HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
Development
the progressive series of changes of an orderly,
coherent type toward the goal of maturity
refers to systematic continuities and changes in
the individual that occur between conception and
death (Shaffer)
systematic changes - imply orderly, patterned,
and relatively enduring
continuities - remain the same or continue to
reflect our past
Aspects of Development
Anatomic
pertaining to the structure of the body
Physiologic
pertaining to physiology, particularly normal
functions as opposed to the pathologic
Behavioral
pertaining to the behavior (actions observed
directly and mental activity inferred and
interpreted)
Perceptual
changes witnessed in the seeing and
hearing abilities of growing infants
Cognitive or Intellectual
changes in mental abilities, learning
capacity, memory reasoning, thought
processes, and language
Personality and Social
changes in self-concept, gender identity, and
one’s quality of interpersonal relationship
Forms of Development
Quantitative / Growth
change in the number or amount of something
height, weight, chronological order
Qualitative / Development
change in kind of structure or organization
which is marked by emergence of new
phenomenon that could not have been
predicted from earlier functioning
intelligence, cognitive process, speech,
change in attitude
Types of Changes in Development
1. Changes in size
physical and mental growth
2. Changes in proportion
physical and mental development
ex: changes in interests
self others members of the
opposite sex
3. Disappearance of old features
thymus gland (produce T cells to fight infection)
Babinski reflex (dorsi flexion of big toe
and fanning of the other toes
Darwinian reflex
locomotion like creeping and crawling
4. Acquisition of new features
secondary sex characteristics
new mental traits
religious beliefs
different forms of language
neurotic tendencies
Causes of Development
1. Maturation
unfolding of hereditary endowment
human maturational program calls for us:
to walk and to utter our first meaningful
words at about 1 year of age
reach sexual maturity at 11 to 15 years of age
age and die on similar schedules
maturation is responsible for psychological
changes such as increasing ability to
concentrate, solve problems, and understand
another person’s thoughts or feelings
our common “species heredity” guides us
through many of the developmental changes
at about the same point in our lives
2. Learning
process through which our experiences
produce relatively permanent changes in
our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
we change in response to our environment,
particularly in response to the actions and
reactions of the people around us
Most developmental changes are the
product of both maturation and learning.
Implications of the Rate of
Development
1. Variations in development are possible.
2. Maturation sets the limit for learning.
3. Maturation affects learning.
4. Negativistic resistant behavior occurs due to
premature forcing to learn.
5. Developmental readiness indicates preparedness.
It is manifested by:
interest in learning
interest sustained over time
progress made with practice
Characteristics of Development
1. Development follows a pattern.
cephalo-caudal
development proceeds from the head to the tail
proximo-distal
development proceeds from center to the
extremities
2. Development proceeds from
general to specific.
generally babbling sounds words
see large objects see smaller objects
gross motor skills pincer grasp
3. Development is continuous.
from the time of conception to maturity
4. Individual differences in the rate of
development remain constant.
those with rapid development will
continue to develop rapidly and those
with slow development will continue to
develop slowly
5. Different rates of development for
different parts of the body.
mature brain size at 6 to 8 years
gains much in organization after
feet, hands, the nose
max development early adolescent stage
[Link] are correlated in development.
intelligence is associated with size, sociability,
and aptitudes
7. Development is predictable.
possible to predict early the range within
which the mature development of the child
is likely to fall
[Link] traits for each
developmental stage.
in each stage, there are certain traits that
develop more rapidly and more conspicuous
[Link] forms of “problem behavior”
are normal in the age in which they
occur.
due to lack of understanding of the
behavior at each stage
[Link] individual normally passes
through each major stage of
development.