Psychology of Human
Growth and
Development
Developmental Psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical,
cognitive and social changes throughout the life
span
Introduction: Your Life Story
Developmental Psychology – branch of
psychology that studies how people change
mentally, physically, and socially throughout the
lifespan
For every age and stage of life, developmental
psychologists investigate the influence of
multiple factors on development,
including biological, environmental, social, cultural,
and behavioral factors
Along with studying common patterns of
growth and change, developmental
psychologists look at ways in which people
differ in their development
Developmental psychologists often
Introduction: Your Life Story
Traditionally, the stages of the lifespan are
defined by age, which implies relatively
sudden, age-related changes as we move from
one stage to the next
Some aspects of development, such as prenatal
development and language development, are closely
tied to critical periods
Most of our physical, mental, and social
changes, however, occur gradually,
And the theme of gradually unfolding changes
throughout the ages and stages of life will become
more evident as we trace the typical course of
human development in this chapter
Another important theme is the interaction
between heredity and environment,
Domains/Areas of Devt
1. Physical Domain
Changes that occur within the sense organs,
muscles, bones, etc.
Age-related changes in physiological
functioning.
These changes may be increase or decrease;
quantitative or qualitative
Peak functioning in most physical capabilities
reaches a maximum by about 25 to 30 years
of age.
Thereafter, gradual decline in muscular
strength, flexibility, circulatory efficiency,
speed of response, sensory acuity etc
Implications of Changes in
Physical domain
It makes us prone to many kinds of
diseases
It also shapes the kind of job and
sports that we choose.
2. Cognitive Domain
Changes in internal, mental abilities
Our level of intelligence, IQ and
reasoning capabilities
Some of these abilities are enhanced
as we grow, depending on
experiences whilst others suffer
losses.
Example: Intelligence
Fluid intelligence: decreases
The cognitive-processing skills that
enable us to manipulate abstract
symbols or think.
Its innate, independent of experience
and represent pure intelligence.
Crystallized intelligence: increases
Our stored knowledge acquired through
life experiences, education or the
expertise of a mastered profession.
3. Psychosocial Domain
That is the way we feel and react to
social circumstances as well as our
interpersonal skills.
It involves Change in:
Personality
Emotions
Social Abilities and Connections
A vital point
Changes in Physical, Cognitive and
Psychosocial domains, qualitatively
and quantitatively take place
simultaneously throughout the life
span.
Fundamental Issues:
Nature vs. Nurture
What is role of heredity vs. environment
in determining psychological makeup?
Is IQ inherited or determined early
environment?
Is there a ‘criminal’ gene?
Is sexual orientation a choice or genetically
determined?
These are some of our greatest societal
debates
Mistake to pose as “either/or” questions
Nature versus Nurture
Nature - the influence of our
inherited characteristics on our
personality, physical growth,
intellectual growth, and social
interactions.
Nurture - the influence of the
environment on personality,
physical growth, intellectual
growth, and social interactions.
Behavioral genetics – focuses on
nature vs. nurture.
Nature Versus Nurture
Most developmental
psychologists agree
that human
development is a
product of an
interaction between
nature and nurture.
Research Designs used
in human development
studies
Cross-Sectional Design
Same Time
Compare Compare
1-year-olds 4-year-olds 7-year-olds
Same Time
Different Participants Different Participants Different Participants
Longitudinal Design
Compare Compare
Tested at 1 year Again at 4 years Again at 7 years
(Time 1) (Time 2) (Time 3)
Same Participants
Different TimesDifferent TimesDifferent Times
The Concept of Age
Controversy as to whether age causes
development.
The changing world we live in:
Example:
Who is an adult?
The 78 year old, unmarried and now in junior
high school
The 13 year old married mother of 2
The 35 year old jobless man who can not do
simple reasoning tasks that 12 year olds are
excellent at.
The 12 year old at the University
Who is an adult?
Which of the following persons would you consider to
be adults?
A 35-year-old male who is severely mentally retarded.
An 85-year-old victim of Alzheimer’s disease who has a
profound memory loss and requires complete nursing care.
A 40-year-old female who is socially withdrawn and has no
friends.
A 30-year-old male who is financially dependent on his parents.
A mentally gifted 10-year-old who has just been awarded a
degree in mathematics.
A 10-year-old female victim of progeria who looks like a little
old woman.
Premature aging: a rare condition of premature aging that begins in
childhood or early adult life and leads to death within a few month
The meaning of age
When you are asked the question “How
old are you?” what crosses your mind?
Is it the number of years since the day
of your birth?
Is it how old you feel at the time?
Is it defined more in terms of where
you are biologically, psychologically, or
socially than in terms of calendar time?
Age is not a simple construct
5 Variations/Meaning of Age
1. Chronological Age
2. Biological Age
3. Psychological Age
4. Functional Age
5. Social or Socio-cultural Age
1. Chronological Age
1. It is the number of years you lived since birth. What
we celebrate as birthdays!
Chronological age is not necessarily a predictor of an
individual's stages of development, as the rate at
which individual's progress through stages may not
be identical.
Problems in using chronological age include such
issues as school readiness and the evaluation of
premature infants.
As medical technology has advanced in the
treatment of premature infants, chronological age
has been challenged as an appropriate measure for
this group with gestational age or durational
pregnancy being proposed as a means of adjusting
2. Biological Age:
It is the relative condition of an individual’s
organs and body systems. It is actually an
index of our biological health. The younger
your biological age the longer years you
have ahead of you.
The biological age of an individual may
often be clinically different from the
characteristics of an individual’s
chronological age. Indeed whole organ or
organ systems in an individual might have
differing biological ages.
These age differences might be due to
3. Psychological Age
This is the functional level of the
psychological abilities people use to
adapt to changing environmental
demands.
Examples of these abilities are memory,
intelligence, feeling, self esteem,
reasoning etc.
4. Functional Age
It is a measure of a person’s abilities to
function effectively within a given
environment
It is self sufficiency in a given environment.
Chronologic age, by itself, is not a reliable
index of an individual's ability to perform in
all given situations or work.
Therefore, each individual should be judged
on the basis of his or her functional
capabilities as a bona fide occupational
qualification instead of chronological age.
5. Socio-cultural Age:
Defined as the specific set of roles
individuals adapt in relation to other
members of society or culture to which
they belong.
They are socially determined and are
based on many behaviours and habits.
It’s a measure of where society wants
you to be or be doing at a given point in
your life.
special
molecule that
DNA
contains the
genetic material
of the organism section of
DNA having
the
genesame
arrangemen
t of
chemical
science elements
genetics
of
inherited
traits
tightly wound
chromosome
strand of
genetic
material or
DNA
referring
to a gene that
recessive
only influences
the expression
of a trait when
paired with an
identical gene referring to
adominant
gene that
actively
controls the
expression of
a trait
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
Life is sexually transmitted
Fertilization and Twinning
Identical twins
Fraternal twins
Periods of Pregnancy
Germinal
The stage:
fetal stage:
Embryonic
Firsttime
2 weeksstage: fertilization, during
The fromafter
about 8 weeks
The period from 2moves
to 8 weeks after
after conception until thedown
which the zygote birthto the
fertilization,
uterus during
and begins towhich theinmajor
implant the lining.
of the baby
organs and structures of the organism
develop
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
Zygote
the fertilized egg
enters a 2 week period of rapid cell
division
develops into an embryo
Embryo
the developing human organism from 2
weeks through 2nd month
Fetus
the developing human organism from 9