after conception, the embryo becomes a fetus. The defining characteristic of the fetal
stage is growth. All the major aspects of the growing organism have been formed in the embryonic
phase, and now the fetus has approximately six months to go from weighing less than an ounce to
weighing an average of six to eight pounds. That’s quite a growth spurt.

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The fetus begins to take on many of the characteristics of a human being, including moving (by the
third month the fetus is able to curl and open its fingers, form fists, and wiggle its toes), sleeping, as
well as early forms of swallowing and breathing. The fetus begins to develop its senses, becoming
able to distinguish tastes and respond to sounds. Research has found that the fetus even develops
some initial preferences. A newborn prefers the mother’s voice to that of a stranger, the languages
heard in the womb over other languages, and even the kinds of foods that the mother ate during
the pregnancy. By the end of the third month of pregnancy, the sexual organs are visible.

5.3. Hazards of pre-natal development

Prenatal development is a complicated process and may not always go as planned. About 45% of
pregnancies result in a miscarriage, often without the mother ever being aware it has
occurred. Although the amniotic sac and the placenta are designed to protect the embryo, substances
that can harm the fetus, known as teratogens, may nevertheless cause problems. Teratogens include
general environmental factors, such as air pollution and radiation, but also the cigarettes, alcohol,
and drugs that the mother may use. Teratogens do not always harm the fetus, but they are more
likely to do so when they occur in larger amounts, for longer time periods, and during the more
sensitive phases, as when the fetus is growing most rapidly. The most vulnerable period for many
of the fetal organs is very early in the pregnancy — before the mother even knows she is pregnant.
Harmful substances that the mother ingests may harm the child. Cigarette smoking, for example,
reduces the blood oxygen for both the mother and child and can cause a fetus to be born severely
underweight. Another serious threat is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition caused by maternal
alcohol drinking that can lead to numerous detrimental developmental effects, including limb and facial
abnormalities, genital anomalies, and intellectual disabilities. Each year in Canada, it is estimated that
nine babies in every 1,000 are born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and it is
considered one of the leading causes of intellectual disabilities in the world today. Because there is
no known safe level of alcohol consumption for a pregnant woman, there is no safe amount or safe
time to drink alcohol during pregnancy. Therefore, the best approach for expectant mothers is to
avoid alcohol completely. Maternal drug abuse is also of major concern and is considered one of the
greatest risk factors facing unborn children.
The environment in which the mother is living also has a major impact on infant
development. Children born into homelessness or poverty are more likely to have mothers who are
malnourished, who suffer from domestic violence, stress, and other psychological problems, and
who smoke or abuse drugs. And children born into poverty are also more likely to be exposed to
teratogens. Poverty’s impact may also amplify other issues, creating substantial problems for
healthy child development.
Mothers normally receive genetic and blood tests during the first months of pregnancy to
determine the health of the embryo or fetus. They may undergo sonogram, ultrasound,
amniocentesis, or other testing. The screenings detect potential birth defects, including neural tube
defects, chromosomal abnormalities (such as Down syndrome), genetic diseases, and other
potentially dangerous conditions. Early diagnosis of prenatal problems can allow medical
treatment to improve the health of the fetus.

5.4.Postpartum period
The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins immediately after childbirth as the mother's body,
including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium,
puerperal period, or immediate postpartum period are commonly used to refer to the first six
weeks following childbirth. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the postnatal period
as the most critical and yet the most neglected phase in the lives of mothers and babies; most
maternal and newborn deaths occur during this period.
The postpartum period can be divided into three distinct stages; the initial or acute phase, 8–19
hours after childbirth; subacute postpartum period, which lasts two to six weeks, and the delayed
postpartum period, which can last up to eight months. In the subacute postpartum period, 87% to
94% of women report at least one health problem. Long-term health problems (persisting after the
delayed postpartum period) are reported by 31% of women.
A woman giving birth in a hospital may leave as soon as she is medically stable, which can be as
early as a few hours postpartum, though the average for a vaginal birth is one to two days. The
average caesarean section postnatal stay is three to four days. During this time, the mother is
monitored for bleeding, bowel and bladder function, and baby care. The infant's health is also

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monitored. Early postnatal hospital discharge is typically defined as discharge of the mother and
newborn from the hospital within 48 hours of birth.

5.5.Summary
 Development begins at the moment of conception, when the sperm from the father
merges with the egg from the mother.
 Within a span of nine months, development progresses from a single cell into a zygote
and then into an embryo and fetus.
 The fetus is connected to the mother through the umbilical cord and the placenta,
which allow the fetus and mother to exchange nourishment and waste. The fetus is
protected by the amniotic sac.
 The embryo and fetus are vulnerable and may be harmed by the presence of
teratogens.
 Smoking, alcohol use, and drug use are all likely to be harmful to the developing
embryo or fetus, and the mother should entirely refrain from these behaviours during
pregnancy or if she expects to become pregnant.
 Environmental factors, especially homelessness and poverty, have a substantial
negative effect on healthy child development.

5.6. Keywords
Pre-embryonic/germinal stage, the first two weeks of development, which is a period of cell
division and initial differentiation (cell maturation).
Klinefelter syndrome is a genetic disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making
them XXY instead of XY.
Genotype is the underlying combination of genetic material present (but outwardly invisible) in an
organism
Phenotype is the observable trait, the trait that is actually seen.
Teratogenssubstances that can harm the fetus
Fetal alcohol syndrome , a condition caused by maternal alcohol drinking that can lead to
numerous detrimental developmental effects, including limb and facial abnormalities, genital
anomalies, and intellectual disabilities.

5.7. Self Assessment

1. Conception is the stage of
a) Egg unites with sperm
b) Egg is adhered to wall of uterus
c) Egg divided into two
d) None of above
2. Which of these is not a prenatal developmental stage?
a) Germinal
b) Embryonic
c) Fetal
d) Infancy
3. Once the zygote attached to the wall of uterus, it is called—

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a) Embryo
b) Fetus
c) Infant
d) None of above
4. __________ gene exerts its influence only if the two genes of a pair
are both recessives
a) Dominant
b) Recessive
c) Allied
d) Sex linked
5. ____________ is fluid filled reservoir in which embryo/fetus lives
until birth
a) Corpus luteum
b) Placenta
c) Amniotic sac
d) Womb
6. Substances that can harm the fetus are called
a) Teratogens
b) Radiation
c) Abusive drugs
d) Hazards
7. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition caused by
a) Excessive alcohol drinking by father
b) Excessive alcohol drinking by mother
c) Use of sedative drugs
d) Teratogens
8. Postpartum period is the period after:
a) Gestation
b) Birth
c) Conception
d) Fertilization
9. Environmental factor that has a substantial negative effect on
healthy child development is –
a) Poverty
b) Fragile X syndrome
c) Down syndrome
d) Educated mother
10. Parameters to be noted during post-partum period does not
include:
a) New born health
b) Bleeding in mother
c) Bowel of mother
d) Vision of mother

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Q 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A a d a b c a b b a d

5.8. Review Questions

1. What behaviours must a woman avoid engaging in when she decides to try to become
pregnant, or when she finds out she is pregnant? Do you think the ability of a mother to
engage in healthy behaviours should influence her choice to have a child?
2. Given the negative effects of poverty on human development, what steps do you think
societies should take to try to reduce poverty?

Further Readings
 Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental psychology: a life-span approach. New York: McGraw-Hill

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Jotika Judge, Lovely Professional University Unit 6: Infancy

Unit 6- Infancy

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
6.1. Physical Development
6.2. Cognitive Development
6.3. Socio-Emotional Development
6.4. Summary
6.5. Self-Assessment
6.6. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different facets of development in infancy;
Understand the process of physical development in infancy;
Gain familiarity with how cognitive development occurs in infancy;
Acquire knowledge about socio-Emotional development of infancy.

Introduction
Social Psychology is an ever growing field that tries to keep up with the changing nature of issues
and challenges that the society faces.

6.1. Physical Development

Physical development refers to physical changes in the body; it involves changes in bone thickness,
size, weight, gross motor, fine motor, vision, hearing, and perceptual development. During the early
childhood years, the growth in slow; height and weight increase at the lower rate during this period.
During early childhood all the parts of the child's body grow, but at different rates. During early
childhood, the forehead area develops faster than the lower part of the face. This is due to rapid
growth of the brain. The trunk grows longer and broader in the early years of childhood.
Reflexes
Infants at birth have reflexes as their sole physical ability. A reflex is an automatic body
response to a stimulus that is involuntary; that is, the person has no control over this response.
Blinking is a reflex which continues throughout life. There are other reflexes which occur in infancy
and also disappear a few weeks or months after birth. The presence of reflexes at birth is an indication
of normal brain and nerve development. When normal reflexes are not present or if the reflexes
continue past the time they should disappear, brain or nerve damage is suspected.
Some reflexes, such as the rooting and sucking reflex are needed for survival. The rooting
reflex causes infants to turn their head toward anything that brushes their faces. This survival reflex
helps them to find food such as a nipple. When an object is near a healthy infant’s lips, the infant will

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begin sucking immediately. This reflex also helps the child get food. This reflex usually disappears by
three weeks of age.
Motor Sequence
Physical development is orderly and occurs in predictable sequence. For example, the motor
sequence (order of new movements) for infants involves the following orderly sequence:
 Head and trunk control (infant lifts head, watches a moving object by moving the head from side
to side occurs in the first few months after birth.
 Infant rolls over turning from the stomach to the back first, then from back to stomach - four or
five months of age.
Children must have manual or fine motor (hand) control to hold a pencil or crayon in order for them
to write, draw, or color. Infants have the fine motor ability to scribble with a crayon by about 16 to 18
months of age when they have a holding grip (all fingers together like a cup). By the end of the
second year, infants can make simple vertical and horizontal figures. By two years of age, the child
shows a preference for one hand; however, hand dominance can occur much later at around four
years of age. By the age of four, children have developed considerable mastery of a variety of grips, so
that they can wrap their fingers around the pencil. Bimanual control is also involved in fine motor
development, which enables a child to use both hands to perform a task, such as holding a paper and
cutting with scissors, and catching a large ball.
Vision
At birth, an infant’s vision is blurry. The infantappears to focus in a center visual field during
the firstfew weeks after birth. In infants, near vision is betterdeveloped than their far vision. They
focus on objectsheld 8 to 15 inches in front of them. As their visiondevelops, infants show preference
for certain objectsand will gaze longer at patterned objects (disks) of checks and stripes than disks of
one solid color.
Studies also show that infants prefer bold colors to soft pastel colors. They also show visual
preference for faces more than objects. By two months of age, an infant will show preference (gaze
longer) at a smiling face than at a face without expression.
As infants grow older they are more interested in certain parts of the face. At one month of
age, their gaze is on the hairline of a parent or other caregiver. By two months of age, infants show
more interest in the eyes of a face. At three months of age, the infant seems very interested in the
facial expression of adults. These changes in the infant’s interest in facial parts indicate that children
give thought to certain areas of the face that interest them.
Hearing
Hearing also develops early in life, and even before birth. Infants, from birth, will turn their
heads toward a source or direction of sound and are startled by loud noises. The startle reaction is
usually crying. Newborns also are soothed to sleep by rhythmic sounds such as a lullaby or heartbeat.
Infants will look around to locate or explore sources of sounds, such as a doorbell. They also show
reaction to a human voice while ignoring other competing sounds. A newborn can distinguish
between the mother’s and father’s voices and the voice of a stranger by three weeks old. At three to
six months, vocalizations begin to increase. Infants will increase their vocalizations when persons
hold or play with them.
Perception
To explore their world, young children use their senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing)
in an attempt to learn about the world. They also think with their senses and movement. They form
perceptions from their sensory activities. Sensory-Perceptual development is the information that is
collected through the senses, the ideas that are formed about an object or relationship as a result of
what the child learns through the senses. When experiences are repeated, they form a set of
perceptions. This leads the child to form concepts (concept formation). For example, a child will see a
black dog with four legs and a tail and later see a black cat with four legs and a tail and call it a dog.
The child will continue to identify the cat as a dog until the child is given additional information and
feedback to help him learn the difference between a dog and a cat. Concepts help children to group
their experiences and make sense out of the world. Giving young children a variety of experiences
helps them form more concepts.

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6.2. Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the process in which a child learns to reason, identify objects,
solve problems, and think logically. It includes the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge.
Infants draw on social-emotional, language, motor and perceptual experiences and abilities for
cognitive development. This is the stage when the child shows a great interest in the environment
around him or her. Parents can boost the child’s cognitive development by providing him or her
safe ground by incorporating simple activities to their daily routine.Cognitive development
proceeds as a result of the dynamic and reciprocal transaction of internal and external factors; it is
constructed within a social context and involves both stability and plasticity over time.
Cognitive development is the emergence of the ability to think and understand. The study
of cognitive development (the changes that occur in children’s mental abilities over the course of
their lives) is one of the most diverse and exciting topics in all of the developmental sciences. Earlier
it was believed that infants are remained without cognition until they learned language, but soon
after cognitive development study it was proved that infants are aware about the surroundings and
explore since birth.
A large portion of research has gone into understanding how a child imagines the world.
Jean Piaget was a major force in the establishment of this field, forming his "theory of cognitive
development".His development stage theory posited that a combination of maturation and
nonlinguistic experiences during early childhood shape an individual’s cognitive development. He
proposed that children are organizing the world around them through mental operations that
become more complex and adult-like by adolescence.
In recent years, however alternative models have been advanced, including information
processing theory, neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development, which aim to integrate Piaget's
ideas with more recent models and concepts in developmental and cognitive science, theoretical
cognitive neuroscience, and social-constructivist approaches.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist was particularly concerned with the way thinking
develops in children from birth till they become young adults. To understand the nature of this
development, he conducts the research on his own three children as infants: how they explored
new toys, solved simple problems that he prepared for them, and generally came to understand
themselves and their world. Later, Piaget studied larger samples of children through what became
known as the clinical method, a flexible question-and answer technique he used to discover how
children of different ages solved various problems and thought about everyday issues. From these
naturalistic observations of topics ranging from the rules of games to the laws of physics, Piaget
formulated his grand theory of intellectual growth.
According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically
inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge is based. According to
him, cognition develops through the refinement and transformation of mental structures, or
schemes. Schemes are unobservable mental systems that underlie intelligence. A scheme is a
pattern of thought or action and is most simply viewed as some enduring knowledge base by
which children interpret their world. Schemes, in effect, are representations of reality. Children
know their world through their schemes. Schemes are the means by which children interpret and
organize experience. For Piaget, cognitive development is the development of schemes, or
structures. Children enter the world with some reflexes by which they interpret their surroundings,
and what underlies these reflexes are schemes. When a child's existing schemas are capable of
explaining what it can perceive around it, it is said to be in a state of equilibrium, i.e. a state of
cognitive (i.e. mental) balance. Piaget emphasized the importance of schemas in cognitive
development, and described how they were developed or acquired.
Piaget believed that humans also adapt to their physical and social environments in which
they live. The process of adaptation begins since birth. Piaget saw this adaptation in terms of two
basic processes: Assimilation and Accommodation.
Assimilation: It refers to the process by which new objects and events are grasped or incorporated
within the scope of existing schemes or structures.
Accommodation: It is the process through which the existing schemes or structure is modified to
meet the resistance to straightforward grasping or assimilation of a new object or event.

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Piaget believed that assimilation and accommodation work together to promote cognitive
growth. They do not always occur equally as in the preceding example; but assimilations of
experiences that do not quite “jibe” with existing schemes eventually introduce cognitive conflict
and prompt accommodations to those experiences.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Piaget identified four major periods, or stages, of cognitive development: the sensorimotor
stage (birth to 2 years), the preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), the stage of concrete operations (7 to
11 years), and the stage of formal operations (11 years and beyond
The Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 Years)
During the sensorimotor period, infants coordinate their sensory inputs and motor
capabilities, forming behavioral schemes that permit them to “act on” and to get to “know” their
environment. In this stage, infants are only aware of what is immediately in front of them. They
focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical interactions with their immediate
environment. Because they don't yet know how things react, they're constantly experimenting with
activities such as shaking or throwing things, putting things in their mouths, and learning about the
world through trial and error.
At about age 7 to 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists (objective
permanence) even if it can no longer be seen. This important milestone known as object
permanence is a sign that memory is developing. After infants start crawling, standing, and
walking, their increased physical mobility leads to increased cognitive development. Near the end
of the sensorimotor stage, infants reach another important milestone, early language development,
a sign that they are developing some symbolic abilities.

6.3. Socio-Emotional Development

Emotional development refers to the ability to recognize, express, and manage feelings at
different stages of life and to have empathy for the feelings of others. The development of these
emotions, which include both positive and negative emotions, is largely affected by relationships
with parents, siblings, and peers.
Infants experience, express, and perceive emotions before they fully understand them. In
learning to recognize, label, manage, and communicate their emotions and to perceive and attempt
to understand the emotions of others, children build skills that connect them with family, peers,
teachers, and the community. These growing capacities help young children to become competent
in negotiating increasingly complex social interactions, to participate effectively in relationships
and group activities, and to reap the benefits of social support crucial to healthy human
development and functioning. Healthy social emotional development for infants and toddlers
unfolds in an interpersonal context, namely that of positive on-going relationships with familiar,
nurturing adults. Young children are particularly attuned to social and emotional stimulation. Even
new born appear to attend more to stimuli that resemble faces. They also prefer their mothers’
voices to the voices of other women.
Responsive care giving supports infants in beginning to regulate their emotions and to
develop a sense of predictability, safety, and responsiveness in their social environments. Early
relationships are so important to developing infants that research experts have broadly concluded
that, in the early years, “nurturing, stable and consistent relationships are the key to healthy
growth, development and learning”. Experiences with family members and teachers provide an
opportunity for young children to learn about social relationships and emotions through
exploration and predictable interactions. Professionals working in child care settings can support
the social-emotional development of infants and toddlers in various ways, including interacting
directly with young children, communicating with families, arranging the physical space in the care
environment, and planning and implementing curriculum.

6.4. Summary
 During the early childhood years, the growth in slow; height and weight increase at the
lower rate during this period.
 Infants at birth have reflexes as their sole physical ability.

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 At about age 7 to 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists even if it can no
longer be seen.
 According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically
inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge is based.
 Responsive care giving supports infants in beginning to regulate their emotions and to
develop a sense of predictability, safety, and responsiveness in their social environments.

6.5. Key Words

Assimilation: It refers to the process by which new objects and events are grasped or incorporated
within the scope of existing schemes or structures.
Accommodation:It is the process through which the existing schemes or structure is modified to
meet the resistance to straightforward grasping or assimilation of a new object or event.
Sensri-motor stage: In this stage, infants are only aware of what is immediately in front of them.
They focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical interactions with their immediate
environment.
Reflex:an automatic body response to a stimulus that is involuntary; that is, the person has no
control over this response.

6.6. Self-Assessment
1. Physical development includes changes in______________

A. bone thickness
B. size & weight
C. gross motor skills
D. All of these
2. Cognitive development is the emergence of the ability to ____________-

A. think
B. understand
C. both of these
D. none of these
3. Piaget states that all children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited
and evolved) on which all subsequent learning and knowledge is based.

A. True
B. False
4. Cognitive development is the process in which a child learns to__________________

A. Reason
B. Identify Objects
C. Solve Problems
D. All of these
5. The sensri-motor stage lasts from____________

A. Conception to birth
B. Conception to two years
C. Birth to two years
D. Birth to one year
6. Healthy social emotional development for infants and toddlers is unrelated to an interpersonal
context

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A. True
B. False
7. Objective permanence takes place before 12 months of age

A. True
B. False
8. Infants are able to express emotions even when they do not understand them fully

A. True
B. False
9. Responsive care giving supports infants in_________

A. Objectivity
B. Differential Demarcation
C. Delienation
D. None of these
10. __________________refers to the process by which new objects and events are grasped or
incorporated within the scope of existing schemes or structuresTrue

A. Attenuation
B. Accommodation
C. Accumulation
D. None of these

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
D C A D C
6 7 8 9 10
B A A D D

6.7. Review Questions

1. Discus the various aspects of physical development in infancy.
2. What are the various developments of socio-emotional nature during infancy?
3. What are the various stages of Piaget’s theory related to infancy?
4. Discuss the negative impacts of crowd.

Further Readings
Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and
adolescence. Australia: Wadsworth.

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 Unit 6: Infancy

46 Lovely Professional University

Jotika Judge, Lovely Professional University Unit 7: Early Childhood

Unit 7 Early Childhood

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
7.1. Physical Development
7.2. Cognitive Development
7.3. Socio-Emotional Development
7.4. Summary
7.5. Keywords
7.6. Self-Assessment
7.7. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different facets of development in early childhood;
Understand the process of physical development in early childhood;
Gain familiarity with how cognitive development occurs in early childhood;
Acquire knowledge about socio-Emotional development of early childhood.

Introduction
Social Psychology is an ever growing field that tries to keep up with the changing nature of issues
and challenges that the society faces.

7.1. Physical Development

Though children grow very fast over the first two years, growth decelerates duringearly childhood.
From 2 years of age to 6 years, an average child grows 2 to 3 inches taller
while gaining 5 pounds approximately in weight with every passing year. The average 6-year-old
child weighs about 45 pounds and is about 46 inches tall. Physical growth is influenced by
genetics.The height and rate of growth of children are closely linked to that of their parents. The
amount of hormones released is controlled by genes, which determines the rate of growth.
Hormones are substances produced by glands and secreted into the bloodstream. Hormones have
an effect on cells and are a means of translating genetic instructions into physical development.
Growth hormone is produced from birth and has an impact on practically every element of the
body's development. Growth hormone deficiency causes slower growth in children, however
growth hormone supplements can help to accelerate growth when it's needed.
Between the ages of three and six, children make significant progress in gross motor skills, such as
running and jumping. They gain physical strength when their bone and muscle strength, as well as
their lung capacity, improve. As the areas of the brain responsible for sensory and motor skills
mature, children improve their coordination. They may now play more aggressively and engage in
more complex play activities such as running, jumping, and climbing. Poor motor skills are linked
to socioeconomic disadvantage, as are other elements of physical (and, as we will see, cognitive)

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development, possibly due to poor nutrition and fewer opportunities to practise motor skills in the
environment (McPhillips& Jordan-Black, 2007). Low-income communities are more likely to be
short on resources that promote children's development.
Young childrenexercisethe use of their big motor abilties to jump; run; and experience tri- cycles,
pedal cars, and differentdriving toys. Coordinating complicated movements, like those entailed in
driving a bicycle, is tough for youngerchildrenbecause itcalls for controlling a couple of limbs,
balancing, and extra. As they develop and benefit competence of their motor abilties,
youngerchildrenend up even extra coordinated and startto revealhobby in skip- ping, balancing,
and gamblingvideo games that contain feats of coordination, consisting of throwing and catching a
ball.
Fine motor talentsjust like thepotential to button a shirt, pour milk right into a glass, placed puzzles
together, and draw pixcontain eye–hand and small muscle coordination. As kids get higher at
thosetalents, they may becapable ofgrow to begreaterimpartial and do greater for themselves.
Young kidsgrow to behigher at greedyingesting utensils and grow to begreater self-enough at
feeding. Many first-class motor talents are very hard for youngerkidsdue to the fact they
containeachfingers and eachfacets of the brain

7.2. Cognitive Development

Cognitive development proceeds as a result of the dynamic and reciprocal transaction of internal
and external factors; it is constructed within a social context and involves both stability and
plasticity over time. Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive
development. His contributions include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed
observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal
different cognitive abilities.Before Piaget’s work, the common assumption in psychology was that
children are merely less competent thinkers than adults. He showed that young children think in
strikingly different ways compared to adults.
Piaget identified four major periods, or stages, of cognitive development: the sensorimotor
stage (birth to 2 years), the preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), the stage of concrete operations (7 to
11 years), and the stage of formal operations (11 years and beyond). These stages of intellectual
growth represent qualitatively different levels of functioning and form what Piaget calls an
invariant developmental sequence; that is, all children progress through the stages in the same
order. Piaget argued that stages can never be skipped because each successive stage builds on the
accomplishments of previous stages. Although Piaget believed that the sequencing of intellectual
stages is fixed, or invariant, he recognized that there are tremendous individual differences in the
ages at which children enter or emerge from any particular stage. In fact, his view was that cultural
factors and other environmental influences may either accelerate or retard a child’s rate of
intellectual growth, and he considered the age norms that accompany his stages (and sub stages) as
only rough approximations at best.

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The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)

This stage is called Pre-Operational because the children have not yet mastered the ability to
perform mental operations. Children’s thinking during this stage is governed by what is seen rather
than by logical principles. During this stage, children are able to think about things symbolically.
Their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and imagination, which allows
them to understand the difference between past and future, and engage in make-believe. But their
thinking is based on intuition and still not completely logical. They cannot yet grasp more complex
concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison. This stage is divided into more two stages
(1) The Pre-conceptual stage and (2) Intuitive Thought stage.
i. The Pre-conceptual sub-stage: This stage occurs between about the ages of 2 and 4. During this
stage child is able to formulate designs of objects that are not present. Other examples of mental
abilities are language and pretend play. Although there is advancement in progress, there are still
limitations such as egocentrism and animism.
ii. The Intuitive Thought sub-stage: This stage occurs between 4 and 7, in this stage children tend
to grow very curious and ask many questions; they begin the use of primitive reasoning. There is
an emergence in the interest of reasoning and wanting to know why things are the way they are.
Piaget called it the Intuitive sub-stage because children realize they have a vast amount of
knowledge but don’t know how they know it.
Vygotsky’s Theory
Vygotsky believed everything is learned on two levels.First, through interaction with others,
and then integrated into the individual’s mental structure. “Every function in the child’s cultural
development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between
people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to
voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions
originate as actual relationships between individuals.”
A second aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the idea that the potential for cognitive development
is limited to a "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). According to Vygotsky, the zone of proximal
development "is the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent
problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving
under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers."
He also proposed that children learn best when they are taught within their “zone of
proximal development” with a focus on emerging skills rather than skills that are too advanced. His
theory also emphasized language as a tool of sharing and organizing knowledge and thoughts.
Vygotsky argued that children acquire knowledge by participating in cultural activities, such as
preparing food, in which they observe and mimic, and eventually internalize, expert action. This
internalization process is mediated by the child’s language use and involves cultural artifacts, tools,
and icons (e.g., spoons and recipes for preparing food).
Vygotsky believed that language develops from social interactions, for communication
purposes. Vygotsky viewed language as man’s greatest tool, a means for communicating with the
outside world. According to Vygotsky (1962) language plays two critical roles in cognitive
development: (1) It is the main means by which adults transmit information to children, and (2)
Language itself becomes a very powerful tool of intellectual adaptation.
Vygotsky (1987) differentiates between three forms of language: social speech which is
external communication used to talk to others (typical from the age of two); private speech (typical
from the age of three) which is directed to the self and serves an intellectual function; and finally
private speech goes underground, diminishing in audibility as it takes on a self-regulating function
and is transformed into silent inner speech (typical from the age of seven). For Vygotsky, thought and
language are initially separate systems from the beginning of life, merging at around three years of
age. At this point speech and thought become interdependent: thought becomes verbal, speech
becomes representational. When this happens, children's monologues internalized to become inner
speech. The internalization of language is important as it drives cognitive development.
Vygotsky (1987) was the first psychologist to document the importance of private speech. He
considered private speech as the transition point between social and inner speech, the moment in
development where language and thought unite to constitute verbal thinking.

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Notice a child in your surroundings and jot down the characterstics they display in
accordance to Piaget’s second stage of development.

7.2. Socio-Emotional Development

Brain research indicates that emotion and cognition are profoundly interrelated processes.
Specifically, recent cognitive neuroscience findings suggest that the neural mechanisms underlying
emotion regulation may be the same as those underlying cognitive processes. Emotion and
cognition work together, jointly informing the child’s impressions of situations and influencing
behaviour. The rich interpenetrations of emotions and cognitions establish the major psychic scripts
for each child’s life. Together, emotion and cognition contribute to attentional processes, decision
making, and learning. Furthermore, cognitive processes, such as decision making, are affected by
emotion. Brain structures involved in the neural circuitry of cognition influence emotion and vice
versa. Emotions and social behaviors affect the young child’s ability to persist in goal-oriented
activity, to seek help when it is needed, and to participate in and benefit from relationships.
Three year onwards of age children become competent enough to start managing
emotions. Children are ready to begin preschool at this age. A new social context and increased
freedom offer tremendous opportunities for growth, but they also bring with them new
problems.Sharing, listening, and playing together can generate conflict between kids, and since
they can't always rely on their parents, they'll have to learn new coping strategies to handle on their
own.Preschool caregivers play an important part in this development by providing a safe
environment and providing direction.
Young children learn social and emotional skills such as managing emotions, sharing with
others, and following directions during their first few years of life. These talents serve as a basis for
the development of literacy, numeracy, and other cognitive abilities that are necessary for academic
and personal success.Nurturing and responsive connections with family members and other
caregivers, particularly those who provide care in early learning settings, are essential for healthy
social and emotional development.Early care and education specialists in child care and preschool
classrooms play a crucial role in promoting social and emotional development and ensuring that
the youngest students are ready for school and on the road to success.Caregivers who are
responsive and supportive are critical for social and emotional well-being. New brain connections
are formed and strengthened when parents or other primary caregivers respond to an infant's
babbles, cries, and gestures with eye contact, touch, and speech (a process known as "serve and
return").These ties aid in the development of a child's physical and mental wellbeing. For young
children, positive ties with caregivers can help to buffer and lessen the disruptive impacts of
adversity.
Parent-child relationships aren't the exclusive source of social and emotional learning.
Family, community, and culture all have an impact on social and interpersonal conventions, values,
expectations, and language, as well as child-rearing views and attitudes.Other non-parental
caregivers, family members, and experts can help young children develop good social and
emotional skills and treat mental health issues.Pediatricians and other health-care professionals
also assist parents in understanding developmental phases, promoting appropriate caregiver-child
interactions, screening for developmental and behavioural concerns, and referring families to
needed services and supports.The acquisition of a set of abilities is required for social and
emotional growth. Among the most important are the abilities to:

 Recognize and comprehend one's own emotions

 Accurately sense and interpret people' emotional states
 In a constructive manner, manage intense emotions and their expressions.
 Self-control is the ability to control one's own conduct.
 Empathy for others should be developed.
 Create and maintain relationships
Warning signs for problematic socio-emotional development in early childhood

 Shows most preferences and excessive addiction

 Do not show fear of strangers

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 Being overly frustrated or anxious

 Inappropriate or limited ability to express emotions
 Lack of interest and curiosity about people and toys
 Do not explore the surroundings
 Often looks sad and withdrawn

Notice an infant and a child in your surroundings and jot down the socio-emotional
differences among them.

7.4. Summary
 The height and rate of growth of children are closely linked to that of their parents. The
amount of hormones released is controlled by genes, which determines the rate of growth.
 Although Piaget believed that the sequencing of intellectual stages is fixed, or invariant, he
recognized that there are tremendous individual differences in the ages at which children
enter or emerge from any particular stage.
 Vygotsky believed that language develops from social interactions, for communication
purposes.
 Vygotsky considered private speech as the transition point between social and inner speech,
the moment in development where language and thought unite to constitute verbal thinking.
 Young children learn social and emotional skills such as managing emotions, sharing with
others, and following directions during their first few years of life.
 Caregivers who are responsive and supportive are critical for social and emotional well-
being.
 New brain connections are formed and strengthened when parents or other primary
caregivers respond to an infant's babbles, cries, and gestures with eye contact, touch, and
speech

7.5. Key Words

Pre-Operational Stage: Developmental stage where the children have not yet mastered the ability
to perform mental operations.
Social speech: external communication used to talk to others
Private speech: speech directed to the self and serves an intellectual function
The Intuitive Thought sub-stage: This stage occurs between 4 and 7, in this stage children tend to
grow very curious and ask many questions; they begin the use of primitive reasoning.
Zone of proximal development: the distance between the actual development level as determined
by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through
problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.

7.6. Self-Assessment
1. Concept of zone of Proximal Development was given by_____________

A. Piaget
B. Miller
C. Vygotsky
D. Lorenz
2. The height and rate of growth of children are closely linked to that of their parents.

A. True

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B. False
3. Caregivers should be_____________ for social and emotional well-being of a child.

A. Responsive
B. Supportive
C. Both of these
D. None of these
4. Emotions impact cognitive processes.

A. True
B. False
5. ________are source of social and emotional learning

A. Parents
B. Community
C. Values
D. All of these
6. A child able to eat with a spoon is an example of____________

A. Fine Motor Skill

B. Globe Motor Skill
C. Refined Motor Skill
D. None of these
7. Language is crucial for cognitive development.

A. True
B. False
8. __________the moment in development where language and thought unite to constitute verbal
thinking

A. Social Speech
B. Private Speech
C. Inner Speech
D. None of these
9. _______ are examples of fine motor skills

A. button a shirt
B. pour milk right into a glass
C. placed puzzles together
D. All of these
10. Pre-Operational stage is further divided into four stages.

A. True
B. False

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
C A C A D
6 7 8 9 10
A A B D B

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7.8. Review Questions

1. Discus the various types of gross motor skills.
2. What are Vygotsky’s views on cognitive development of a child?
3. Write a note on socio-emotional development of a child.
4. Discuss the Warning signs for problematic socio-emotional development in early childhood

Further Readings
Slater, A., Bremmer, J.G. An Introduction to Developmental Psychology. Second
Edition. BPS Blackwell.2003

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Rubina Fakhr, Lovely Professional University Unit 8: Late Childhood

Unit 8 LateChildhood

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
8.1. Physical Development
8.2. Cognitive Development
8.3. Socio-Emotional Development
8.4. Summary
8.5. Self-Assessment
8.6. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different facets of development in late childhood;
Understand the process of physical development in late childhood;
Gain familiarity with how cognitive development occurs in late childhood;
Acquire knowledge about socio-emotional development of late childhood.

Introduction

Late childhood is the period between ages of around 7 to 13 years, i.e., the period of just before
adolescence. This period is crucial in the sense that children gain greater control over body
movement, and motor skills. There are various challenges occurred in this phase of life which could
be socio-cognitive and emotional in nature. Along with physical development, greater reasoning
and flexibility of thought also developed. Just after this, the most challenging phase of a person’s
life started where physical growth spurts and may lead to a lot of emotional turmoil. School plays
an important part in social transition during this period as it opens the door to outside world for
them, bring their peers in more focus and lead to changes in parent-child connection. A child
becomes self- sufficient with his/her increasing cognitive and social abilities.

Due to the activities and developmental tasks during this phase, it’s been referred by different
names. As a child becomes sexually mature during this period, most likely till the age of 13 for girls
and 14 for boys, this phase is considered as ‘troublesome’, or ‘quarrelsome’. It is also called as
‘elementary school age’ by educators whereas ‘gang-age’, ‘age of creativity’ or ‘age of conformity’
by psychologists.

As described by Eccles (1999) “children learn about the world outside the family, match themselves
against the expectations of others, compare their performance with their peers, and develop
customary ways of responding to challenges and opportunities. Through these years, they forge a
personal identity, a self-concept, and an orientation toward achievement that will play a significant
role in shaping their success in school, work, and life”.

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8.1. Physical Development

During late childhood (7-12 years) various changes occurs in height, weight and proportion of body
with a good pace as compared to the earlier stage. The rapid lengthening of legs and an increase in
height are the characteristics of this stage. Though in this stage, they get weary after physical
activity, still shows high interest in competitions and sports. Moreover, a slow process of gaining
muscle strength and balance along with motor skills and lung capacity can also be seen which
enable them to perform strenuous physical activities for longer spans. Before puberty, growth spurt
occurs two years earlier for girls (at mean age nine) than boys (at mean age eleven). Good nutrition
is important for better growth and development. The children at this stage are prone to infections
and allergies due to social interactions in schools and also to accidents and injuries due to
increasing mobility and the confidence with respect too various factors such as hereditary, culture,
gender and social class. At this point in life, Children are more likely to make efforts to improve
their fine (cutting their fingernails, holding a pencil as it involves small muscles) and gross motor
skills (like riding a bike as it involves large muscles). Due to the use of different muscles, males
tend to perform better at gross skills whereas females perform better at fine motor skills. Brain
areas also grow during this phase, especially prefrontal cortex and hippocampus that assists a child
in attention and memory processes respectively. Moreover, myelination is an important factor that
facilitates sensory, intellectual and motor functioning and consequently lead to development and
improvement in logic, planning, memory, information processing speed, coordination using both
hemispheres, reaction time and control on emotional outbursts. Though physical growth is slow
and even during this phase, but influence of certain factors is evident which include sex,
immunization, intelligence, nutrition and health, being a developmental stage.

8.2. Cognitive Development

Cognitive development simply means the development of cognition which includes
thinking,problem-solving, reasoning, decision making and linguistic abilities. It covers various
theories such as Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, the information processing approach etc. In this phase of
life rapid mental development occurs. The Intellectual development of a child mostly happens in
for-
mal educational institutions or schools. Due to mental development, a child take interest in social
interactions, discussion on different topics as well as his interests also widened. As Piaget, this
stage is concerned with concrete operations (recognising the basic features of objects such as
number, mass or weight).
At this stage, the child interacts with people, make comparisons between different perspectives
with his own and take decisions. Due to this, the development of the ability to cooperate and
compete occurs. The development of various cognitive skills continues to expand at this stage as
children begin to think more logically and in organized manner while dealing with concrete data.
Moreover, they comprehend past, present, and future, enable them to plan goals and work towards
it. Furthermore, they can understand addition, subtraction, and cause-and-effect relationships.

Concrete Operational Thought

In the Concrete Operational Stage of cognitive development theory by Piaget, children aged 7 to 11
years use logic in concrete ways which refers to something that is tangible; something that can be
seen, heard, felt or experienced. For instance, understanding cause, effect, size, and distance.

The Children can utilize rationale to tackle issues attached to their own immediate experience, yet
experiences difficulty taking care of speculative issues or thinking about more abstract issues.

Children at this stage utilizes Inductive Reasoning, which is a logical process wherein different
premises accepted to be valid are consolidated to get a particular conclusion. For example, a child
has three siblings who are rude, so, he/she may conclude that siblings are rude.

In this stage children learn to classify organisms into categories and sub-categories by building
schemata with increasing development of their vocabulary and experience. There are various other
features of this particular stage.

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Identity: It is the ability to understand that objects have characteristics that don't change regardless
of whether the article is modified somehow or another. For example, a piece of chalk will remain a
chalk even when scattered into pieces.

Reversibility: The children discovers that few things that have been changed can be changed back
to their earlier state. Water can be frozen and afterward defrosted to become fluid once more.

Conservation: Concrete operational children can comprehend the idea of conservation which
implies that transforming one quality (as for instance, water level or height) can be made up for by
changes in another quality (width Therefore, each container contains the same amount of water, the
difference is that one is taller and narrower whereas the other is shorter and wider.

Decentration: Children pay attention to the transformations in other dimensions of objects (such as
the height, size along with width) rather than only a single.

Seriation: Arranging things along a quantitative aspect, like length or weight, in a calculated way is
currently exhibited by a child in this stage. For instance, they can arrange a series of sticks of
different sizes in an organized manner with respect to length.

According to Piaget, children still can’t think in abstract and scientific terms.

At this stage, children begin to solve basic mathematical problems, like adding, subtracting,
multiplying and dividing and can classify and combine these classifications of concrete objects.
Moreover, children can develop logical connections from simple associations.

Information Processing: Children vary in their memory capacities, and these distinctions foresee
both their preparation for school and scholastic performance in school.

The limit of working memory grows during late childhood period, and they become enabled to
prevent irrelevant date from entering memory as well as speeding up the process for effective
working of memory.

Attention: The capacity to restrain insignificant data improves during this phase, alongwith that a
huge improvement in selective attention from age six into adolescence also occurs. Children also
have greater flexibility in their attention i.ie. easily shifting attention from one task to other.

Knowledge Base: Due to these sharp improvements a child’s ability to learn, remember and store
data also enhances. As children experiences the world more by entering into school, the
development of more categories for concepts occurs. This enables children to learn more effective
ways for storing and retrieving data.

Metacognition: Children in late childhood better comprehend their performance on tasks, as well
as the difficulty level. Children in this phase begins to figure out their priorities and check the
significance and insignificance of the task. Accordingly, they foster metacognition. Metacognition
denotes the awareness about our own thinking as well as the ability to utilize this consciousness to
manage our own cognitions.

Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is a detailed analysis of beliefs, strategies, and proofs, which
involves teaching children how to think. It includes better comprehension of a problem through
gathering, assessing, and choosing appropriate information, and by considering numerous
potential solutions. This age enables a child for deductive reasoning. Metacognition is important for
critical thinking as it enables us to consider the data in order to take decisions.

Language Development: The language acquisition is found to be consistent across various cultures
and children (Hatch, 1983). Children are considered as biologically predisposed to acquire
language. As far as late childhood is concerned, a 7-year-old child can fluently speak and use
slangs. The vocabulary becomes more sophisticated as they begin to tell literal jokes especially
which include punch lines or repeated words, for instance, “A man fell down in the mud! Isn’t that
funny?”. Moreover, they flexibly learn grammar rules.

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8.3. Socio-Emotional Development

According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, the period of late childhood lies in
elementary school age (grade schoolers) in which children become more competitive. They want
follow their peers in every activity and that enables them to learn to read, write, doing math, and
even playing sports and if they perform those activities well, they feel proud and confident,
otherwise inferiority feelings develop. During this stage, teachers have a significant role to teach
them such skills. Moreover, children’s social network expands and they understand their and
others abilities. Furthermore, that leads them to make comparison between them and their peers to
validate their competency.

In addition to it, this theory also emphasizes certain crisis during developmental stages, in this
particular stage, children face the crisis of ‘industry vs inferiority’ and the resolution of this crisis at
this particular stage leads to the development of the virtue of “competence”. This virtue is
demonstrated by making things, getting results, applying skills and feeling capable.However,
among children of this age “friendship” is based upon nearness, like living nearby, being in same
school etc.

Companionships enables a child to judge one’s own worth, capability, and attractiveness, as well as
providing the chance to mastering interpersonal skills. Children learn from each other with respect
to ideas, clothing, what to talk, how to get famous, and different behaviours. And this transfers
their focus from family to peers as peers play a very influential role during this phase of life of
children. As for instance, the self-esteem and confidence of children suffers while getting rejected
by friends and only be recovered by acceptance. Socially unacceptable children are more likely to
be either withdrawn, shy, reserved or aggressive, "problem" type that provoke others.

During this stage, children form group that referred to as gang sometimes. It gives them
independence from the authority of elders and help to fulfil their needs in context of society
dominated by adults. Such formal groups are typically formed for enjoyment and play. Moreover,
voluntary gender segregation can also be seen for the purpose of sexual exclusivity. In later
childhood, males are more likely to form gangs as compared to females. These groups enable
children for social comparisons and also enhance cooperation skills with others. Due to this, the
awareness about social differences may enhance quickly in this stage. Subsequently, children
developed prejudice which can be nurtured by near and dear ones, especially the primary social
circle.

The socialisation process occurs rapidly in this phase because of diversity of exposures from
environmental influences apart from the parental influences. These factors include, school,
extended family, community, peer group, media, and the teachers. During late childhood, a child
spends minimum time under parental guidance and maximum time under supervision of adults
related to different social roles like teachers, coaches, etc through which they start getting exposed
and habitual of such formal environments in the Mesosystems. This assists them in learning
coordination and cooperation, comparison and observation skills.

Moreover, children spend more time during this stage with the same age peers willingly or
unwillingly and expected to adjust with them. Consequently, they are being compared with other
peers and this has made them to focus their attention on learning as well as making comparisons
between abilities, skills and personalities. As they learn by observing the behaviour of other peers,
so, they also learn the skills of negotiation and assimilation with the peers. Along with that, the
support from family members facilitates the development of good self-image, and the
communication and comparisons with friends may increase or decrease the influence of family.
Having friends during this stage is correlated with self-esteem and confidence in adolescence years
as well as in adulthood.

Factors in Childhood Social Development:

1. The Physiological factors: It has an impact on Growth and social behaviour. Physically
handicapped child may experienceof being handicap in social relations too among his peers. Some
features of the nervous system as well as the endocrine glands influence a child’s behaviour
patterns and attitude towards life.

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2. The Family: Family is the primary as well as the significant social group that influences a child’s
social development. It provides environmental surroundings, personal and supportive relationship
and cultural models. The relation between parents and children is the basis for socialisation in
context of his adjustment in the societal spheres. This adjustment is totally determined by the
treatment, a child receives from the family, for instance, "acceptance-
rejection”, “dominance-submission”, “democracy-authoritarianism”, “trust-distrust”,
“reward-punishment” so on and so forth.

3. Religion: It is one of the primary social institutions that plays a dominant role in determining
social attitudes and social development.

4. Government: Government is extremely potential factor in determining the social development

by framing social policies for removing deprivation and misery of the citizens.

5. Language: Language and social functioning are closely related to each other. A child’s language
assists him in proper social interaction and facilitate social development.

6. Education: As a social institution or agency school shapes social behaviour, and promotehis
tendency to grow. It offers diversity of social settings that assists children to learn some important
lessons to live and perform by being in interaction and under the supervision of the teachers.

7. Peer group: Outside his family, peer group is the influencing factor. Though such groups centred
around play and for making friends but simultaneously they satisfy socio-psychological needs of
the children such as belongingness, acceptance, expression of ideas, achievement, affection,
approval and recognition.

8. Physical environment and Class Status: Due to urbanisation, population, congestion and the
other factors influences social behaviour. Diverse social behaviour patterns are displayed by
children belong to different class and strata. Like backward classes and people belong to lower
classes still encounter untouchability. Such kinds of social prejudices that are highly prevalent
influences socialisation of children.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

During this phase of their development, the feelings of hatred, fear, love etc are experienced by
children and that have long term effects on them. They form sentiments, feelings and complexes
along with developing autonomy, coping strategies, and shame. In simple terms, acceptance can be
observed, if they achieve success in their own eyes or else cultivate a sense of inferiority, if they get
unsuccessful.

Success and failure impact the child and they are required to cope with them in this stage. They are
being exposed to competent adults or older siblings performs tasks and achieved success. This
made them aspire to follow the same pattern for their future.

While entering schools and exposed to comparisons with their peers often makes them anxious to a
great extent. During this phase they have to experience success, failure and frustration.Contest and
comparison in many structures are subsequently the main inner difficulties that the child needs to
wrestle and master in these formative years. School accomplishment and achievement accordingly
become significant elements in the existence of a youngster in this progressive phase and will
likewise enormously affect the future accomplishment as a juvenile and later as a grown-up. So,
motivation, good self-concept, competence and self-concept about personal abilities, readiness to
take on challenges, resilience, frustration tolerance and positive attitudes towards school, peer etc
are the significant psychological characteristics that the kid needs to develop in late childhood.
According to Pedersen et al (2007), research studies suggest a correlation between hardships with
peers and externalizing and assimilating of behaviour problems, and their influence on

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developmental aspects. For instance, scholastic accomplishment and accomplishment in different

activities, as well as mental development like fostering a positive self-image.

As far as Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is concerned, he described some psychosexual

stages of development. This stage of late childhood falls into latency stage of psychoanalytic theory
which concerns with less conflicts because the traumas of the phallic stage (Oedipus complex and
Electra complex) cause sexual conflicts to be repressed and sexual urges to be rechannelled into
schoolwork and vigorous play. The ego and superego continue to develop as the child gains more
problem-solving abilities at school and internalizes societal values. The child has little or no sexual
motivation, it becomes less important in this stage, as it is marked by the beginning of puberty.

8.4. Summary

 Late childhood is a difficult phase of life. Brand-new learnings and social circumstances
bring various new experiences to a child's life as he/she develop new coping strategies for
the world.
 The children at this stage are prone to infections and allergies due to social interactions in
schools and also to accidents and injuries due to increasing mobility and the confidence
with respect too various factors such as hereditary, culture, gender and social class.
 According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, the period of late
childhood lies in elementary school age (grade schoolers) in which children becomes more
competitive.
 Companionships enables a child to judge one’s own worth, capability, and attractiveness,
as well as providing the chance to mastering interpersonal skills.
 During this phase of their development, the feelings of hatred, fear, love etc are
experienced by children and that have long term effects on them.
 School accomplishment and achievement accordingly become significant elements in the
existence of a youngster in this progressive phase and will likewise enormously affect the
future accomplishment as a juvenile and later as a grown-up

8.5.Keywords
Late childhood: Late childhood is the period between ages of around 7 to 13 years, i.e., the period
of just before adolescence.
Reversibility: Learning that few things that have been changed and can be changed back to their
earlier state.
Inductive Reasoning: Logical process wherein different premises accepted to be valid are
consolidated to get a particular conclusion.
Seriation: Arranging things along a quantitative aspect, like length or weight, in a calculated way is
currently exhibited by a child in this stage.

8.6. Self-Assessment Questions

1. ________ is the period between ages of around 7 to 13 years.

a. Early Childhood
b. Late Childhood
c. Adolescence
d. Babyhood
2. According to psychologists, Late childhood is also called ______
a. gang-age
b. age of creativity
c. age of conformity

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d. All of the above

3. Educators called this stage _______
a. Elementary school age
b. Secondary school age
c. Pre-school age
d. Both b and c
4. What are different factors that influences a child’s social development in this stage?
a. Education
b. Peer Group
c. Class status
d. All of the above

5. During this phase of emotional development, children experience the feelings of ________
a. hatred, fear, love etc
b. jealousy and anxiety
c. depression
d. over excitement
6. Children form_____
a. Sentiments, feelings, complexes
b. Autonomy, coping strategies, and shame
c. None of the above
d. Both a & b
7. Companionships, during this phase, enables a child to judge one’s own worth, capability,
and attractiveness.
a. Very true
b. False
c. Somewhat true
d. Somewhat false
8. In Erikson’s stages, during this period of life, the child has to go through the crisis of
_______
a. Identity vs. Role Confusion
b. Intimacy vs. Isolation
c. Industry vs. Inferiority
d. Initiative vs. Guilt
9. Once a child resolves the particular crisis during this stage, according to Erikson’s theory,
he/she develops the virtue of __________
a. Hope
b. Love
c. Care
d. Competency

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10. According to Piaget’s Concrete Operational stage,children discovers that few things that
have been changed can be changed back to their earlier state. This is known as ____

a. Reversibility

b. Conservation

c. Identity

d. Decentration

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
B D A D A
6 7 8 9 10
D A C D A

Review Questions
1. Discuss the cognitive developments during the period of late childhood.
2. Why late childhood is an important phase of life?
3. How late childhood is different from early childhood and adolescent years?
4. Explain socio-emotional growth among children in their late childhood years.
5. Discuss various influencing factors in social development of children during late
childhood years.

Further Readings

 Brown, C. (2008). Developmental psychology. SAGE Publications Ltd.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446214633
 Hurlock, E. B. (1980). Developmental psychology: a life-span approach. New York:
McGraw-Hill
 Shaffer, D. R., &Kipp, K. (2007). Developmental psychology: Childhood and
adolescence.Australia: Wadsworth.

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Jotika Judge, Lovely Professional University Unit 9: Puberty

Unit 9-Puberty

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
9.1. Physical Changes
9.2. Psychological Changes
9.3. Hazards in puberty
9.4. Summary
9.5. Keywords
9.6. Self-Assessment
9.7. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different facets of development during puberty;
Understand the various physical changes happening in puberty;
Get familiar with various psychological changes happening in puberty;
Acquire knowledge the hazards of puberty.

Introduction
Puberty is derived from the Latin term PUBERTAS, which meaning "maturity age." Puberty is
when child experiences a series of important, natural and healthy changes. These physical,
psychological, and emotional changes are signs that your child is transitioning from childhood to
adulthood. Puberty begins when a change in the child's brain releases sex hormones from the
gonads, ovaries, and testicles. This usually occurs in about 10-11 for girls and about 11-12 for boys.
However, puberty usually begins between 8-13 for girls and 9-14 for boys. Puberty is a transitional
period.It includes the last years of childhood as well as the first years of puberty. Pubescents, often
known as pubescent children, are youngsters who have not yet reached sexual maturity. Early
puberty is characterised by fast physical maturation with hormonal and physiological changes. It's
an inconvenient period of development when the sexual apparatus matures and the reproductive
capacity is reached. Puberty is a two- to four-year phase defined by quick matures – children who
complete puberty in two years or less – and slow matures – children who complete puberty in three
to four years to complete the metamorphosis into adults. At this time, it is known that roughly five
years before children reach sexual maturity, both boys and girls excrete a modest amount of sex
hormones. As time passes, the number of hormones produced rises, resulting in the maturation of
the structure and function of the sex organs. It has been shown that the pituitary gland, located near
the base of the brain, and the gonads have a close association. The four stages of puberty constitute
the puberty criteria. Menarche refers to a girl's first period. Adrenarche refers to the hormonal
changes that occur during puberty. Spemarche refers to a boy's initial ejaculation of sperm. During
puberty, gonadarche is the process of sexual maturation and the development of reproductive
maturity.

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9.1. Physical Development

Puberty is a crucial stage for physical development. Major changes happen in terms of physical
growth during this time. The changes differ according to the sex of an individual as well.
Physical development in girls
About 10-11 years ,
 Breasts began to develop. This is the first visible sign that puberty has begun. It is normal
for the left and right breasts to grow at different rates. Also, the breast often becomes a
little softer during development.
 A growth spurt is occurring. Some body parts, such as the head, face, and hands, may
grow faster than the limbs and torso. This can cause your child to look imbalanced for
some time. On average, girls grow 520 cm. They usually stop growing in about 16-17
years.
 Body shape changes. For example, a girl has a wide waist.
 The external genitalia (vulva) and pubic hair begin to grow. Pubic hair darkens and
thickens over time.
About 12-14 (about two years after the onset of breast development),
 Hairs begin to grow under the arm.
 Clear or white vaginal discharge that begins months before the onset of menstruation.
 Menstruation usually begins within 2 years of the onset of breast growth, but can take up
to 4 years to begin as well.
Physical development in boys
Approximately 11-12 years
 The external genitalia (penis, testicles,scrotum) begin to grow. It is normal for one testicle
to grow faster than the other. You can reassure your child that the male testicles are not
usually the same size.
 Pubic hair begins to grow. It gets darker and thicker over time.
About 12-14 years old
 Child is growing fast. Child is growing and their breasts and shoulders are expanding.
Some parts of a child's body, such as the head, face, and hands, may grow faster than the
limbs and torso. This can cause your child to look imbalanced for some time. On average,
boys grow 10 to 30 cm. They usually stop growing at around 18 to 20 years.
 It`s common for boys to have minor breast development. It is normal and usually goes
away by itself.
About 13-15 years old
 Hair begins to grow on other parts of the child's body: under the arms, on the face, and on
other bodies. The hair on the legs and arms becomes thicker. Some young men gain hair
by their early twenties.
 The hormone testosterone is produced, stimulating the testicles to produce sperm. Child
may erect and ejaculate (release sperm). During this time, erections often occur for no
reason. Ejaculating during sleep is often referred to as "nocturnal emission."
About 14-15 years old
 The larynx (Adam's apple or larynx) becomes clearer. Child's larynx expands and their
voice "breaks" and eventually deepens. Some boys' voices move from high to low and
come back in one sentence. This will stops soon.
Other important physical changes
 Weight - Both sexes exhibit a noticeable increase by the 11 year averaging between 10 and
14 pounds during peak year of development. Gain in weight is proportionately greater
than the child’s gain in height.
 Skeletal structure - Increases in length, weight, proportion, and composition. Girls exhibit
more rapid skeletal development than boys, their bone structure reaching mature size by
the 17th year. Skeletalweight for both males and females increases throughout puberty but
appears to be marked in males.

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 Digestive and circulation system undergo rapid phases of growth. Theorgan of digestive
system almost reaches their mature size and shape. During these years stomach becomes
larger and less, tubular and hence hence its capacity increases. The intestine also grows in
length as well as in circumstances. The smooth muscles in both the stomach and intestine
walls become thicker and stronger, thus resulting in stronger peristaltic movements.
 Heart - Nearly doubles in size by the age of 1 & to 18. Itis 12 times as it was at birth, the
brain is also fully developed.
 Lungs - Increase in vital capacity (quantity of air the lugs can hold) in fairly constant
throughout the childhood; but to increase rapidly during puberty.

9.2. Psychological Development

A host of psychological and emotional tasks, including, the processes of individuation, the
formation ofego identity, and ego maturation are accomplished during puberty. Blos discussed
individuation as a process involved with the development of relativeindependence from family
relationships, the weakening of infantile object ties, and an increased capacity to assume a
functional role as amember of adult society. Blos defined and described this task as similarto the
more primitive struggle for individuation in the attainment ofobject constancy that occurs toward
the end of the third year of life. Thus, the early pubescent has marked ambivalence concerning
issuesof independence versus dependence, particularly in terms of theirrelationships to their
parents. This ambivalence is likely to be seen inrapid and marked attitudinal and behavioral
changes by the child (e.g., one moment protesting any parental involvement orsupervision and the
next moment regressing to marked dependencyon mother or father).
Erikson described ego identity formation during pubertyas the assembly of converging identity
elements that occur at theend of childhood, achieved through a process of normative crises.Ego
identity was viewed by Erikson as including the conscious senseof individual identity as well as an
unconscious striving for acontinuity of personal character. In this process of ego formation,the ego
integrates previous childhood identifications into a newtotality, which lays the foundation of the
adult personality. Positiveresolution to this issue leads to a sense of ego identity, or continuityin
one's self-definition. Negative resolution of this challenge couldresult in ego diffusion, or
uncertainty about who one is and whatone will become in the future. This failure to achieve ego
identity isrelated to the diagnostic category of identity problem. Marcia furtherdefined Erikson's
concept of ego identity in terms of two variables:commitment (whether or not the individual has
accepted a set ofvalues) and crisis (whether or not the individual has experiencedan inner struggle
in arriving at personal acceptance of a set of values).These two variables combine to yield four
identity statuses inMarcia's model: diffusion (no commitment, no crisis); foreclosure(commitment
without crisis); moratorium (crisis withoutcommitment); and achievement (commitment after
crisis). Marciaargued that these categories, in the order given, representdevelopmental levels of
increasingly advanced maturation.
The process of individuation is most clearly noted during earlyphases of puberty, whereas the
process of identity formationand consolidation is typically manifested during later stages
ofpuberty. As a result of these processes, pubescents will typicallymodify the way in which they
interact and relate to others.Specifically, pubescents begin to increase their involvement withpeers,
while decreasing their immediate identification with familymembers. Further, the early stages of
individuation may result in anincrease in conflict with parents, as the pubescent
attemptspreliminary definitions of the self based on identifying the ways inwhich their feelings,
thoughts, and attitudes may differ from thoseof their parents.
Loevinger articulated a concept of ego development in referenceto the frameworks of meaning that
individuals impose on their life. Within Loevinger's model, the concept of egodevelopment is a
dimension of individual differences, as well as adevelopmental sequence of increasingly complex
functioning interms of impulse control, character development, interpersonalrelationships, and
cognitive complexity. At the three lowest levels ofego development, collectively grouped into the
pre-conformist stage,the individual may be described as impulsive, motivated by personalgain in
the avoidance of punishment, and oriented to the presentrather than the past or future. Cognitive
styles are stereotyped andconcrete, and interpersonal relationships are opportunistic,exploitive,
and demanding. During the second broad stage ofdevelopment, referred to as the conformist stage,
the individual beginsto identify his or her welfare with that of the social group. Theindividual
places emphasis on conformity to socially approvednorms and standards and on issues of social
acceptability in termsof attitudes and behaviors. As the individual enters thepost-conformist stages

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of development, self-awareness, cognitivecomplexity, and interpersonal style become increasingly

complexand a balance is achieved between autonomy and interdependence.The maturational
stages described by Loevinger do not refer tospecific age groups, but she noted that higher stages of
egodevelopment would rarely be achieved by pubescent children.

Find out the individual differences in age at which your friends hit puberty.

9.3. Hazards in Puberty

 Physical Hazards
Physically, most pubescent children do not feel well, and illness is less common during this time. At
this age, mortality is less likely than in the pre-pubescent or even post-pubescent years. Many
deaths reported due to accidents are the result of suicide, which they attempt
because of severe depression. The principal physical hazards of puberty are due to mild or
substantial malfunctioning of the endocrine glands that control the puberty growth spurt and the
sexual changes that occur. Many deaths recorded due to accidents are the result of suicide attempts,
which they try because of acute depression.
 Psychological Hazards
Puberty's long-term psychological impacts are more important than its immediate ones.
 Negative Self-Concept: Few children survive adolescence without having negative self-
perceptions. Those are the kids who, in the past, had enough self-esteem and enough self-
confidence to take on a leadership role in their peer group. Unfavorable self-perceptions in
puberty can be caused by both personal and environmental factors. The majority of
pubescents have unrealistic expectations of their physical looks and talents. Pubescents are
disillusioned as they watch their body transform and observe their awkward behaviour.
Pubescents are known for their antisocial, if not antisocial, behaviour. Bad treatment from
others has a significant impact on a person's self-concept, prompting them to develop a
negative attitude. They withdraw from others, adding nothing to the group's activities or
comments, or they become hostile or protective, retaliating because they believe they have
been treated unfairly. Unless remedial actions are taken to remedy it, this provides the
foundation for an inferiority mentality.
 Underachievement: Rapid physical growth causes energy to wane. This results in a lack of
excitement and a bored attitude toward any task requiring effort. Underachievement in
school usually begins in the fourth or fifth grade. Girls adopt the cultural preconception
about themselves, realising that being a high achiever is not considered "feminine,"
especially if their achievements are higher than boys'. This pushes girls to work below
their potential, which develops a habit over time. As a result, many pubescents become
underachievers as adults. They lead to life-altering underachievement unless corrective
actions are made to address them.
 Lack of psychological preparation for puberty changes: When pubescents are
unprepared psychologically for both the physical and psychological changes that occur
throughout puberty, going through these changes can be an unpleasant experience. As a
result, people are more prone to have negative feelings about the changes. Children are
ashamed to ask questions about puberty, which is why they never discuss these bodily
changes with their parents, teachers, or peers. It is preferable if they have already been
educated. Early and late maturers believe that something is wrong with them and that
their growth is aberrant in comparison to their classmates. The more different they appear,
the more inferior they will feel.
 Acceptance of altered bodies: Acceptance of transformed bodies is an important
developmental challenge during puberty. The following are two of the most common
reasons why adolescent boys and girls are unhappy with their bodies and find it difficult
to accept them: To begin with, practically every youngster develops an ideal physical self-
concept based on ideas from many sources of ideal humans. Second, traditional ideas
about what constitutes a gender-appropriate appearance tend to impact adolescent
children's views in ways that make it difficult for them to accept their own bodies as they
change.

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 Acceptance of socially acceptable gender roles: From childhood onwards boys are
pressured to play the socially acceptable masculine gender, which is a conventional role
that stresses superiority in most social groupings. Most boys are not just willing but eager
to play the typical male gender role because of the benefits and prestige associated with it.
This is why boys are content with their gender roles. Girls, on the other hand, find it
difficult to embrace their gender roles due to a hazy concept, and they also have
difficulties behaving in a way that fits the stereotype. Fewer girls face challenges as a
result of their conventional gender roles being taught to them in the same way that boys
are.The fact that males are not subject to periodic discomforts increases their resistance to
established gender roles.Other girls, on the other hand, have a hard time adjusting since
they prefer equal rights and opportunities. Acceptance is difficult and dangerous to one's
mental health as a result.
 Sexual maturation deviations: Sexual maturation deviations are the most serious
psychological risk in their age group, affecting mainly those children who are deviant
from their peers. It is difficult for teenagers to be accepted regarding anything that makes
them different and hence inferior in their eyes, just as it is in late childhood.Children that
are sexually immature believe that something is wrong with them. They are worried about
maintaining their normalcy in the present and in the future. Although early maturers have
advantages, they nonetheless have personality issues. These issues arise because kids tend
to appear older than their peers and are forced to act in accordance with their appearance.
If they fail to do so, they are chastised, which leads to feelings of inadequacy and
inferiority. Late maturers who appear younger than they are may be treated as such by
their family and friends, leading them to doubt their ability to do what their peers do.
Slow maturers have more time than rapid maturers to acclimatise to bodily changes.
Concern that kids will never grow up offsets this positive effect. Boys may get "locker
room syndrome" as a result of this.
Some sexual developing deviants become chronic daydreamers, some have a hypercritical
attitude toward others, and still others become restless, but they can stop these habits if
their desire for social approval is strong enough. Early and late maturers are not all
harmed. Some people do, in fact, benefit. Boys who are still young grow up to be socially
engaged and popular, often taking on leadership roles in their peer group. Because of
habituation, many actions continue into later life.Middle-aged males who were late
matureres, on the other hand, were found to stick to "little boy" behaviour patterns. As a
result, they are less socially involved, have lower business success, and are less likely to be
chosen for leadership positions.The long-term impacts of deviant maturing on girls lead
one to conclude that early matures have aggressive personalities and will continue to be
aggressive later in life. Late-maturers, on the other hand, who have a well-adjusted
personality and do well socially in adulthood, will continue to do so unless circumstances
unrelated to sexual maturation disrupt this pattern.

Conduct a survey and find out major problems that individuals at this stage of their
development are facing.

9.4. Summary
 Puberty is when child experiences a series of important, natural and healthy changes. The
four stages of puberty constitute the puberty criteria.
 Girls exhibit more rapid skeletal development than boys, their bone structure reaching
mature size by the 17th year. Skeletalweight for both males and females increases
throughout puberty but appears to be marked in males.
 The process of individuation is most clearly noted during early phases of adolescence,
whereas the process of identity formation and consolidation is typically manifested during
later stages of adolescence.
 Physically, most adolescent children do not feel well, and illness is less common during
this time. At this age, mortality is less likely than in the pre-pubescent or even post-
pubescent years.

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 Erikson described ego identity formation during adolescence as the assembly of

converging identity elements that occur at the end of childhood, achieved through a
process of normative crises.

9.5. Key Words

Pubescent: A child who is developing from a child into an adult.
Adrenarche: It refers to the hormonal changes that occur during adolescence
Gonadarche: The process of sexual maturation and the development of reproductive maturity.
Ego development: Adimension of individual differences, as well as adevelopmental sequence of
increasingly complex functioning interms of impulse control, character development,
interpersonalrelationships, and cognitive complexity.

9.6. Self-Assessment
1. Puberty begins when a change in the child's brain releases sex hormones from the gonads,
ovaries, and testicles.

A. True
B. False
2. Slow matures – children complete puberty in _________years to complete the metamorphosis
into adults

A. 2 to 3 years
B. 4 to 5 years
C. 3 to 4 years
D. 5 to 7 years
3. Which of these is not a psychological risk factor of puberty?

A. Acceptance of changed body

B. Sexual maturation deviations
C. Underachievement
D. All of these
4. Ego identity formation is achieved through.

A. Collective Crisis
B. Normative Crisis
C. Physical Crisis
D. Physiological Crisis
5. Which of these is a normal growth for a 13 year old boy?

A. Growth of external genitalia

B. Minor breast development
C. Pubic Hair begins to grow
D. None of these
6. Girls exhibit more rapid skeletal development than boys

A. True
B. False
7. Marcia defined concept of ego identity in terms of__________

A. Commitment and Crisis

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B. Consistency and Crisis

C. Consistency and Commitment
D. None of these
8. Endocrine glands control the puberty growth spurt

A. True
B. False
9. Ego identity as conceptualized by Erikson includes__________

A. conscious senseof individual identity

B. unconscious striving for acontinuity of personal character
C. both of these
D. none of these
10.Skeletalweight for both males and females increases throughout puberty but appears to be
marked in males

A. True
B. False

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
A C A B B
6 7 8 9 10
A A A C A

9.7. Review Questions

1. Discus the various physical changes happening in girls during puberty.
2. Discus the various physical changes happening in boys during puberty.
3. What are the various psychological hazards during puberty?
4. Write a note on psychological development during puberty?

Further Readings
Slater, A., Bremmer, J.G. An Introduction to Developmental Psychology. Second
Edition. BPS Blackwell.2003

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Rubina Fakhr, Lovely Professional University Unit 10: Adolescence

Unit 10Adolescence

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
10.1. Physical Changes
10.2. Psychological Changes
10.3. Hazards
10.4. Summary
10.5. Key Notes
10.6. Self-Assessment
10.7. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
 Understand developmental course of adolescents
 Problems that adolescence face
 Various harmful behaviours and their hazards
 Form a better relationship with adolescents afterwards

Introduction
In common terms, adolescents, generally, are teenagers. A teenager is a person who is at this point
neither a child nor an adult. Adolescent years also known as teenage years, youth, or puberty, and
it covers the developmental age range of 10 to 20 years in a kid's turn of events. This can be
considered as second decade of life. The word adolescence is derived from the Latin verb
adolescence, which means “to grow into adulthood.” This period of adolescence is transition from
immaturity to maturity. As soon as the period of late childhood comes to an end, puberty marks the
beginning of adolescence. The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of adolescent is a
person between age range of 10 to 19, WHO considers people belong to this age as young people, as
they fall between the age range of 10 to 24.
Several emotional issues arise during this phase, particularly emotional parental separation which
enables them to establish their own values, and demand adjustments in different spheres.
Moreover, adolescents experience an increase of sexual feelings resulting from the repressed sexual
impulses of childhood years. During this period, adolescents learn to control and express sexual
drives.
Scholars vary in their viewpoints on adolescence, as some stated that the process of maturation is
quite peaceful and serene for adolescents, whereas other considers it as strong and highly
challenging developmental phase typified by certain forms of behaviour.

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10.1. Physical Changes

The term growth spurt means the rapid speed in height and weight that marks the commencement
of adolescent years. The inception of adolescent years beckoned by two major transformations in
physical development.
Firstly, youngsters grow markedly in size and shape as they arrive adolescence. Secondly, they also
attain puberty. Technically, puberty refers to the phase during which a person becomes capable of
reproduction. In other words, it refers to all those physical transformations that are occurring in the
growing female and male children and this is their path to pass from childhood into adulthood. The
physical development begun by biological changes that characterized as puberty.
Musculature develops in cephalocaudal and proximodistal directions, starting from the head and
neck muscles followed by trunk and limbs. The maturation of muscle tissue occurs rapidly during
the period of early adolescence. One result of this development is that both genders become
stronger, but males muscle mass and strength grow more dramatically.
Physical development is not a smooth process, as growth patterns differs for different systems.
Like, the brain and head develop a lot quicker and are speedier to arrive at grown-up extents than
the remainder of the body, while the private parts and reproductive organs grow gradually over
the course of growing up and foster quickly in early youth.
Additionally, with becoming taller and heavier, the body adopts an adultlike appearanceduring
this period of growth. The most noticeable transformations are their physique including
development of breasts and enlargement of the hips for girls, and a widening of the shoulders,
growing penis and testicles, and change in voice for boys. Puberty is marked by the beginning of
menarche. All these changes are generated by hormones (chemical substances in the body that act
on specific organs and tissues) which include testosterone, a male sex hormone, and estrogen, a
female sex hormone. These hormones are the basis of growth spurt in early young age that leads to
all kinds of changes in height and weight.
Psychologists for several decades, believed that this phase of puberty was highly stressful for
youngsters. But today, they are aware about the fact that these conflicts and difficult issues that are
associated with adjustment during this stage can be reduced to higher extent if teenagers already
know about what transformations to expect and may deal with them by having positive attitudes
toward such transitions.
The development of the lymph tissues important part of immune system overshoots prior to
dropping quickly during adolescence.
Development of the Brain During Adolescence

At the point when youngsters arrive at the adolescent years, they start to ask speculative, "what if"
kind imaginative questions and to consider significant deliberations like truth and equity.
Numerous scientists currently accept that these progressions in thinking attached to late
advancements in the brain. For instance, myelinization of the higher centers of brain, may expand
teenagers' abilities to focus, yet additionally makes sense of why they process data a lot quicker
than grade-younger students.
Additionally, brain volume develops till mid-adolescence which later declines during late
adolescence. So, the changes in adolescent brain are less dramatic.
Young men and young ladies are almost equivalent in actual physical capacities until adolescence,
when young men proceed to enhance performance on huge muscle exercises, while young ladies'
abilities decline. These sex distinctions are, partially, because of biological reasons, as juvenile
males have more muscle and less fat as compared to juvenile females and may be supposed to
perform better at tests of physical strength.
According to Jacqueline Herkowitz (1978) the superficial physical decline of adolescent girls is an
outcome of gender-role socialization because females are often raised to become less boyish and
expected to engage in more conventionally womanlike activities. The evidence of this fact can be
seen by viewing female athletes who have large-muscle performance without any decline over
time.

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10.2. Psychological Changes

Adolescence not only brings physical changes but also psychological, social, cognitive and
emotional transitions too.Indeed, adolescence is full of significant emotional and
psychological changes. These changes include searching for one’s identity and need for
freedom and independence. A lot of turmoil and confusions are encountered by adolescents
in search for their need to have independence and simultaneously being dependent on
parents. Moreover, friendships are an essential part as a lot of peer pressure has been viewed
to play a significant role in behaviour change which can also lead to conflicts between parents
and adolescents. Feeling carefree, exploring new things, novel experiences, exposure to
different circumstances that sometimes harm them and their health like drinking alcohol,
using substances, smoking, careless driving, uninhibited sexual behaviour etc. Due to
puberty and menstrual cycle, mood swings also take place.

Identity Exploration

At this stage, formation of personal and social identity is an important milestone. Adolescents
tend to explore, seek and become autonomous, and develop an identity, or sense of self. For
developing an identity, they suffered from various conflicts and confusions which assist them
in committing to a single identity. During this identity crisis, they tried different ideologies,
roles, and behaviours. Along with that they continue to polish their sense of self as they
connect with other people. According to the theory of psychosocial development, Erik
Erikson called this stage characterized by identity versus role confusion.

With respect to that theory, an adolescent asks questions like “Who am I?”, “Who do I want
to be?” etc.During this period, some youngsters adopt and absorb parental roles and values
as it is, whereas other youngsters tend to oppose already established roles and values along
with developing their own identity which is in alignment with their peers as peers are the
center of attention in this stage.They are more likely to be egocentric and sometimes feel a
conscious need to be valued and socially accepted by their peers. Whatever decisions they
take or choices they made may have an influence in their later life, due to which there is a
need to have optimum self-awareness and self-control for healthy decisions especially in the
times of transition to later stages. Identity development can be understood through these
three approaches: self-concept, sense of identity, and self-esteem.

Self-Concept

During early adolescence, some cognitive changes and growth enhances self-awareness as
well as also increase social awareness. They acquire the capability to think in abstract ways
regarding the future possibilities as well as considering multiple things at a time. Moreover,
they can hypothesize several probable selves that they could possibly become as well as
consider the possible long-term events and outcomes of their preferences. If they are being
asked to define themselves, they start describing their traits. By middle adolescence period,
they also start differentiating between different contexts and related factors that impacted
their own conduct and the observations of other people. They recognize the incongruencies, if
present, in their self-concept as a major reason for distress especially in the course of
adolescence but this distress may also serve a positive purpose of promoting further
development as well as improvement of their self. This can be supported by the theory of
Carl Roger, who considered incongruency between real and ideal self-concept as the main
reason of distress and conflicts in a person’s life. In order to grow and develop with healthy
self, it is essential to resolve such conflicts, only then a person ca achieve self- actualization
and recognizes one’s potentials.

Sense of Identity

As opposed to the concept of self which is conflicting, sense of identity denotes a congruent
sense of self which is quite unwavering across situations and comprises of previous
happenings and future ambitions. According to Erikson, “identity achievement” settles the
adolescence identity crisis in which teenagers should seek new experiences and search for
diverse potentials and incorporate several parts of themselves prior to commit to the identity

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they chose. They tend to describe themselves first on the basis of their membership in a group
and then on the basis of an individual identity.

Self-Esteem

It involves one’s beliefs, feelings and thoughts regarding one’s own identity and concept of
self. In the several cultures, female youngsters are often imparted that their self is
significantly connected to their interactions with others. Consequently, most of the female
teenagers feel pleasure to have high self-esteem while engaging in supportive relationships
with peers and friends. And the significant purpose of bond between friends is to offer social
and moral assistance. Whereas on the other hand, male youngsters are often trained to
appreciate and use autonomy and independence, this is the reason why male youngsters are
highly concerned with creating, proclaiming and emphasizing their independence and
outlining their links to authority. It has been viewed that high self-esteem is often resulted
from their capability to effectively influence their peers and friends.Conventionally it was
considered that teenagers have low self-esteem, that they are insecure and self-critical as
compared to young children and adults. But there are contrasting results are also shown by
many researches. Their self-esteem is relatively stable from age 13 approximately. But there is
a lot of fluctuation in their feelings about oneself and self-perceptions, particularly in early
adolescence period, which tend to enhance during middle and late adolescence. It is believed
today that self-esteem is a multidimensional concept because adolescents assess themselves
along various dimensions. Subsequently, a teenager tends to have high self-esteem with
regard to his/her academic capabilities, low self-esteem with regard to athletics, and
moderate self-esteem with regard to his/her physical appearance. Erik Erikson’s concept of
adolescents’ self-conceptions is quite popular, he viewed that establishing a congruent sense
of identity is the primary psychosocial task of adolescents. Furthermore, he believed that the
modern times complications in the successful development of identity have generated the
necessity for a psychosocial cessation —a time-out during adolescent years from the types of
too much of obligations that might hamper a youngster’s quest for self-discovery. During this
halt, the teenager can test several roles and identities,that permits and fosters exploration. It
includes experimentation with diverse personalities and behaviours.Due to some cognitive
advances and their influence on identity formation of adolescents, the ability to abstract
thinking and logical reasoning develops which facilitates them to seek and consider possible
identities. A large improvement in their cognitive processes makes them mature which assists
them in resolving identity crises more effortlessly as compared to the peers whose cognitive
development is not up to the mark.
For most teenagers, having a sense of autonomy, is extremely important. At this stage, there
is a movement away from the dependency of childhood toward the self-sufficiency of
adulthood. This can be viewed in various ways.Firstly, older teenagers do not rush to their
parents while they are upset, or need any help. Secondly, they don’t look at their parents as
omnipotent who knows all. Thirdly, they often have a lot of emotional energy in relation to
their non familial relationships, means more attached to a boy/girlfriend as compared to
their parents.And lastly, they can communicate with their parents as general people, apart
from treating them as parents.
Several parents can confide in their teenage wards, which was not possible when they were
kids, or their youngsters can show sympathy when they are tired.According to other scholars
it’s the sense of individuation in adolecsents and which starts during infancy and continues
till late adolescence, involving a steady, increasing refining of one’s awareness of self as
autonomous, competent, and detached from parents. Individuation has a lot to do with the
sense of identity, which involves transformations in self-perceptions and feelings about
ourselves. This process does not progress with stress and conflicts, but surrendered the
dependencies of childhood to promote a mature, responsible, and independent relationship.
Those who successfully develop a sense of individuation, they tend to accept responsibility
for the choices and decisions they take, and their behaviours rather than expecting from their
parents to take responsibility.
In this critical period of adolescence, teenagers are more likely to be susceptible to peer
pressure as in certain situations, peers’ views are more dominant, whereas in other
circumstances, parental opinions are more important. But more particularly, they tend to
conform to their friends’ views if the matter is a short-term, related to daily life, and social in
nature, like for instance, dressing style, preference regarding music and leisure activities,
especially during junior and early years of high school. In other matters which are long-term

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like education, occupation, values, religious beliefs, ethical issues, they are more likely to
inclined towards their parents.This is because of the phase of development they are going
through. That is, during childhood, they are highly inclined towards parents as compared to
peers because peer pressure is not that much influential in this phase. As they grow into a
teenager, the inclination shifts from parents to peers and peer pressure influences increased.
Even in the early years of adolescence, conformity towards their parents continuously
decreases and increases for peers, simultaneously, with increasing peer pressure. When they
enter into the period of middle adolescence, then, the actual autonomy in their behaviour
begins, and conformity towards both reduces.
Parental Relationships
In their process of forming their identity, they repel and revolt against their parents, whereas
focus more on their friends and the peer group. Even though they have conflicts in
relationships with parents and spend less time with them, but the type of relationship they
have with their paternities plays a key role in formation of identity. Healthy and supportive
relation between children and parents have been associated with positive consequences in
context of children, for example, improved grades and lesser behaviour problems at school. If
youngsters have a healthy, positive and supportive relationship with their parents, they tend
to feel free and independent in their exploration of identity possibilities. However, in case the
relationship is not that close, positive or supportive or the teenager is anxious of getting
rejected from the parents, they develop stress and unable to form a separate and personal
identity due to lack of confidence.

10.3. Hazards
Hazards of adolescence can be divided into various categories of physical, psychological,
educational and social hazards which are further divided into sub categories.
Physical Hazards: There are fewer physical hazards in this stage but are important because of their
psychological impact.
 Mortality: due to illness is uncommon but more deaths due to vehicle accidents are common.
And are leading cause in the ages 12-19 years and fatal damages drop from 16 to 19 years.
 Gang violence: Due to the preference for belongingness to a peer group over parental and
family relationships whether elder or younger people, adolescents get involved in dangerous
activities. Gang violence can be a consequence of suppressed anger, rage, conflict with other
gangs, drug use, turf protection, and initiation rituals etc. Gang membership dramatically
increases from the age range 9 to 14 years, and then, seen a sharp drop in the middle to late
adolescent years.
 Clumsiness and Awkwardness: These hazards have grave implications with regard to social
maladjustments and self-concept.
 Suicide: It is the second leading cause of death among youngsters as it dramatically increases
during this period especially at the age range of 15-24 years. Many adolescents who attempt to
commit or commit suicide were experiencing one or the other mental illness, socially isolated
for a longer period, going through family disruptions as well as facing issues at school.
 Alcohol and substance abuse: Peer influences plays a great deal in leading an adolescent
towards delinquent behaviours and abuse alcohol especially during the ages of 12 to 20 years.
Some adolescents are involved in drug abuse like hallucinogens, sedatives, ecstasy, oxycontin,
and cocaine, specifically marijuana- which is the most abused drug (70% frequent use of
marijuana). Others are involved in tobacco and nicotine abuse which dramatically increases
during the ages of 12-13 to ages 18-20 years. Smoking decreases an enzyme that regulates the
amount of the neurotransmitter (dopamine) in the brain.
 Physical Defects: These defects thwart the teenagers when they found themselves incapable of
doing what their peers can do.
 Sex-Inappropriate Body Builds: It is highly disturbing to an adolescent because of being judged
by their sex-appropriate exterior and they already know that once their development
completed, their body build will remain same for life.
 Body Image: Due to increase or decrease in weight, they become more vulnerable to being
bullied by their peers.
 Sexual Issues: Adolescence is the onset of reproductive capacity as well as mature sexual
feelings, due to which teenagers are more prone to develop sexually transmitted diseases like
chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV infections. Data suggests that 15-19 year old teenagers develop
chlamydia and gonorrhea and that is upto 30% and 25% respectively.

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Psychological Hazards: Ignorance and lack of awareness about basic facts lead to psychological
issues including behaviour disorders, emotional problems, stress, anxiety, depression, scholastic
issues, substance usage and psychiatric disorders. Huge transformations have been taking place
during adolescence in brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters
related to mood, aggression, anxiety, and play a significant role in the development of most mental
illnesses. It has been shown that approximately 20% of youngsters (1 out of 5) ages 9-17 years’
experience some kind of mental issues. Sleep disorders are also very prevalent during such a
younger period of life as the sleep cycles of teenagers are quite different from older adults and
children, that is sleeping late and waking up late. Due to this sleep pattern, adolescents tend to
develop problems like insomnia, which increases during the age of 9 to 15 years, especially in
females. These hazards emerge due to:
 Misunderstandings about child birth, reproduction
 Fallacies about coitus menstrual cycles
 Fearful about sex and related issues
 Inferiority Complex or superiority complex about one’s skin colour, beauty, mental ability or
Intelligence.
 Incomprehensible opinions about dress and fashion codes.
 Incorrect and unrealistic ideologies about friendship and courtship.
 Perceptional or interactional difficulties about teachers and parents.
 Unrealistic and irrational inquisitiveness about sex and related issues.
 Exceptional susceptibility to suicide.

Social Hazards:
 Predicted unemployment, uncertainty and insecurity due to being unemployed or its
prevalence.
 Unnecessary and incomprehensible hatred towards brother, sisters, or friends.
 Unstable and unpredictable relationships with friends.
 Impractical social perceptions regarding violence, love, sex due to media influence.
 Strangely susceptible and unstable relation with relatives.
 Fearing or imagining about married life and life partner.

Educational Hazards:
 Worries about attending classes, appearing in exam and tests.
 Feeling of having low IQ.
 Fear of failure in exams.
 Fear about scoring less marks in exams.
 Fear and concern about a future goal and career.
 Fallacies regarding teachers.

Internet addiction and bullying behaviour are also important hazards of this critical phase of
adolescence. We should remember that adolescent brain is constantly changing and is highly
disposed to ecological influences–whether good or bad. We need to understand our role and
responsibility to mediate between the environment and teenager’s brain. The tendency of the
teenage brain to crave reward and risk which are the main sources of hazards and these can’t be
changed because they are hardwired. Instead of changing, we can direct them into positive
directions through brain-friendly practices in schools, like for instance, through organizing
different sensation seeking activities that includes rewards and risks like school-wide poetry slam.
In case that is not being provided at a proper place, then teenagers will look for such rewards and
risks in the other damaging areas. Another example for protecting an adolescence from
psychological issues is to assist in coping with poor decision-making ability by providing them
frequent opportunities to take decisions and make choices in the class.

10.4. Summary
 Physical development is not a smooth process, as growth patterns differs for different
systems.
 The maturation of muscle tissue occurs rapidly during the period of early adolescence.
One result of this development is that both genders become stronger, but males muscle
mass and strength grow more dramatically.

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 Young men and young ladies are almost equivalent in actual physical capacities until
adolescence, when young men proceed to enhance performance on huge muscle exercises,
while young ladies' abilities decline.
 Self-esteem is relatively stable from age 13 approximately. But there is a lot of fluctuation
in their feelings about oneself and self-perceptions, particularly in early adolescence
period, which tend to enhance during middle and late adolescence.
 In their process of forming their identity, adolescents repel and revolt against their
parents, whereas focus more on their friends and the peer group.
 It has been shown that approximately 20% of youngsters (1 out of 5) ages 9-17 years’
experience some kind of mental issues.
 Internet addiction and bullying behaviour are among others important hazards of this
critical phase of adolescence.

10.5. Key Words

Self-Esteem: It involves one’s beliefs, feelings and thoughts regarding one’s own identity and
concept of self.
Conformity: the process in which individualsmodify their beliefs, attitudes, actions, or
perceptions to further match those held by groups to which they belong
Peer Pressure: The need to be valued and accepted by the friends.
Psychological Hazards: Issues that adversely impact mental health

10.8. Self-Assessment
1. If an individual is facing the psychosocial crisis of identity versus role confusion,
according to Erik Erikson's model, that individual is most likely
a. Pre-adolescent
b. Adolescent
c. Young Adult
d. Middle aged Adult
2. Of the following psychologist who described identity and identitiy crisis as a major
problem faced by adolescent.
a. Freud
b. Adler
c. Horney
d. Erickson
3. The growth of body hair in a male is an example of__________
a. Latent stage trait
b. Puberty
c. Sex linked trait
d. Sexual deviation
4. According to Erickson’s theory, the struggle during adolescence is____________
a. Identity vs. Confusion
b. Generativity vs. Stagnation
c. Both of these
d. None of these
5. In the adolescent period teenagers are more likely to be susceptible to peer pressure
a. True

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b. False
6. Adolescents tend to describe themselves first on the basis of their membership in a group
and then on the basis of an individual identity.
a. True
b. False
7. Which of these are part of psychological changes during adolescence
a. Parental Relationship
b. Self Esteem
c. Sense of Identity
d. All of these
8. Which of these are educational hazards one might face during adolescence
a. Identity Confusion
b. Growth Spurt
c. Self-Concept
d. None of these
9. Clumsiness and Awkwardness have implications for maladjustments related to
a. Social Aspect
b. Self-Concept
c. Both of these
d. None of these
10. Adolescence brings physical, psychological, social, cognitive and emotional transitions
a. True
b. False

Answers
1 2 3 4 5
a d b a a
6 7 8 9 10
a d d c a

10.9. Review Questions

1. Adolescence is one of the critical phases of life. Discuss
2. Describe in brief physical changes during adolescence.
3. Discuss some major psychological transitions of adolescence.
4. Write in brief about the development of parent child relationship during
adolescence.
5. Discuss various hazards of adolescence

Further Readings
Feldman, S., and G. Elliott, eds. At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1990.Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia. New York: Ballantine
Books,1994
Steinberg, L. Adolescence. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. Steinberg, L., and A.
Levine. You and Your Adolescent: A Parent’sGuide for Ages 10 to 20. New York:
HarperPerennial,1991.

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Saranya T S, Lovely Professional University Unit 11 Early adulthood

UNIT 11 - Early Adulthood

Content
Introduction
11.1. Adulthood Characteristics
11.2. Physical development
11.3. Cognitive development
11.4. Psychosocial development
11.5. Hazards and Related dynamics
11.6. Keywords
11.7. Summary
11.8. Self-assessment
11.9. Review Questions
Further readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Know about different facets of development during early adulthood;
Understand the various physical changes happening in early adulthood;
Get familiar with various psychological changes happening in early adulthood;
Acquire knowledge the hazards of early adulthood.

Introduction
Most of the time, the beginning of adulthood and the end of adolescence seem unnoticed and
unrecognized because they occur on a continuum of development. Some individuals look like
adults during adolescence, and some look like adolescents at the beginning of adulthood. Keeping
apart the physical attributes it is a time that has rapid changes and society assigns lots of
responsibilities to adults and expects them to behave in a civic manner. To understand adulthood, it
is always better to look into the characteristics of adulthood.

1.1. Adulthood Characteristics

Early adulthood can be considered a period of change, because of the sudden changes in lifestyle,
social expectations, and changed living patterns. The major characteristics of adulthood are:

1. Early adulthood is the settling down age: During early adulthood, an individual starts
taking on the major responsibilities of life. Rather than trying out new roles and shifting
from place to place or experimenting with different roles and opportunities like
adolescence, adults try to settle down with their career, location, and partner. Most of
those who are in their early adulthood by the age of 35 will have a clear idea about what

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they want in life and try to become focused on pursuing those and settle down with the
things they aimed to.

2. Reproductive age: Most adults start building the family of procreation and move away
from the family of orientation during early adulthood. This is the phase where every adult
tries to establish their own family with a life partner and children. By the end of early
adulthood, the role of parent and parenthood will emergeto be the important task of an
adult.

3. Problem age:Early adulthood is considered to be a problem age because this is the stage of
managing the roles of parent, husband, employee, friend, sibling, and child, which is time-
consuming and energy-consuming at the same time. So, managing these roles and
maintaining the equilibrium makes one vulnerable to stress and mental dysfunctions. The
struggles are more with women than men especially when they became parents in the first
year of marriage. Women find it difficult to manage their roles difficult and some of them
make the decisions to quit their job, which can make them suspectable of mental health
issues.

4. Early adulthood is a stage of emotional tension:Adulthood is the phase of problems and

stress due to the various responsibilities placed on the early adults, unlike adolescents.
Finding a livelihood, settling down with a career, selecting a partner, and taking up the
responsibilities of parents can lead to emotional tension during early adulthood.

5. Early adulthood is the stage of social isolation: Early adulthood is the phase where
people move away from social circles to a limited circle based on proximity. During
adolescence, a person may be a member of several cliques and groups based on their
interest. But in early adulthood, they are so busy maintaining a balance between work life
and family life, which makes them isolated from social groups and clique groups.

6. Early adulthood is a time of dependency: For maintaining the role of parents and
partners a young couple is dependent on each other. This dependency is essential to
maintain family life and professional life equilibrium. Sometimes, they will become
dependent on their parents to pursue both partners' careers.

7. It is considered a time of value change:Many values will be changed or formed during

early adulthood, which is more than adolescence. Value changes will occur especially if
the spouse belongs to a different culture.

8. Time of new lifestyles: During early adulthood, the lifestyle goes through an abrupt
change rather than that of adolescence. New routines, food styles, dressing styles, new
ways of amusement, and new interests will arise during early adulthood, which poses
many adjustments for adults.

11.2. Physical Development

Lots of physical changes occur during early adulthood and the early signs of aging start at this
stage for many people. The major physical changes that occur during adulthood are:

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1. Weight and Height: One of the most prominent changes that are visible during
early adulthood is weight change. Weight changes are more prominent among
adults between the age of 18-and 45 than in other age groups compared to the
changes in height. By 25 years, most adults will achieve full development in
terms of height.
2. The eyes:In early adulthood, the acuity and sharpness of the eyes are at their
maximum compared to the other stages of life. But as age increases, the eyes’
ability to accommodate distance and light decreases.
3. Muscular strength:The strength of the muscles is at its peak during early
adulthood. After this time there will be a decline in muscular strength. And this
decrease in muscle strength continues till old age.
4. The teeth:most people will retain almost all of their tooths during early
adulthood. If there is no proper oral hygiene there are chances for tooth decay
and gum problems. Tooth problems are more common among women than men.
5. The heart: As the individual grows older the ability of the heart to function
properly reduces. Heavy cholesterol. Triglycerides and thickening of the heart
walls are all ore common among adults. A sedentary lifestyle causes heart issues
and heart attacks at an even younger age.
6. The skin: In early adulthood itself the skin shows the signs of aging. First
wrinkles, pigmentation and the loss of the elasticity of the skin all start appearing
during early adulthood if not cared for properly. The problems withthe skin are
more common among males than females.

Factors affecting the physical development

Exercise can affect physical strength and endurance during adulthood. Any form of exercise like
running, jogging, walking, aerobics, swimming, etc. is good for health. The youth who work out
more will have fewer problems related to muscle decline in middle age and old age.
Alcohol abuse can affect the health and cardiac issues it poses the risk of liver cirrhosis, cancer,
cardiac issues, and cancer. Smoking also poses risks for heart diseases, cancer, and lung problems.
Smoking also can cause respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and emphysema.
Stress and daily hassles during early adulthood and if it persists throughout life make an individual
vulnerable to mental dysfunctions, loss of mental abilities, and lower one’s immunity. Persistent
stress can cause anxiety, irritability, nervousness, anger, and tension.

11.3. Cognitive development

Like most physical changes, cognitive development is at its peak during early adulthood. The skills
like response time, short-termmemory, perception skills, creative skills, etc. will be at their peak
during early adulthood. As the age increases there will be a decline in almost all of the cognitive
domains.

 Intellectual ability: The skills related to verbal ability like the use of language to
expressideas, language comprehension, and communication increase during early
adulthood. Creative skills which are related to producing something new and the novel
also increase during early adulthood.

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 Achieving stage: According to Piaget during early adulthood, an individual is in the

achieving stage with skills of high competence and memory. In this stage, the individuals
will strive for independence using sharp cognitive abilities.
 Memory: Short-term memory and working memory aresharp during early adulthood. But
these abilities will decline afterward and it declines towards middle age and old age.
Factors affecting cognitive development
Aging is a normal process and it can affect cognitive development like it does physical
development. Factors like stress can have a huge negative impact on cognitive abilities like
memory, thinking, and reasoning. Persistent stress can have a negative effect on memory both
short-term and long-term.
Senile dementia or age-related dementia occurs at old age after 60 years or so. But those who are
vulnerable to Alzheimer’s and parkinsonism can show the early signs and symptoms ata young
age.

11.4. Psycho-social development

During early adulthood, there are lots of changes that happen for an individual which is related to
psycho-social development. It is a period of a drastic shift in social behaviors and personal interests
unlike that of adolescence. Major Psycho-social development that occurs during early adulthood
are:

 Intimacy v/s isolation: According to Erikson’s point of view early adulthood is a stage of
intimacy v/s isolation, where an individual strives to form close relationships with others
with a strong intimacy motive. If an individual is not able to form healthy relationships
and bonds during early adulthood, he will develop isolation which can result in
psychological problems.
 Gaining independence: This is the stage where an individual strives to achieve
independence in life in terms of psychological and financial. If an individual is not able to
make his own decisions about life, he may not be able to achieve independence which can
result in the loss of self-worth and self-esteem.
 Role changes: This is the stage of assigned responsibilities and roles which are novel and
unique in nature, unlike adolescence. During early adulthood, a person pursues a career,
gets married, and becomesa parent. So, adapting to these new roles and challenges is a
part of psycho-social development during early adulthood.
 Changes in interests: During early adulthood an individual shifts his interest from group
activities to individual activities like amusements of watching movies alone or with
partner.

11.5. Hazards and Related Dynamics

Hazards during early adulthood can be divided into personal hazards, social hazards, sex-role
hazardsand vocational hazards.

Personal hazards during early adulthood

 Mastering developmental tasks: Most of the personal hazards duringearly adulthood
occur due to the lack of mastering the developmental tasks that are appropriate for youth.
There are lots of factors that affect the mastering of developmental tasks like physical
handicaps, which hinders the mastering of the skills that are required for healthy
development and maintaining balance in adulthood.
 Physical hazards: Poor health is a reason for hazardous development during early
adulthood like that of childhood and adolescence. Unattractive body build and
appearances can cause adjustment problems and poor self-esteem during early adulthood.

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 Religious hazards: If a new faith is placed on adults by their parents or by partners it

causes emotional tension among adults, and if they are not able to cope with that it poses a
hazard to adults.

Social hazards during early adulthood

 Difficulties to adhere to a group: Due to jobs or responsibilities at homean adult mayfind it
difficult to adhere to the group. For females, after marriage, it is difficult to maintain a
balance between the tasks at home and being a member of social groups, which can pose a
hazard to their social activities.
 Difficulty to handle roles in a group: During early adulthood, an individual has to handle
different roles like that of a parent, an in-law, a partner, and an employee. So, in order to
maintain a balance between these roles the young people tend to stop socializing as they
do previously.
 Social mobility: During early adulthood to pursue a career, most young people stay away
from their family this may act as a social hazard that can prevent them from being a part
of social groups.

Sex-role hazards during early adulthood

 Traditional sex-role v/s egalitarian concepts: The traditional concepts about marriage and
wife don’t match with themodern or egalitarian concepts of marriage and sex roles inside
the home. This can create a hazard if both the partners and in-laws don’t accept that.
 Problems of females: Sex-role hazards are more found among females after marriage
because they are supposed to take up lots of responsibilities, unlike their partners which
can result in a minority group complex.

Vocational hazards during early adulthood

 Job dissatisfaction: The most common causes of job dissatisfaction are boredom,
restrictions on free time, poor management, lack of leisure, etc. If an adult finds that there
is no scope for adjustment in the vocational setting it can become hazardous for him.
 Unemployment: If an individual lost his job because of pandemics, company policies, or as
part of discrimination it will be difficult for him to accept it. The covid-19 pandemic
increased the unemployment rate in almost all developing countries.

Related dynamics
Levinson in 1978 published a book titled ‘The Seasons of a Man’s Life’. This book mainlyexplains
what young adults look for in their life. Levinson explains that every young person will have a
dream before entering adulthood and if he is able to achieve his dream or reach a position that is
somewhere near to that dream, he will be able to feel a purpose in his life. But if there is an
incongruity between the dream and his real life, he will experience adjustment issues.
Levinson also pointed out that during early adulthood an individual will spend time in planning,
evaluating, and replanning the steps to achieve his goal. And if the process continues without
attaining the goal, it can make him vulnerable to experience hazards either in his personal, social or
vocational life.

11.6. Summary
 Early adulthood can be considered a period of change, because of the sudden changes
in lifestyle, social expectations, and changed living patterns. The main characteristic of
early adulthood is that it’s a settling down age, where the youth will settle down with
a career or family. It can be also considered a problem age with lots of emotional

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responsibilities. During early adulthood, the dependency on a partner grows for

parenting and other house chores responsibilities.

 Physical development in terms of muscular strength and weight and height gain
reaches its maximum during early adulthood. Cognitive development, like the ability
to verbal reasoning, memory, and intelligence. Language comprehension etc. is at its
peak during young age. The psycho-social development of attaining intimacy, and
taking up social responsibilities and challenges are also essential facets of early
adulthood development.

 Early adulthood is marked by hazards like personal hazards of adapting to the sex
roles, health issues, mastering the tasks, etc. poses youth vulnerable to stress and
storm of early adulthood. Finding employment and acquiring satisfaction in
employment and facing the issues of unemployment are main vocational hazard that
occurs during the young age.

11.7. Keywords
Early adulthood:The life stage called early adulthood defines individuals between the ages of 20
and 35, who are typically vibrant, active, and healthy, and are focused on friendships, romance,
childbearing, and careers.
Physical development: In early adulthood, almost all the physical development is complete, and an
individual functions at its optimal level. An adult during the early phase will achieve his maximum
height and gain weight
Cognitive development: Cognitive development during early adulthood is at its peak when it
comes to verbal abilities, memory, reasoning, creativity, and IQ scores. It starts to decline only
during middle age and old age.
Psycho-social development: The major development an adult makes during his early adulthood is
forming interpersonal relationships, gaining independence, and moving away from family.
Theseare the signs of psychosocial development during early adulthood.
Hazards:A hazard is any object, situation, or behavior that has the potential to cause injury, ill
health, or damage to property or the environment.

11.8. Self-assessment
1. Early adulthood is marked by developmental tasks and hazards
a. True
b. False
2. Physical decline starts at early adulthood
a. True
b. False
3. The seasons of a man’s life is written by Levinson
a. True
b. False
4. Sex-role hazards are common among men than women
a. True
b. False
5. Mental abilities are its peak during early adulthood
a. True

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b. False
6. Intimacy v/s isolation is a notion of Levinson
a. True
b. False
7. Erikson proposed psycho-social developmental stages
a. True
b. False
8. Hazard is place on an individual only by certain situation
a. True
b. False
9. social mobility for pursual of the career is a social hazard during early adulthood
a. True
b. False
10. Forming interpersonal relationships is a part of physical development
a. True
b. False

Answer Key

1 2 3 4 5

b a b a
a
7 8 9 10
6
a b a b
b

11.9. Review Questions

1. Explain the characteristics of early adulthood
2. Explain in detail about the physical development during early adulthood.
3. What are the common personal hazards that happens during early adulthood?
4. Explain the notion of Erikson related to psycho-social development during early
adulthood.
5. Explain the social and vocational hazard that happens during early adulthood.

Further Reading

Developmental Psychology: By Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Ph. D.(New York, Toronto, London:

McGraw-Hill, 1953.

https://www.psychologyinaction.org/psychology-in-action-1/early-adulthood

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Kalpana Sharma, Lovely Professional University Unit-12 Middle Age

Unit 12-Middle Age

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
12.1. Physical Development
12.2. Cognitive Development
12.3. Psychosocial Development
12.4. Hazards & related dynamics
12.5. Summary
12.6. Keywords
12.7. Self-Assessment
12.8. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to learn:
 How is middle adulthood defined, and what are some of its
characteristics
 Some key physical changes in middle adulthood
 Health and disease in middle adulthood
 Main causes of death in middle age

Introduction
Until the 1970s, psychologists tended to treat adulthood as a single
developmental stage, with few or no distinctions made between the
various periods that we pass through between adolescence and death.
Present-day psychologists realize, however, that physical, cognitive, and
emotional responses continue to develop throughout life, with
corresponding changes in our social needs and desires. Thus, the three
stages of early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood each have their
own physical, cognitive, and social challenges.
In this section, we will consider the development of our cognitive and
physical aspects that occur during earlyadulthood and middle
adulthood — roughly the ages between 25 and 45 and between 45 and 65,
respectively. These stages represent a long period of time — longer, in fact,
than any of the other developmental stages — and the bulk of our lives

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isspent in them. These are also the periods in which most of us make our
most substantial contributions to society, by meeting two of Erik Erikson’s
life challenges: we learn to give and receive love in a close, long-term
relationship, and we develop an interest in guiding the development of
the next generation, often by becoming parents.
12.1.Physical Development
Although everyone experiences some physical change due to aging in the
middle adulthood years, the rates of this aging vary considerably from one
individual to another. Genetic makeup and lifestyle factors play important
roles in whether chronic disease will appear and when.
Appearance
One of the most visible signs of physical changes in middle adulthood is
physical appearance. The first outwardly noticeable signs of aging usually
are apparent by the forties or fifties. The skin begins to wrinkle and sag
because of a loss of fat and collagen in underlying tissues. Small, localized
areas of pigmentation in the skin produce aging spots, especially in areas
that are exposed to sunlight, such as the hands and face. Hair becomes
thinner and grayer due to a lower replacement rate and a decline in
melanin production. Fingernails and toenails develop ridges and become
thicker and more brittle. Since a youthful appearance is stressed in many
cultures, individuals whose hair is graying, whose skin is wrinkling,
whose body is sagging, and whose teeth are yellowing strive to make
themselves look younger. Undergoing cosmetic surgery, dyeing hair,
purchasing wigs, enrolling in weight reduction programs, participating in
exercise regimens, and taking heavy doses of vitamins are common in
middle age.
Height and Weight
Individuals lose height in middle age, and many gain weight. On average,
from 30 to 50 years of age, men lose about inch in height. The height loss
for women can be as much as 2 inches from 25 to 75 years of age. Note that
there are large variations in the extent to which individuals become
shorter with aging. The decrease in height is due to bone loss in the
vertebrae.
Strength, Joints, and Bones
Peak functioning of the body’s joints also usually occurs in the twenties.
The cushions for the movement of bones (such as tendons and ligaments)
become less efficient in the middle-adult years, a time when many
individuals experience joint stiffness and more difficulty in movement.
Vision and Hearing
Accommodation of the eye (the ability to focus and maintain an image on
the retina)—experiences its sharpest decline between 40 and 59 years of
age. In particular, middle-aged individuals begin to have difficulty

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viewing close objects. Hearing also can start to decline by the age of 40.
Auditory assessments indicate that hearing loss occurs in as many as 50
percent of individuals 50 years and older.
Cardiovascular System
The level of cholesterol in the blood increases through the adult years and
in midlife begins to accumulate on the artery walls, increasing the risk of
cardiovascular disease. Blood pressure (hypertension), too, usually rises in
the forties and fifties. At menopause, a woman’s blood pressure rises
sharply and usually remains above that of a man through life’s later years
An increasing problem in middle and late adulthood is metabolic
syndrome, a condition characterized by hypertension, obesity, and insulin
resistance. Metabolic syndrome often leads to the development of diabetes
and cardiovascular disease.
Sexual Life
Sexuality remains an important part of life for most middle-aged people.
Although the frequency of sexual intercourse declines with age.For many,
middle adulthood brings a kind of sexual enjoyment and freedom that
was missing during their earlier lives. With their children grown and
away from home, middle-aged married couples have more time to engage
in uninterrupted sexual activities. Women who have passed through
menopause are liberated from the fear of pregnancy and no longer need to
employ birth control techniques.
Female Climacteric and Menopause
Starting at around age 45, women enter a period known as the climacteric
that lasts for some 15 to 20 years. The female climacteric marks the
transition from being able to bear children to being unable to do so. The
most notable sign of the female climacteric is menopause. Menopause is
the cessation of menstruation. For most women, menstrual periods begin
to occur irregularly and less frequently during a two-year period starting
at around age 47 or 48, although this process may begin as early as age 40
or as late as age 60. After a year goes by without a menstrual period,
menopause is said to have occurred.
Male Climacteric
Men also experience some changes during middle age that are collectively
referred to as the male climacteric. The male climacteric is the period of
physical and psychological change in the reproductive system that occurs
during late middle age, typically in a man’s 50s. Because the changes
happen gradually, it is hard to pinpoint the exact period of the male
climacteric.
Middle Age and Health
The most common health problems experienced during middle age are
arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, coronary heart disease, diabetes,

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genitourinary disorders, hypertension (high blood pressure), mental

disorders, and strokes (cerebrovascular accidents). AIDS has also become
an increasingly frequent health problem in this age group.
12.2. CognitiveDevelopment
While we sometimes associate aging with cognitive decline (often due to
the way it is portrayed in the media), aging does not necessarily mean a
decrease in cognitive function. In fact, tacit knowledge, verbal memory,
vocabulary, inductive reasoning, and other types of practical thought
skills increase with age.The adult brain seems to be capable of rewiring
itself well into middle age, incorporating decades of experiences and
behaviors. Research suggests, for example, the middle-aged mind is
calmer, less neurotic and better able to sort through social situations. Some
middle-agers even have improved cognitive abilities.
Intelligence
Some abilities begin to decline in middle age while others increase.
Crystallized intelligence, an individual’s accumulated information and
verbal skills, continues to increase in middle adulthood, whereas fluid
intelligence, one’s ability to reason abstractly, begins to decline in the
middle adulthood years.
Memory
Memory declines in middle age are relatively minor, and most can be
compensated for by various cognitive strategies.Both sensory memory and
short-term memory show virtually no weakening during middle
adulthood, but long-term memory declines with age for some people. It
appears, however, that the reason for the decline is not a fading or a
complete loss of memory, but rather that with age, people register and
store information less efficiently. In addition, age makes people less
efficient in retrieving information that is stored in memory. In other
words, even if the information was adequately stored in long-term
memory, it may become more difficult to locate or isolate it.
12.3.Psychosocial Development
Stress continues to have a significant impact on health during middle
adulthood, as it did in young adulthood, although the nature of what is
stressful may havechanged. stress produces three main consequences.
First, stress has direct physiological outcomes, ranging from increased
blood pressure and hormonal activity to decreased immune system.
response. Second, stress also leads people to engage in unhealthy
behaviors, such as cutting back on sleep, smoking, drinking, or taking
other drugs. Finally, stress has indirect effects on health related behavior.
People under a lot of stress may be less likely to seek out good medical
care, exercise, or comply with medical advice. All of these can lead to or
affect serious health conditions, including such major problems as heart
disease.

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Perhaps the major marker of adulthood is the ability to create an effective

and independent life. Whereas children and adolescents are generally
supported by parents, adults must make their own living and must start
their own families. Furthermore, the needs of adults are different from
those of younger persons.
Even though the timing of the major life events that occur in middle
adulthood varies substantially among individuals, the events nevertheless
tend to follow a general sequence, known as a social clock. The social
clock refers to the culturally preferred “right time” for major life events,
such as moving out of the childhood house, getting married, and having
children. People who do not appear to be following the social clock (e.g.,
young adults who still live with their parents, individuals who never
marry, and couples who choose not to have children) may be seen as
unusual or deviant, and they may be stigmatized by others.
Although they are doing it later, on average, than they did even 20 or 30
years ago, most people do eventually marry. Marriage is beneficial to the
partners, both in terms of mental health and physical health. People who
are married report greater life satisfaction than those who are not married
and also suffer fewer health problems.
Parenthood also involves a major and long-lasting commitment, and one
that can cause substantial stress on the parents. The time and finances
invested in children create stress, which frequently results in decreased
marital satisfaction. This decline is especially true for women, who bear
the larger part of the burden of raising the children and taking care of the
house, despite the fact they increasingly also work and have careers.
Despite the challenges of middle adulthood, the majority of middle-aged
adults are not unhappy. These years are often very satisfying, as families
have been established, careers have been entered into, and some
percentage of life goals has been realized.
12.4.Hazards and Related Dynamics
In middle adulthood, the frequency of accidents declines and individuals
are less susceptible to colds and allergies than in childhood, adolescence,
or early adulthood. Indeed, many individuals live through middle
adulthood without having a disease or persistent health problem.
Stress and Disease
Stress is increasingly being found to be a factor in disease. The cumulative
effect of stress often takes a toll on the health of individuals by the time
they reach middle age. Stress is linked to disease through both the
immune system and cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease
Although heart and circulatory diseases are a major problem, they are not
an equal threat for all people—some people have a much lower risk than

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others. Both genetic and experiential characteristics are involved. Some

people seem genetically predisposed to develop heart disease. If a person’s
parents suffered from it, the likelihood is greater that she or he will too.
Similarly, sex and age are risk factors: Men are more likely to suffer from
heart disease than women, and the risk rises as people age.However,
environment and lifestyle choices are also important. Cigarette smoking, a
diet high in fats and cholesterol, and a relative lack of physical exercise all
increase the likelihood of heart disease.
Cancer
Few diseases are as frightening as cancer, and many middle-aged
individuals view a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence. Although the
reality is different—many forms of cancer respond quite well to medical
treatment, and two-thirds of people diagnosed with the disease are still
alive five years later—the disease raises many fears. Like heart disease,
cancer is associated with a variety of risk factors, some genetic and others
environmental. Some kinds of cancer have clear genetic components. For
example, a family history of breast cancer—which is the most common
cause of cancer death among women—raises the risk for a woman.Several
environmental and behavioral factors are also related to the risk of cancer.
For instance, poor nutrition, smoking, alcohol use, exposure to sunlight,
exposure to radiation, and particular occupational hazards (such as
exposure to certain chemicals or asbestos) are all known to increase the
chances of developing cancer.
Mortality
In middle age, many deaths are caused by a single, readily identifiable
condition, whereas in old age, death is more likely to result from the
combined effects of several chronic conditions. For many years heart
disease was the leading cause of death in middle adulthood, followed by
cancer; however, in 2005 more individuals 45 to 64 years of age in the
United States died of cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease (National
Center for Health Statistics, 2008). The gap between cancer as the leading
cause of death widens as individuals age from 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 years
of age (National Center for Health Statistics, 2008). Men have higher
mortality rates than women for all of the leading causes of death.
12.5.Summary
 It is in early and middle adulthood that muscle strength, reaction
time, cardiac output, and sensory abilities begin to decline.
 One of the key signs of aging in women is the decline in fertility,
culminating in menopause, which is marked by the cessation of the
menstrual period.
 The different social stages in adulthood, such as marriage,
parenthood, and work, are loosely determined by a social clock, a
culturally recognized time for each phase.

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 The adult brain seems to be capable of rewiring itself well into

middle age, incorporating decades of experiences and behaviors.
 In middle adulthood, the frequency of accidents declines and
individuals are less susceptible to colds and allergies than in
childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
 Despite the challenges of middle adulthood, the majority of middle-
aged adults are not unhappy.
12.6. Keywords
Social clock refers to the culturally preferred “right time” for major life
events, such as moving out of the childhood house, getting married, and
having children.
Earlyadulthood refers tothe ages between 25 and 45
Middle adulthood refers to ages between 45 and 65
Unhealthy behaviors in middle age includes cutting back on sleep,
smoking, drinking, or taking other drugs
12.7. Self-Assessment
1. Approximate age range for middle adulthood is
a) 45-65years
b) Above 75
c) 65-75
d) 50-70
2. Leading cause of death in middle adulthood are
a) Osteoporosis
b) Lung infection
c) Heart disease and cancer
d) Renal failure
3. Social clock is _________ preferred right time for major life events
a) Cultural
b) Psychological
c) Physical
d) Health
4. Which among the following is not a physical characteristic of
middle adulthood-
a) Wrinkles in skin
b) Tags on skin
c) Greying of hairs
d) Brittle nails
5. Loss of height in middle adulthood is due to:
a) Bone loss in vertebra
b) Joint deformity
c) Density loss in feet
d) Lack of nutrition

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6. Most notable sign of female climacteric is:

a) Loss of reproduction capability
b) Menopause
c) Andropause
d) Menarche
7. In terms of intelligence, during middle age
a) Crystallized intelligence increases
b) Crystallized intelligence decreases
c) Fluid intelligence increases
d) Intelligence is not affected
8. In middle adulthood cause of death is readily identifiable because:
a) Generally, there is single cause
b) Complex causes
c) Readily available diagnostics
d) Symptoms are more prominent
9. One of the growing causes of death in females:
a) Asthma
b) Menorrhagia
c) Breast and uterine cancer
d) UTI
10. Causes of cancer may not be:
a) Frequent health check-ups
b) Genetics
c) Poor nutrition
d) radiations
Answers:

Q 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A a c a b a b a a c a

12.8. Review Questions

1. Compare your behaviour, values, and attitudes regarding marriage

and work to the attitudes of your parents and grandparents. In
what way are your values similar? In what ways are they different?
2. Draw a timeline of your own planned or preferred social clock.
What factors do you think will make it more or less likely that you
will be able to follow the timeline?

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Kalpana Sharma, Lovely Professional University Unit 13: Old Age

Unit 13 Old Age

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
13.1. Physical Changes and deterioration
13.2. Cognitive Changes and deterioration
13.3. Psychosocial Changes
13.4. Hazards and Diseases
13.5. Summary
13.6. Keywords
13.7.Self-Assessment
13.8. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Learn the theories of aging
Describe how a person’s brain and body change in old age.
Identify health problems in older adults and how they can be managed.

Introduction
Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the
end of the human life cycle. It is also true that an individual’s fear of aging is often greater than
need be. As more individuals live to a ripe and active old age, our image of aging is changing.
While on average a 75-year-old’s joints should be stiffening, people can practice not to be average.
For example, a 75-year-old man might choose to train for and run a marathon; an 80-year-old
woman whose capacity for work is undiminished might choose to make and sell children’s toys.
Do you want to live to be 100, or 90? Late adulthood is the longest span of any period of human
development—50 to 60 years. Some developmentalists distinguish between the young-old (65 to 74
years of age) and the old-old, or old age (75 years and older). Yet others distinguish the oldest-old
(85 years and older) from younger older adults (65 to 84 years age). An increased interest in
successful aging is producing a portrayal of the oldest-old that is more optimistic than past
stereotypes. Interventions such as cataract surgery and a variety of rehabilitation strategies are
improving the functioning of the oldest-old. And there is cause for optimism in the development of
new regimens of prevention and intervention, such as engaging in regular exercise.
Many experts on aging prefer to talk about such categories as the young-old, old-old, and oldest-
old in terms of function rather than age. In terms of functional age — the person’s actual ability to
function—an 85-year-old might well be more biologically and psychologically fit than a 65-year-
old.

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13.1.Physical Changes and Deteriorations

In late adulthood, the changes in physical appearance that began occurring during middle age
become more pronounced.
Wrinkles and age spots are the most noticeable changes. We also get shorter when we get older.
Both men and women become shorter in late adulthood because of bone loss in their vertebrae.
Our weight usually drops after we reach 60 years of age. This likely occurs because we lose muscle,
which also gives our bodies a “sagging” look. Decline in percentage of muscle and bone from age
25 to age 75, and the corresponding increase in the percentage of fat.
Older adults move more slowly than young adults, and this slowing occurs for movements with a
wide range of difficulty. Even when they perform everyday tasks such as reaching and grasping,
moving from one place to another, and continuous movement, older adults tend to move more
slowly than when they were young. Adequate mobility is an important aspect of maintaining an
independent and active lifestyle in late adulthood. One recent study of the functional ability of non-
institutionalized individuals 70 years of age and older revealed that over an eight-year period, the
most deterioration occurred in their mobility (Holstein & others, 2007). Obesity is also linked to
mobility limitation in older adults.
Regular walking decreases the onset of physical disability in older adults. Also, exercise and
appropriate weight lifting can help to reduce the decrease in muscle mass and improve the older
person’s body appearance. It’s not just physical exercise that is linked to preserving older adults’
motor functions; engaging in social activities protected against loss of motor abilities.

Vision
In young old age there is a loss of acuity even with corrective lenses. Less transmission of light
occurs through the retina (half as much as in young adults). Greater susceptibility to glare occurs.
Color discrimination ability decreases. In old-old age there is a significant loss of visual acuity and
color discrimination, and a decrease in the size of the perceived visual field. In late old age, people
are at significant risk for visual dysfunction from cataracts and glaucoma.
Hearing
In early years of old age there is a significant loss of hearing at high frequencies and some loss at
middle frequencies. These losses can be helped by a hearing aid. There is greater susceptibility to
masking of what is heard by noise. In later years there is a significant loss at high and middle
frequencies. A hearing aid is more likely to be needed than in young-old age.
Smell and Taste
Most older adults lose some of their sense of smell or taste, or both. These losses often begin around
60 years of age. A majority of individuals 80-years-of-age and older experience a significant
reduction in smell. Researchers have found that older adults show a greater decline in their sense of
smell than in their taste. Smell and taste decline less in healthy older adults than in their less
healthy counterparts.
Touch and Pain
With aging individuals could detect touch less in the lower extremities (ankles, knees, and so on)
than in the upper extremities (wrists, shoulders, and so on). Older adults who are blind retain a
high level of touch sensitivity, which likely is linked to their use of active touch in their daily lives.
Older adults are less sensitive to pain and suffer from it less than younger adults. Although
decreased sensitivity to pain can help older adults cope with disease and injury, it can also mask
injury and illness that need to be treated.

13.2. Cognitive Changes and deterioration

On average, the brain loses 5 to 10 percent of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90. Brain
volume also decreases. One study found that the volume of the brain was 15 percent less in older
adults than younger adults. Scientists are not sure why these changes occur but think they might
result from a decrease in dendrites, damage to the myelin sheath that covers axons, or simply the
death of brain cells.

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The prefrontal cortex is one area that shrinks with aging, and recent research has linked this
shrinkage with a decrease in working memory and other cognitive activities in older adults. A
general slowing of function in the brain and spinal cord begins in middle adulthood and accelerates
in late adulthood. Both physical coordination and intellectual performance are affected. For
example, after age 70 many adults no longer show a knee jerk, and by age 90 most reflexes are
much slower. The slowing of the brain can impair the performance of older adults on intelligence
tests and various cognitive tasks, especially those that are timed. Using neuroimaging techniques,
researchers found that brain activity in the prefrontal cortex is lateralized less in older adults than
in younger adults when they are engaging in cognitive tasks.

13.3. Psychosocial Changes

As people age, they experience changes in physical and cognitive capacities, such as gait speed and
reaction time, and also changes in emotional experience and social interests. Common
psychological issues affecting older patients may include, but are not limited to, anxiety,
depression, delirium, dementia, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Common social and
emotional issues may involve loss of autonomy, grief, fear, loneliness, financial constraints, and
lack of social networks. These psychosocial issues can also have an impact on and contribute to
physical health. Psychosocial factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, social isolation, and poor
relationships have been associated with an increased risk of hypertension, stroke, and
cardiovascular disease. Conversely, chronic or debilitating somatic or physical conditions such as
cancer, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular and/or respiratory diseases, and hearing loss are
associated with increased rates of loneliness and depression.

13.4. Hazards and Diseases

As we age, the probability increases that we will have some disease or illness. The majority of
adults still alive at 80 years of age or older are likely to have some type of impairment. Chronic
diseases (those with a slow onset and a long duration) are rare in early adulthood, increase in
middle adulthood, and become more common in late adulthood.
Arthritis is the most common chronic disorder in late adulthood, followed by hypertension. Older
women have a higher incidence of arthritis and hypertension and are more likely to have visual
problems, but are less likely to have hearing problems, than older men are. Chronic conditions
associated with the greatest limitation on work are heart conditions, diabetes, asthma, and arthritis.
Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints accompanied by pain, stiffness, and movement problems.
Arthritis is especially common in older adults. This disorder can affect hips, knees, ankles, fingers,
and vertebrae. Individuals with arthritis often experience pain and stiffness, as well as problems in
moving about and performing routine daily activities.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis involves an extensive loss of bone tissue. Osteoporosis is the main reason many older
adults walk with a marked stoop. Women are especially vulnerable to osteoporosis, the leading
cause of broken bones in women. Osteoporosis is related to deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D,
estrogen, and lack of exercise. To prevent osteoporosis, young and middle-aged women should eat
foods rich in calcium (such as dairy products, broccoli, turnip greens, and kale), get more exercise,
and avoid smoking.

Accidents
Accidents are the sixth leading cause of death among older adults (National Center for Health
Statistics, 2010d). Injuries resulting from a fall at home or during a traffic accident in which an older
adult is a driver or an older pedestrian is hit by a vehicle are common. Falls are the leading cause of
injury deaths among adults who are 65 years and older.

Exercise and Aging

Can exercise slow the aging process? Can eating a nutritious but calorie-reduced diet increase
longevity?
Exercise has following effects on aging process:
1. Exercise is linked to increased longevity
2. Exercise is related to prevention of common chronic diseases.

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3. Exercise is associated with improvement in the treatment of many diseases.

4. Exercise improves older adults’ cellular functioning.
5. Exercise improves immune system functioning in older adults.
6. Exercise can optimize body composition and reduce the decline in motor skills as aging
occurs.
7. Exercise reduces the likelihood that older adults will develop mental health problems and
can be effective in the treatment of mental health problems.
8. Exercise is linked to improved brain and cognitive functioning in older adults.

Nutrition and Aging

Some older adults engage in dietary restriction that is harmful to their health, especially when they
do not get adequate vitamins and minerals. To meet your nutritional needs, eat foods that are rich
in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Limit foods that are high in processed sugars,
saturated and trans fats, and salt. You may also have to adjust your diet to manage chronic health
conditions. Fiber is essential for a healthy digestive system. To avoid constipation and other
problems, include fiber-rich foods at every meal. Soluble fiber is especially important for
maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Good sources of fiber include:

 fruits and vegetables

 beans and lentils

 nuts and seeds

 oats and oat bran

 whole grains

If you find yourself relying on convenience foods, choose the healthiest options. For example, these
foods can be easy to prepare and nutritious:

 frozen or low-sodium canned vegetables

 frozen unsweetened fruit or low-sugar canned fruit
 low-sodium canned soup or stews

13.5. Summary
 Eventually, the human life span ends with death.
 Compared to younger adults and children, most older adults are closer to death and more
likely to know that they will die gradually over a period of time rather than suddenly.
 Physical impairments—such as cardiovascular disease and cancer—are the most likely
reasons older adults will die. Having nutritious food and doing regular exercise are the
key to healthy aging.
 Care must be provided to older people not just physically but also emotionally and
socially.
 In late adulthood, the changes in physical appearance that began occurring during middle
age become more pronounced. Wrinkles and age spots are the most noticeable changes.
 Common psychological issues affecting older patients may include, but are not limited to,
anxiety, depression, delirium, dementia, personality disorders, and substance abuse
 Osteoporosis involves an extensive loss of bone tissue. Osteoporosis is the main reason
many older adults walk with a marked stoop.

13.6. Key words

Young-old: An individual in the age range of65 to 74 years of age

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Osteoporosis: It refers to an extensive loss of bone tissue

13.7 Self-Assessment
1. Engaging in social activities gives protection against loss of motor abilities.

A. True
B. False
2. Osteoporosis is related to deficiencies in ______________

A. Calcium
B. Vitamin D
C. Estrogen
D. All of these
3. _________ is the most common chronic disorder in late adulthood.

A. Hypertension
B. Thyroid
C. Arthritis
D. Diabetes
4. Loneliness and depression have no impact on debilitating physical health.

A. True
B. False
5. Which of these is a normal growth for a 13 year old boy? An old individual will be able to detect
touchmore readily in______

A. Knees
B. Ankles
C. Feet
D. Wrists
6. Regular walking decreases the onset of physical disability in older people.

A. True
B. False
7. A 66 year old individual will be termed as_____________

A. Old old
B. Oldest old
C. Young Old
D. None of these
8. Pre-Frontal Cortex shrinks with aging

A. True
B. False
9. Brain activity in the prefrontal cortex was studied through the use of____________

A. Psychological Questionnaires
B. X-Ray
C. Neuroimaging Techniques
D. None of these

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10.Brain loses weight and volume with age?

A. True
B. False

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
A D C B D
6 7 8 9 10
A C A C A

13.8. Review Questions

Q1. How person’s brain changes in old age.
Q2. What are the health problems associated with aging?

Further Readings
Slater, A., Bremmer, J.G. An Introduction to Developmental Psychology. Second
Edition. BPS Blackwell.2003

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Kalpana Sharma, Lovely Professional University Unit 14: Death and Dying

Unit 14 Death and Dying

Contents
Objectives
Introduction
14.1 Death System- Causes of death
14.2. The Death System and its Cultural Variations
14.3. Stages of Death and Dying
14.4. Grieving:- Coping with the Death of Someone Else
14.5. Summary
14.6. Keywords
14.7. Self-Assessment
14.8. Review Questions
Further Readings

Objectives
This unit will enable you to:
Understand the death system and its cultural contexts.
Learn causes of death and attitudes about it at different points in development.
Understand the psychological aspects involved in facing one’s own death and the contexts in which
people die.
Identify ways to cope with the death of another person.

Introduction
Death is a commanding human concern that has been intellectualized as a powerful inspiring force
behind much creative expression and philosophic inquiry throughout the ages. What we know
about death, dying, and grieving mainly is based on information about older adults. Leo Tolstoy,
distinguished 19th-century Russian moral thinker and novelist, fittingly illustrated the human
challenges in confronting the unavoidability of death and the anxiety it incites as he vividly
describes the last three days of Ivan Ilych’s egocentric, seemingly meaningless existence in “The
Death of Ivan Ilych.”
Twenty-five years ago, determining if someone was dead was simpler than it is today. The end of
certain biological functions, such as breathing and blood pressure, and the rigidity of the body
(rigor mortis) were considered to be clear signs of death. In recent decades, defining death has
become more complex. Brain death is a neurological definition of death, which states that a person
is brain dead when all electrical activity of the brain has ceased for a specified period of time. A flat
EEG (electroencephalogram) recording for a specified period of time is one criterion of brain death.
The higher portions of the brain often die sooner than the lower portions. Because the brain’s lower
portions monitor heartbeat and respiration, individuals whose higher brain areas have died may
continue breathing and have a heartbeat. The definition of brain death currently followed by most
physicians includes the death of both the higher cortical functions and the lower brain stem
functions. Some medical experts argue that the criteria for death should include only higher cortical
functioning. If the cortical death definition were adopted, then physicians could declare a person is
dead when there is no cortical functioning in that person, even though the lower brain stem is
functioning. Supporters of the cortical death policy argue that the functions we associate with being

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human, such as intelligence and personality, are located in the higher cortical part of the brain.
They believe that when these functions are lost, the “human being” is no longer alive.

14.1. Death system: - Causes of Death

Death can occur at any point in the human life span. Death can occur during prenatal development
through miscarriages or stillborn births. Death can also occur during the birth process or in the first
few days after birth, which usually happens because of a birth defect or because infants have not
developed adequately to sustain life outside the uterus. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is in
which infants stop breathing, usually during the night, and die without apparent cause. In
childhood, death occurs most often because of accidents or illness. Accidental death in childhood
can be the consequence of such things as an automobile accident, drowning, poisoning, fire, or a fall
from a high place. Major illnesses that cause death in children are heart disease, cancer, and birth
defects. Compared with childhood, death in adolescence is more likely to occur because of motor
vehicle accidents, suicide, and homicide. Many motor vehicle accidents that cause death in
adolescence are alcohol-related. We will examine suicide in greater depth shortly. Older adults are
more likely to die from chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, whereas younger adults
are more likely to die from accidents. Older adults’ diseases often incapacitate before they kill,
which produces a course of dying that slowly leads to death. Of course, many young and middle-
aged adults also die of heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.

Attitudes Toward Death at Different Points in the Life Span

The ages of children and adults influence the way they experience and think about death. A
mature, adultlike conception of death includes an understanding that death is final and irreversible,
that death represents the end of life, and that all living things die. Most researchers have found that
as children grow, they develop a more mature approach to death.
Childhood: Even children 3 to 5 years of age have little or no idea of what death means. They may
confuse death with sleep or ask in a puzzled way, “Why doesn’t it move?” Preschool-aged children
rarely get upset by the sight of a dead animal or by being told that a person has died. They believe
that the dead can be brought back to life spontaneously by magic or by giving them food or medical
treatment. Young children often believe that only people who want to die, or who are bad or
careless, actually die. They also may blame themselves for the death of someone they know well,
illogically reasoning that the event may have happened because they disobeyed the person who
died. Sometime in the middle and late childhood years, more realistic perceptions of death develop.
In a review of research on children’s conception of death, it was concluded that children probably
do not view death as universal and irreversible until about 9 years of age. Most children under 7 do
not see death as likely. Those who do, perceive it as reversible.
Adolescence: In adolescence, the prospect of death, like the prospect of aging, is regarded as
remote and death may be avoided, glossed over, or kidded about. This perspective is typical of the
adolescent’s self-conscious thought; however, some adolescents do show a concern for death, both
in trying to fathom its meaning and in confronting the prospect of their own demise. Deaths of
friends, siblings, parents, or grandparents bring death to the forefront of adolescents’ lives. Deaths
of peers who commit suicide “may be especially difficult for adolescents who feel guilty for having
failed to prevent the suicide or feel that they should have died, or feel they are being rejected by
their friends who hold them responsible for the death. Adolescents develop more abstract
conceptions of death than children do. For example, adolescents describe death in terms of
darkness, light, transition, or nothingness. They also develop religious and philosophical views
about the nature of death and whether there is life after death.
Adulthood: An increase in consciousness about death accompanies individuals’ awareness that
they are aging, which usually intensifies in middle adulthood. Researchers have found that middle-
aged adults actually fear death more than do young adults or older adults.
Older adults, though, think about death more and talk about it more in conversation with others
than do middle-aged and young adults. They also have more direct experience with death as their
friends and relatives become ill and die. Older adults are forced to examine the meanings of life and
death more frequently than are younger adults.
Younger adults who are dying often feel cheated more than do older adults who are dying Younger
adults are more likely to feel they have not had the opportunity to do what they want to with their
lives. Younger adults perceive they are losing what they might achieve; older adults perceive they
are losing what they have. In old age, one’s own death may take on an appropriateness it lacked in
earlier years. Some of the increased thinking and conversing about death, and an increased sense of

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integrity developed through a positive life review, may help older adults accept death. Older adults
are less likely to have unfinished business than are younger adults. They usually do not have
children who need to be guided to maturity, their spouses are more likely to be dead, and they are
less likely to have work-related projects that require completion. Lacking such anticipations, death
may be less emotionally painful to them. Even among older adults, however, attitudes toward
death vary.

14.2. The Death System and its Cultural Variations

Robert Kastenbaum (2009) emphasizes that a number of components comprise the death system in
any culture. The components include:
• People- Because death in inevitable, everyone is involved with death at some point, either their
own death or the death of others. Some individuals have a more systematic role with death, such as
those who work in the funeral industry and the clergy, as well as people who work in life-
threatening contexts such as firemen and policemen.
• Places or contexts- These include hospitals, funeral homes, cemeteries, hospices, battle fields,
and memorials.
• Times- Death involves times or occasions, such as Memorial Day in the United States, and the
Day of the Dead in Mexico, which are times to honor those who have died. Also, anniversaries of
disasters such as D-Day in World War II, 9/11/2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as the
2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia that took approximately 100,000 lives, are times when those who
died are remembered in special ways such as ceremonies.
• Objects- Many objects in a culture are associated with death, including caskets, various black
objects such as clothes, arm bands, and hearses.
• Symbols- Symbols such as skull and crossbones, as well as last rites in the Catholic religion and
various religious ceremonies, are connected to death.
Most societies throughout history have had philosophical or religious beliefs about death, and most
societies have a ritual that deals with death (Bruce, 2007). Death may be seen as a punishment for
one’s sins, an act of atonement, or a judgment of a just God. For some, death means loneliness; for
others, death is a quest for happiness. For still others, death represents redemption, a relief from the
trials and tribulations of the earthly world. Some embrace death and welcome it; others abhor and
fear it. For those who welcome it, death may be seen as the fitting end to a fulfilled life. From this
perspective, how we depart from Earth is influenced by how we have lived.
Cultural Attitudes toward Death
Every human being on the planet eats, sleeps, laughs, cries, bleeds. Death is another human
experience that crosses all national, racial, religious, and ethnic boundaries. But within such social
and cultural parameters lies a wide range of beliefs and behaviors, approaches and actions that
different cultures bring to death rituals and to a family experiencing the loss of one of its members.
The course concludes with information and examples for funeral professionals regarding education
and outcomes when cultural differences are respected, accommodated, and embraced as a
necessary part of the grief process.
In general, a society's response to death is a function of how death fits into its teleological view of
life, that is, the design or purpose of death, especially as it pertains to nature. Across all societies
there seem to be three general patterns of response to death: death acceptance, death defiance, and
death denial.
Death Defiance
In death-defying societies, the belief is that in death nothing need be lost—you can take it with you.
A historical example of such a society was discovered in the 1960s on an archaeological dig near
Moscow. Skeletons of two boys who died approximately twenty-three thousand years ago were
found. Their elaborate grave suggested they were laid to rest amid solemn ritual, perhaps with a
view of the afterlife. Both had been dressed from head to toe in clothing decorated with ivory beads
carved from mammoth tusks, and both wore bracelets and rings of the same material, Both were
further equipped with an assortment of ivory lances, spears, and daggers. An example of a present-
day death-defying culture is the Hmong, an ethnic minority found throughout southern China,
Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Burma. One funeral ritual practice by the Hmong is reciting from the

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"TusQuabke," or guide for the deceased to the spirit world. If the proper verses are not recited, the
person will not know he or she has died. The ritual is believed to help start the deceased's soul on
its first major trip to the spirit world, and explains to the deceased how to make the trip.
Death Denial
The most profound example of a death-denying culture is found in the United States. This
philosophy suggests that death is unnatural. American society's denial is exemplified by the
following:
1. Through language—using terms such as "passed on" or "expired"
2. By the detachment of families from the funeral process—leaving all details to the funeral
professional
3. By relegating family members to nursing homes or hospitals to die, removing them from familiar
and comfortable surroundings
4. By avoiding conversation about the deceased for fear of loved ones be-coming upset.

14.3. Stages of Death and Dying

There are several ways of looking at the process of dying. One of the more well-known theories is
that of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who conducted extensive interviews with dying persons and their
caregivers. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross theorized that people. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross theorized that
people go through five stages of reaction when faced with death.
1. Denial and Isolation: In this stage people refuse to believe that the diagnosis of death is
real. This is Kübler-Ross’ first stage of dying, in which the person denies that death is
really going to take place. The person may say, “No, it can’t be me. It’s not possible.” This
is a common reaction to terminal illness. However, denial is usually only a temporary
defense. It is eventually replaced with increased awareness when the person is confronted
with such matters as financial considerations, unfinished business, and worry about
surviving family members.
2. Anger- It is really anger at death itself and the feelings of helplessness to change things.
This is Kübler-Ross’ second stage of dying, in which the dying person recognizes that
denial can no longer be maintained. Denial often gives way to anger, resentment, rage,
and envy. The dying person’s question is, “Why me?” At this point, the person becomes
increasingly difficult to care for as anger may become displaced and projected onto
physicians, nurses, family members, and even God. The realization of loss is great, and
those who symbolize life, energy, and competent functioning are especially salient targets
of the dying person’s resentment and jealousy
3. Bargaining- In this stage dying person tries to make a deal with doctors or even with God.
This is Kübler-Ross’ third stage of dying, in which the person develops the hope that death
can somehow be postponed or delayed. Some persons enter into a bargaining or
negotiation—often with God—as they try to delay their death. Psychologically, the person
is saying, “Yes, me, but . . .” In exchange for a few more days, weeks, or months of life, the
person promises to lead a reformed life dedicated to God or to the service of others.
4. Depression- Is sadness from losses already experienced e.g., loss of a job or one’s dignity
and those yet to come (e.g., not being able to see a child grow up). This is Kübler-Ross’
fourth stage of dying, in which the dying person comes to accept the certainty of death. At
this point, a period of depression or preparatory grief may appear. The dying person may
become silent, refuse visitors, and spend much of the time crying or grieving. This
behavior is normal and is an effort to disconnect the self from love objects. Attempts to
cheer up the dying person at this stage should be discouraged, says Kübler-Ross, because
the dying person has a need to contemplate impending death.
5. Acceptance- When the person has accepted the inevitable and quietly awaits death. This is
Kübler-Ross’ fifth stage of dying, in which the person develops a sense of peace, an
acceptance of one’s fate, and in many cases, a desire to be left alone. In this stage, feelings
and physical pain may be virtually absent. Kübler-Ross describes this fifth stage as the end
of the dying struggle, the final resting stage before death.

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14.4. Grieving: - Coping with the Death of Someone Else

Loss can come in many forms in our lives—divorce, a pet’s death, loss of a job—but no loss is
greater than that which comes through the death of someone we love and care for—a parent,
sibling, spouse, relative, or friend. In the ratings of life’s stresses that require the most adjustment,
death of a spouse is given the highest number. How do we cope with the death of someone we
love?
The impact of death on surviving individuals is strongly influenced by the circumstances under
which the death occurs. Deaths that are sudden, untimely, violent, or traumatic are likely to have
more intense and prolonged effects on surviving individuals and make the coping process more
difficult for them. Such deaths often are accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disturbance, problems in
concentrating, and others. Death of a child can be especially devastating and extremely difficult for
parents to cope with.
Grieving
Grief is the emotional numbness, disbelief, separation anxiety, despair, sadness, and loneliness that
accompany the loss of someone we love. Grief is not a simple emotional state but rather a complex,
evolving process with multiple dimensions. In this view, pining for the lost person is one important
dimension. Pining or yearning reflects an intermittent, recurrent wish or need to recover the lost
person.
Another important dimension of grief is separation anxiety, which not only includes pining and
pre-occupation with thoughts of the deceased person but also focuses on places and things
associated with the deceased, as well as crying or sighing. Grief may also involve despair and
sadness, which include a sense of hopelessness and defeat, depressive symptoms, apathy, loss of
meaning for activities that used to involve the person who is gone, and growing desolation.
The grieving process is more like a roller-coaster ride than an orderly progression of stages with
clear-cut time frames. The ups and downs of grief often involve rapidly changing emotions,
meeting the challenges of learning new skills, detecting personal weaknesses and limitations,
creating new patterns of behavior, and forming new friendships and relationships. For most
individuals, grief becomes more manageable over time, with fewer abrupt highs and lows. But
many grieving spouses report that even though time has brought some healing, they have never
gotten over their loss. They have just learned to live with it. The more negative beliefs and self-
blame the adults had, the more severe were their symptoms of traumatic grief, depression, and
anxiety.
Prolonged grief: Grief that involves enduring despair and is still unresolved over an extended
period of time. Prolonged grief usually has negative consequences on physical and mental health. A
person who loses someone he or she was emotionally dependent on is often at greatest risk for
developing prolonged grief.
Disenfranchised grief: An individual’s grief over a deceased person that is a socially ambiguous
loss that can’t be openly mourned or supported. Examples of disenfranchised grief include a
relationship that isn’t socially recognized such as an ex-spouse, a hidden loss such as an abortion,
and circumstances of the death that are stigmatized such as death because of AIDS.
Disenfranchised grief may intensify an individual’s grief because it cannot be publicly
acknowledged. This type of grief may be hidden or repressed for many years, only to be
reawakened by later deaths.
Dual-Process Model of Coping with Bereavement The dual-process model of coping with
bereavement consists of two main dimensions: (1) loss-oriented stressors, and (2) restoration-
oriented stressors.
Loss-oriented stressors focus on the deceased individual and can include grief work and both
positive and negative reappraisals of the loss. A positive reappraisal of the loss might include
acknowledging that death brought relief at the end of suffering, whereas a negative reappraisal
might involve yearning for the loved one and rumination about the death. Restoration-oriented
stressors involve the secondary stressors that emerge as indirect outcomes of bereavement. They
can include a changing identity (such as from “wife” to “widow”) and mastering skills (such as
dealing with finances). Restoration rebuilds “shattered assumptions about the world and one’s own

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place in it.” In the dual-process model, effective coping with bereavement often involves an
oscillation between coping with loss and coping with restoration.
Mourning
One decision facing the bereaved is what to do with the body. Cremation is more popular in the
Pacific region of the United States, less popular in the South. Cremation also is more popular in
Canada than in the United States and most popular of all in Japan and many other Asian countries.
The funeral is an important aspect of mourning in many cultures. In one study, bereaved
individuals who were personally religious derived more psychological benefits from a funeral,
participated more actively in the rituals, and adjusted more positively to the loss. In some cultures,
a ceremonial meal is held after death; in others, a black armband is worn for one year following a
death. Cultures vary in how they practice mourning.

There are different traditions associated with several selected religions regarding beliefs about
death and funeral.

Table 14.1 Diversity of Beliefs and Traditions Across Religions and Cultures

Religion Beliefs pertaining to Preparation of the Funeral

death Body

Catholic Beliefs include that the Organ donation and Cremation historically
deceased travels from autopsy are permitted. forbidden until
this world into eternal 1963.The Vigil occurs
afterlife where the soul the evening before the
can reside in heaven, funeral mass is held.
hell, or purgatory. Mass includes
Sacraments are given Eucharist. If a priest is
to the dying. not available, a deacon
can lead funeral
services. Rite of
committal takes place
with interment.

Jewish Tradition cherishes life Autopsy and Funeral held as soon

but death itself is not embalming are as possible after death.
viewed as a tragedy. forbidden under Dark clothing is worn
Views on an afterlife ordinary at and after the
vary with the circumstances. Open funeral/burial. It is
denomination caskets are not forbidden to bury the
(Reform, Conservative, permitted. decedent on the
or Orthodox). Sabbath or festivals.
Three mourning
periods are held after
the burial, with Shiva
being the first seven
days after burial.

Buddhist Both a religion and Goal is a peaceful Family washes and

way of life with the death. Statue of prepares the body.
goal of enlightenment. Buddha may be placed Cremation is preferred
Beliefs include that life at bedside as the but if buried, deceased
is a cycle of death and person is dying. Organ should be dressed in
rebirth. donation is not regular daily clothes
permitted. Incense is instead of fancy
lit in the room clothing. Monks may

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following death. be present at the

funeral and lead the
chanting.

Native American Beliefs vary among Preparation of the Most burials are
tribes. Sickness is body may be done by natural or green.
thought to mean that family. Organ Various practices
one is out of balance donation generally not differ with tribe.
with nature. Thought preferred. Among the Navajo,
that ancestors can hearing an owl or
guide the deceased. coyote is a sign of
Believe that death is a impending death and
journey to another the casket is left
world. Family may or slightly open so the
may not be present for spirit can escape.
death. Navajo and Apache
tribes believe that
spirits of deceased can
haunt the living. The
Comanche tribe buries
the dead in the place
of death or in a cave.

Hindu Beliefs include Organ donation and Prefer cremation

reincarnation, where a autopsy are within 24 hours after
deceased person acceptable. Bathing the death. Ashes should be
returns in the form of body daily is scattered in sacred
another, and Karma. necessary. Death and rivers.
dying must be
peaceful. Customary
for body to not be left
alone until cremated.

Muslim Muslims believe in an Embalming and Burial takes place as

afterlife and that the cremation are not soon as possible.
body must be quickly permitted. Autopsy is Women and men will
buried so that the soul permitted for legal or sit separately at the
may be freed. medical reasons only. funeral. Flowers and
After death, the body excessive mourning
should face Mecca or are discouraged. Body
the East. Body is is usually buried in a
prepared by a person shroud and is buried
of the same gender. with the head pointing
toward Mecca.

14.5. Summary
 In spite of death’s universal claim on each of us, the discussion of death is frequently
uncomfortable and even distressing to many.
 There are cultural differences about how people understand and cope with death.
 It is important for death care professionals to increase their own personal death awareness
and to grasp the issues and concerns that underlie our society’s attitudes and behaviors
around death and dying.

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 The quality of care, reassurance, and comfort they are able to offer will be greatly
influenced by their own beliefs and personal ease with death.
 Some of the increased thinking and conversing about death, and an increased sense of
integrity developed through a positive life review, may help older adults accept death.
 The grieving process is more like a roller-coaster ride than an orderly progression of stages
with clear-cut time frames.
 A positive reappraisal of the loss might include acknowledging that death brought relief at
the end of suffering, whereas a negative reappraisal might involve yearning for the loved
one and rumination about the death.

14.6. Key Words

Grief: It is the emotional numbness, disbelief, separation anxiety, despair, sadness, and loneliness
that accompany the loss of someone we love.
Disenfranchised grief: An individual’s grief over a deceased person that is a socially ambiguous
loss that can’t be openly mourned or supported.
Prolonged grief: Grief that involves enduring despair and is still unresolved over an extended
period of time.
Loss-oriented stressors: It focus on the deceased individual and can include grief work and both
positive and negative reappraisals of the loss.
Restoration-oriented stressors: involve the secondary stressors that emerge as indirect outcomes of
bereavement.

14.7. Self-Assessment
1. Brain death is when there is cessation of ____ activity in brain
a. Physical
b. Electrical
c. Mechanical
d. Kinetics
2. The act of painlessly ending the lives of individuals who are suffering from an incurable
disease or severe disability is called:
a. Euthanasia
b. Anaesthesia
c. Death by will
d. Griefing
3. Death in adolescents is more likely to occur because of
a. Heat disease
b. Cancer
c. Lung failure
d. Road accidents and suicide

4. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross has described _______ stages, a person undergoes while facing
death.
a. Three
b. Four
c. Five
d. Six
5. Which of the following is not a stage of death according to Kübler-Ross
a. Denial
b. Anger
c. Bargaining

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 Unit 14: Death and Dying

d. Mourning

6. Disenfranchised grief may intensify an individual’s grief because it cannot be publicly

acknowledged.

a. True
b. False

7. The dual-process model of coping with bereavement consists of these dimensions.

a. Loss-oriented
b. Revertation oriented
c. Both a & b
d. None of these

8. __________ societies believethat in death nothing need be lost—you can take it with you.

a. Death-denying
b. Death fearing
c. Death waiting
d. Death defying

9. Cultures vary in how they mourn

a. True
b. False

10. Which of these are components comprising the death system__________

a. Objects
b. People
c. Symbols
d. All of these

Answers
01 02 03 04 05
B A A C D
6 7 8 9 10
A A D A D

14.8. Review Questions

Q1. Describe the death system and its cultural contexts.
Q2. Evaluate issues in determining death and decisions regarding death.
Q3. Explain the psychological aspects involved in facing one’s own death and the contexts in which
people die.

Further Readings
Slater, A., Bremmer, J.G. An Introduction to Developmental Psychology.Second Edition.BPS Blackwell.2003

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