Chapter 3: Human Development

Class 11-12 | NCERT Psychology | Lesson Notes

Introduction
• From birth to death, we change physically, cognitively, and socially — in the way we
think, use language, and build relationships.
• Development is not confined to one area; it happens in an integrated manner across the
entire lifespan.
• This chapter covers key developmental stages: prenatal, infancy, childhood,
adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
• Understanding human development helps us understand ourselves and deal with others
better.

Part 1: Meaning of Development

What is Development?
• Development is the pattern of progressive, orderly, and predictable changes that begin
at conception and continue throughout life.
• It includes both growth and decline — for example, wisdom grows with age but physical
speed declines.
• Development is influenced by three interwoven processes:
◦ Biological processes — genes inherited from parents affecting height, weight, brain,
heart, lungs
◦ Cognitive processes — thought, perception, attention, problem solving
◦ Socio-emotional processes — interactions with others, emotions, personality

Key Distinctions: Growth, Development, Maturation, Evolution

• Growth — increase in size of body parts; can be measured (height, weight)
• Development — broader; includes changes that have direction and hold relationship
with what came before and what comes after
◦ A temporary change like illness is NOT development
• Maturation — changes that follow an orderly sequence, largely dictated by genetic
blueprint
◦ Example: Most children sit by 7 months, stand by 8 months, walk by 1 year
◦ Maturation cannot be accelerated artificially if the infant is not ready
• Evolution — species-specific changes; passed across generations via natural selection;
proceeds very slowly
◦ Emergence of humans from great apes took ~14 million years; Homo sapiens
appeared ~50,000 years ago
Life-Span Perspective (LSP) on Development
• Development is lifelong — from conception to old age; includes both gains and losses
• Development is multi-directional — some dimensions increase while others decrease
◦ Example: Adults may grow wiser but perform slower on speed tasks
• Development is highly plastic — skills and abilities can be improved throughout life
• Development is influenced by historical conditions
◦ Example: A 20-year-old during India's freedom struggle had very different
experiences from a 20-year-old today
• Development is multidisciplinary — studied by psychology, anthropology, sociology,
neuro-sciences
• Development is contextual — shaped by what was inherited, physical environment,
social, historical, and cultural contexts

Part 2: Factors Influencing Development

Heredity
• Genetic codes inherited from parents are present in every cell of our body
• Human genetic code ensures a fertilised human egg grows into a human — not an
elephant or bird
• Genotype — the actual genetic material a person has inherited
• Phenotype — the way genotype is expressed in observable and measurable
characteristics (height, weight, intelligence, personality)
• Genes set the limit; environment works within that limit
◦ Example: A person with 'short' height genes cannot become taller than average
even with excellent nutrition

Environment
• Genes do not exist in isolation — development occurs within the context of the
environment
• Example: A child genetically predisposed to introversion, placed in a socially stimulating
environment, may become somewhat extroverted
• Parents shape the environment their children encounter — based partly on their own
genetic predisposition
◦ Example: Intelligent, book-loving parents provide books, leading to children who
become good readers
• Children also actively choose environments based on their own genotype
◦ Example: A musically gifted child seeks musical environments; an athlete seeks
sports environments

Part 3: Context of Development

• Development does not happen in a vacuum — it is always embedded in a socio-cultural
context.
Bronfenbrenner's Contextual Model
• Microsystem — the immediate environment: family, peers, teachers, neighbourhood
(direct interaction)
• Mesosystem — relations between contexts: e.g. how parents relate to teachers, how
parents view friends
• Exosystem — settings where the child does not directly participate but which affect their
life
◦ Example: A parent's workplace transfer causes family tension, which affects the
child
• Macrosystem — the culture in which the individual lives: attitudes, ideologies, beliefs,
traditions
• Chronosystem — life events and socio-historical circumstances: e.g. parents' divorce,
economic setback

Durganand Sinha's Ecological Model (Indian Context)

• Ecology of the child viewed in two concentric layers:
• Upper/Visible Layer — home, school, peer groups
◦ Home conditions: overcrowding, toys, technology
◦ Nature and quality of schooling
◦ Peer group interactions
• Surrounding Layer — broader ecological factors (not always visible)
◦ General geographical environment: space for play, congestion
◦ Institutional setting: caste, class
◦ General amenities: drinking water, electricity, entertainment
• Both layers interact constantly and have different consequences for different people

Part 4: Overview of Developmental Stages

• Development is described in terms of stages, each with a dominant feature giving it
uniqueness.
• Individuals vary in the rate/time of development but generally follow the same order.
• Accomplishments expected at each stage are called developmental tasks.

A. Prenatal Stage
• Period from conception to birth — typically about 40 weeks.
• Genetic blueprint guides development throughout this period.
• Maternal characteristics that affect prenatal development: mother's age, nutrition,
emotional state.
• Diseases carried by mother: rubella, genital herpes, HIV — can cause genetic problems
in newborn.
• Teratogens — environmental agents causing deviations in normal development; can
lead to serious abnormalities or death
◦ Common teratogens: drugs (marijuana, heroin, cocaine), alcohol, tobacco, X-rays,
certain chemicals, carbon monoxide, mercury, lead
B. Infancy
• Brain develops at an amazing rate before and after birth.
• The newborn is not as helpless as assumed — it breathes, sucks, swallows, discharges
waste.
• In the first week: can locate sound direction, distinguish mother's voice, imitate simple
gestures like tongue protrusion.

Motor Development
• Newborn movements governed by reflexes — automatic, built-in responses; genetically-
carried survival mechanisms.

Reflex Description Disappears When

Rooting Turns head and opens mouth when cheek is 3 to 6 months
touched
Moro Throws arms outward then brings them in at 6 to 7 months
loud noise
Grasp Fingers close around object pressed into 3 to 4 months (replaced by
palm voluntary grasping)
Babinski Toes fan out when bottom of foot is stroked 8 to 12 months

• As brain develops, physical (motor) skills develop: grasping, reaching, sitting, crawling,
walking, running.
• Sequence of motor development is universal with minor exceptions.

Sensory Abilities
• Vision: newborn vision is lower than adult; improves to adult level (20/20) by about 1
year; full colour vision by 3 months.
• Hearing: infants can hear immediately after birth; localising sound improves with
development.
• Touch, pain, smell, and taste capacities are all present at birth.

Cognitive Development — Piaget's Stages

• Jean Piaget: children actively construct their understanding of the world through stages
of thought.
• Each stage is characterised by a distinct way of thinking, not just more information.

Stage Age Key Characteristics

Sensorimotor 0-2 years Explores world through senses and actions; develops
object permanence gradually
Preoperational 2-7 years Symbolic thought develops; egocentrism; animism;
 centration; lacks reversibility
Concrete Operational 7-11 years Logical reasoning about concrete events;
reversibility; conservation; reduced egocentrism
Formal Operational 11-15 years Abstract thinking; hypothetical-deductive reasoning;
idealistic thought

• Object permanence — awareness that objects continue to exist even when not
perceived
◦ Absent in newborns; develops gradually by 8 months
• Language: vocalisation begins with babbling between 3 to 6 months.

Socio-emotional Development in Infancy

• Babies are social creatures from birth — prefer familiar faces, respond to parents by
cooing and gurgling.
• Attachment — the close emotional bond of affection between infants and caregivers
◦ Harlow and Harlow (1962): Baby monkeys preferred cloth surrogate mother over
wire mother even when wire mother fed them
◦ Conclusion: Contact-comfort, not feeding, is crucial for attachment
• Erik Erikson: First year of life = stage of trust vs mistrust
◦ Responsive, sensitive parenting builds a sense of trust
◦ Insensitive parenting creates feelings of self-doubt
• Securely attached infants explore freely and respond positively; insecurely attached
infants are anxious when separated.

C. Childhood
• Growth slows compared to infancy; child gains height, weight, walks, runs, jumps, plays.
• Social world expands from parents to family, school, and peers.
• Child develops sense of morality — concepts of good and bad.

Physical Development in Childhood

• Two principles of early physical development:
◦ Cephalocaudal trend — development from head (cephalic) downward to tail
(caudal); upper body control before lower body
◦ Proximodistal trend — development from centre outward to extremities; torso
control before limbs
• Brain and head grow most rapidly; aids eye-hand coordination, writing, drawing.
• During middle/late childhood: significant increase in size and strength (skeletal and
muscular systems).

Motor Development in Childhood

• Gross motor skills: use of arms and legs; movement with confidence.
• Fine motor skills: finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination improve substantially.
• Hand preference (left or right) develops during early childhood.
Age Gross Motor Skills Fine Motor Skills
3 years Hopping, jumping, running Build blocks, pick objects with
forefinger and thumb
4 years Climb stairs with one foot on each Fit jigsaw puzzle precisely
step
5 years Run hard, enjoy races Hand, arm, and body coordinate with
eye movement

Cognitive Development in Childhood

• Preoperational stage (2-7 years):
◦ Egocentrism — see world only from own perspective; cannot appreciate others'
point of view
◦ Animism — attribute life-like qualities to inanimate objects (e.g., 'road hurt me')
◦ Intuitive thought (4-7 years) — children ask 'why' questions about everything
◦ Centration — focus on single characteristic only (e.g., child insists on 'big glass' not
recognising same volume)
• Concrete Operational stage (7-11 years):
◦ Logical thought replaces intuitive thought
◦ Reversibility — can mentally undo actions
◦ Conservation — understands that quantity stays the same despite change in
appearance (e.g., clay ball vs flat strip)
◦ Egocentrism declines; flexible thinking develops
◦ Still cannot do abstract thinking — cannot manipulate ideas without objects

Socio-emotional Development in Childhood

• Self: Early childhood self-understanding is based on physical characteristics (tall, short,
girl, boy).
◦ Middle/late childhood: self defined through internal psychological characteristics
and social comparison
◦ Erikson: Parental response to self-initiated activities leads to sense of initiative or
sense of guilt
• Gender Development (Box 3.2):
◦ Sex = biological dimension; Gender = social dimension of being male or female
◦ Gender identity: most children accurately label themselves as boy or girl by age 3
◦ Gender roles: set of expectations prescribing how males and females should think,
act and feel
◦ Parents, peers, and media all influence gender socialisation
◦ Gender typing — individuals organise information according to what is considered
appropriate for their gender
• Moral Development (Kohlberg):
◦ Before 9 years: child thinks in terms of external authority — wrong = punished; right
= rewarded
◦ Early adolescence: develops moral reasoning through internalised rules of parents
and society
 ◦ Gradually: develops personal moral code; moral thinking becomes more flexible

D. Challenges of Adolescence
• Adolescence = transitional period between childhood and adulthood; begins at onset of
puberty.
• Period of rapid biological and psychological change.
• Physical changes are universal; social and psychological experiences depend on
cultural context.

Physical Development in Adolescence

• Puberty marks end of childhood and beginning of adolescence.
• Primary sex characteristics — directly related to reproduction
• Secondary sex characteristics — signs of achieving sexual maturity (facial hair in
boys, breast development in girls)
• Menarche — onset of menstruation; growth spurt begins at 10-11 for girls and 12-13 for
boys
• Pubertal timing influenced by both genetics and environment (nutrition, socioeconomic
status)
• Adolescents often lack knowledge or have misconceptions about sex and sexuality.
• Development of sexual identity defines sexual orientation — important developmental
task.

Cognitive Development in Adolescence

• Formal Operational Stage (11-15 years) — Piaget:
◦ Thinking expands beyond concrete; more abstract, logical, idealistic
◦ Hypothetical-deductive reasoning — think of possible courses of action
systematically
◦ Can examine their own thoughts and what others think about them
• Adolescent thought is also idealistic — compare real people to ideal standards.
• Moral reasoning shows flexibility — social rules not seen as absolute; personal moral
code develops.
• Adolescent Egocentrism (David Elkind):
◦ Imaginary audience — belief that everyone is watching and noticing them; leads to
extreme self-consciousness
◦ Personal fable — sense of uniqueness; feeling that no one understands their
feelings; may weave fantasy around themselves

Forming an Identity (Erikson)

• Primary task of adolescence = establishing identity separate from parents.
• Identity = who you are, your values, commitments and beliefs.
• Identity confusion — inability to cope with conflicting identities; may lead to isolation or
losing identity in a crowd.
• Adolescents fluctuate between self-confidence and insecurity; between seeking
independence and depending on parents.
• Factors influencing identity formation:
 ◦ Cultural background, family and societal values, ethnic background, socioeconomic
status
◦ Peer relationships — peers become more important than family during adolescence
◦ Vocational commitment — ability to set realistic and achievable career goals

Major Challenges of Adolescence

• Delinquency — behaviours ranging from truancy and running away to stealing and
vandalism
◦ Associated with negative self-identity, low parental support, inappropriate discipline,
poverty
◦ Most delinquent children do not remain delinquent forever — change in peer group
and self-worth helps
• Substance Abuse — especially vulnerable to smoking, alcohol and drug abuse
◦ Reasons: peer pressure, desire to act adult, escape from school/social pressures
◦ More vulnerable adolescents are impulsive, aggressive, anxious, have low self-
esteem
◦ India example: Society for Theatre in Education Programme (New Delhi) uses
street performances to educate 13-25 year olds on saying no to drugs
• Eating Disorders:
◦ Anorexia nervosa — relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation; media
promotes thinness as desirable
◦ Bulimia — binge-and-purge eating pattern; self-induced vomiting or laxatives
◦ Both are primarily female disorders, more common in urban families

E. Adulthood
• An adult is generally responsible, mature, self-supporting, and well integrated into
society.
• The timing of assuming adult roles varies by individual and social context.
• Early adulthood: two major tasks — exploring possibilities for adult living and developing
a stable life structure.
• The twenties = novice phase of adult development; transition from dependence to
independence.

Career and Work

• Earning a living, choosing an occupation, and developing a career are important themes
in the twenties and thirties.
• Entering work life involves adjustments: proving competence, dealing with competition,
managing expectations.
• Developing and evaluating a career becomes an important ongoing task of adulthood.

Marriage, Parenthood, and Family

• Marriage adjustments: learning partner's likes, dislikes, sharing roles and
responsibilities.
• Parenthood can be stressful even when accompanied by love for the baby.
 • Parenting experience affected by: number of children, availability of social support,
marital happiness.
• Single-parent families arise through divorce or death of spouse; dual-income families
face similar stressors.
• Despite stress, parenting provides unique opportunity for growth and guiding the next
generation.

Middle Age — Physical and Cognitive Changes

• Gradual physical deterioration: decline in vision, hearing loss, changes in appearance
(wrinkles, grey hair, weight gain).
• Cognitive abilities: some decline, some do not.
◦ Long-term memory declines more than short-term memory
◦ Example: A middle-aged person may remember a phone number immediately after
hearing it but not after a few days
◦ Wisdom may improve with age, even as speed declines

F. Old Age
• 'Old age' is not easy to define; traditionally linked to retirement age, which is now moving
upward.
• Challenges of old age: retirement, widowhood, illness, death in family.
• Image of old age is changing — many people past 70 are active, creative, and valued in
politics, literature, business, art, science.
• Experience of old age depends on: socioeconomic conditions, healthcare availability,
attitude of society, support systems.

Retirement
• Some view retirement negatively — as loss of identity and self-esteem.
• Others view it as a positive shift — more time for personal interests.
• Older adults who are open to new experiences and achievement-oriented are better
adjusted.

Family and Loneliness

• Older adults must adjust to new family roles — grandparenting.
• Children may set up independent homes, leaving elderly dependent on them for financial
support and companionship.
• Loneliness and hopelessness can arise; Indian culture traditionally favours children
caring for elderly parents.

Death and Bereavement

• Death can occur at any stage but is more likely in late adulthood.
• Deaths of children and younger adults are often perceived as more tragic.
• Death of a spouse = most difficult loss; survivors face grief, loneliness, depression,
health risks.
• Widows far outnumber widowers — women live longer and tend to marry older men.
 • Support from children, grandchildren, and friends helps cope with loss.
• Different cultures view death differently:
◦ Gond culture: death caused by magic and demon
◦ Tanala culture of Madagascar: natural forces cause death

Quick Revision Summary

Topic Key Point

Development Progressive, orderly, predictable changes from conception to
death; includes growth and decline
Growth Increase in size; measurable (height, weight)
Maturation Orderly changes dictated by genetic blueprint; cannot be
artificially accelerated
Life-Span Perspective Development is lifelong, multidirectional, plastic, contextual,
multidisciplinary
Genotype vs Phenotype Genotype = genetic material; Phenotype = observable
expression of genotype
Bronfenbrenner Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem,
Chronosystem
Prenatal Stage Conception to birth (~40 weeks); affected by teratogens,
maternal health
Infancy Reflexes, motor development, object permanence;
attachment to caregivers
Attachment Contact-comfort crucial (Harlow); secure vs insecure
attachment (Erikson)
Piaget's Stages Sensorimotor (0-2), Preoperational (2-7), Concrete
Operational (7-11), Formal Operational (11-15)
Preoperational Features Egocentrism, animism, centration, intuitive thought; lacks
reversibility
Concrete Operational Logical, reversibility, conservation; reduced egocentrism; no
abstract thinking
Gender Sex = biological; Gender = social dimension; gender roles
shaped by parents, peers, media
Kohlberg (Moral) External authority (before 9) -> internalised rules (early
adolescence) -> personal moral code
Adolescence Begins at puberty; rapid biological and psychological change
Adolescent Egocentrism Imaginary audience + Personal fable (Elkind)
Identity (Erikson) Primary task of adolescence; identity confusion if unresolved
Adolescent Challenges Delinquency, substance abuse, eating disorders (anorexia
nervosa, bulimia)
Adulthood Career, marriage, parenthood; memory declines, wisdom
may grow
Old Age Retirement, loneliness, grandparenting, bereavement;
wisdom and experience valued