COURSE OVERVIEW

Ms. Michelle Irish C. Nuguid, MBA

The Psychological Aspects of Human
Development
¨ The aspects are:
¨ 1. Physical Development

¨ 2. Mental Development

¨ 3. Emotional Development

¨ 4. Social Development.
1.Physical Development During
Infancy:
¨ Physical growth and development describe the
physical as well as psychomotor changes in an
individual. The physical development is very rapid
at this stage. At birth a baby is generally 18 to 20
inches long and seven pounds (3 kg) in weight.
 Early Childhood Stage:
¨ Early childhood stage covers from 2/3 years to 6/7
years. Rate of growth during this stage becomes
slow in comparison to infancy stage. At the age of
six years a child becomes 43 to 45 inches tall.
There is an average increase to 3 to 5 pounds of
weight annually.
¨ At six, the child weights 36 to 42 pounds. Boys
are found to be slightly taller than girls. Body
proportions change and head grows at a
slower rate. At six, it attains 90% of adult size.
¨ The child can draw pictures and can also point.
The child learns to hop, skip, jump, run, climb
and dance during this stage. He learns to do
various things and he is satisfied with this
achievements.
Later Childhood Stage:
¨ During later childhood period (6 years to 12 years
of age) physical growth is initially slow. Arms and
legs grow faster than the trunk and the child
appears tall and thin. He loses his milk teeth and
permanent teeth begin to appear.
¨ The child at 12 years is nearly 55 inches in height.
Boys are slightly taller than girls. Sex differences
begin to appear at this stage. Child continues to
grow in the strength, speed and coordination
needed for motor skills
¨ The child gains full control over the movement of his
limbs. Being active and participating in games helps
the child to develop a concept of himself. He gets
feedback regarding his desirability, worth and
status from other people.
Adolescence Stage:
¨ The period of transition from childhood to
adulthood is called adolescence. Adolescence is
very crucial stage of development. The period of
adolescence may vary from 12-13 years to 18-21
years.
¨ A.t. Jersild defines adolescence as “the span of
years during which the boys and girls move from
childhood to adulthood.” All types of changes like
biological, physical, social, intellectual, moral etc.
take place during the adolescence stage.
¨ At the early adolescent years, most children
experience the adolescent growth spurt, a rapid
increase in height and weight. Usually, this spurt
occurs in girls two years earlier than boys. The spurt
usually last about two years and during this time
girls gain 6 to 7 inches and boys 8 to 9 inches in
height. By the age of seventeen in girls and
eighteen in boys, the majority of them have
reached 98 percent of their final height.
¨ Sex differences become apparent during
this stage. Sex glands start secreting for
the first time and this is responsible for
the growth of boys into manhood and of
girls into womanhood. Primary and
secondary sex characteristics appear at
this stage. Pubic hair grows.
¨ The voice of boys becomes rough and
that of girls becomes sweet. Certain
bodily appearances make both boys and
girls bodily conscious. Sexual
development is the most remarkable
features of adolescence. The boys and
girls are attracted towards the opposite
sex.
¨ Due to hormonal changes there is an
increase in sexual drive. The early
adolescent involves himself in intense
friendship with the members of either
sex. A capacity for mature
heterosexual relationship and true
intimacy develops in late
adolescence.
Aspect # 2. Mental Development:

¨ Mental development includes such

abilities as attending, perceiving,
observing, remembering, imagining,
thinking, solving problems and growth of
intelligence as well as of language. These
abilities grow and mature with age or in
different stage.
Infancy:

¨ The child at infancy stage reacts to external

stimuli like light, sound and temperature.
¨ In this age the child can imitate, discriminate
and recognize to some extent. The child is
mostly engaged in manipulation of objects. A
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget called this
stage as sensory-motor period which covers
first 18 months of life.
¨ In this period the infant seeks physical
satisfaction based upon immediate
sensory experience.
¨ At the age of one year he has a
vocabulary of two or more words and he
can respond to simple questions or
requests. He gradually acquires the sense
of form, shape, size and colour.
¨ He recognizes known and unknown
persons. He fails to understand the
difference between fact and fiction.
He usually puts many embarrassing
questions to the parents which shows
his inquisitiveness.
Early Childhood:

¨ At this stage child’s contact with environment

increases and he begins to explore things. He often
asks ‘why’ of everything. The child develops general
intelligence, perception, memory, learning, problem
solving and language.
¨ Jean Piaget named this stage as the stage of pre-
operational stage which covers 1 ½ years to 6
years of age.
¨ In this stage the child begins to develop language
and is able to talk and form simple concepts. But he
has very little understanding of operations;
particularly it is difficult for him to understand
reversibility of operations.
¨ For example, if water contained in a tall narrow
glass is poured into a small broad glass, the child
will judge that there was more water in the narrow
glass than when it is poured in the broad glass.
¨ This stage is also marked by ego-
centricism. There is natural shift from the
sensorimotor stage to logical and social
egocentricity. He fails to understand
another’s point of view. His attitude is, “I
am I and you are you, and how can you
be I and I be you?”
¨ Animism is another characteristics of
this stage which the child regards
everything to be alive unless it is
broken or damaged. Children up to
six years of age regard everything
that moves to be alive.
Later Childhood:

¨ Mental development is rapid at this

stage. Child becomes more and more
inquisitive which indicates his thinking
capacity. Thinking and imagination takes
active form in this stage.
¨ The child at this stage develops better
concepts of length, distance, time, area
and volume.
¨ The abilities of understanding, reasoning,
memory, attention and discrimination
develop to a great extent. The child
acquires a rich store of vocabulary.
Child’s speech becomes increasingly
socialized and communicative. At this
stage the child is interested in performing
creative and productive work.
Adolescence:

¨ At this stage of adolescent attains

intellectual maturity. The intellectual
maturation is the result of interaction
between maturation, experience,
education and training. He also develops
ability to take decisions.
Aspect # 3.
Emotional Development:
¨ The term emotion is derived from Latin
term ’emovere’ which means to stir, to
agitate to move. Hence, an emotion is
referred to as a stirred up state of
agitation. We feel agitated or excited
when we experience anger, fear, joy,
grief, disgust, etc.
¨An emotional state consists of feelings,
impulses, physical and physiological reactions.
¨ According to wood-worth, Emotion “is a

moved or stirred up state of an organism. It is

disturbed muscular and glandular activity”.
We find different emotional development at
various stages of human life.
Infancy Stage:

¨ Infants immediately after birth do to

display any distinct emotions. His
emotional reactions are diffuse and
gross. He cannot show specific
reactions like anger, fear and love.
By the age two differentiations of
emotions are marked.
¨ According to Watson emotions of fear,
anger and love can be identified even in
very young infants.
¨ After the baby is a few weeks old, he
starts smiling and gurgling to give
expression to his feeling of pleasure and
contentment.
Early Childhood Stage:

¨ As the child grows, his emotional expressions are

refined, become more definite and grow in intensity.
Now his loves, fears and dislikes becomes more
intense. Curiosity ad inquisitiveness develops at this
stage. The child feels satisfied when his questions
are answered. With growth and maturity in age
comes decline in overt expression of emotional
reactions.
Later Childhood Stage:

¨ At this stage, the emotional behaviour of the

child is guided by rational expressions. He
experiences intense emotional feelings of love,
hate and fear which lasts for a long period of
time. But he is able to have control over his
emotions. Emotions at wonder dominate the
child at this stage. If anything goes against his
interest he shows anger.
¨ At the age of 10, he becomes obedient and
friendly. Fear is less common in older children.
Older children when become angry, do not
kick things. Instead, they express their anger in
the form of sarcasm, sneers, abuses, and
belittling remarks.
¨ Anger is expressed in refusal to. At this stage,
the children like to be with the persons whom
they love. Joy, pleasure, love, curiosity, grief
and affection appear in this stage.
Adolescence Stage:

¨ Adolescence period is marked by heightened

emotionality due to change of roles in home,
school and society. It is due to the unfavorable
relations in home. Parents and teachers in most
cases are responsible for heightened
emotionality in adolescents because they do
not prepare their children to meet the
problems of adolescence.
¨ When the child becomes an adolescent, society and
parents expect him to think and act like an adult for
which he is not physically and intellectually matured.
¨ In adolescence there is attraction towards the
member of opposite sex but the adolescent is not
able to understand the correct social behaviour, how
to make friendship with the members of opposite
sex, which create emotional tensions in him.
¨ Adolescents come in conflict with their
friends and family members who fail to
understand them. School failures cause
emotional disturbance among the
adolescents. Vocational problems also
create emotional disturbances.
Major Aspect # 4.
Social Development:
¨ At birth, the child is neither social nor unsocial.
When the child grows up, he develops some
social behaviour which makes him an
acceptable social being. Social development
can be defined by Hurlock as social
development is the “attaining of maturity in
social relationships”.
¨ Garret regards social development as the process
whereby “the biological individual is converted into
a human person.” Social development is closely
associated with mental, physical and emotional
aspects of development.
¨ An individual’s social and emotional behaviour is so
closely interlinked that feelings of jealousy, shyness,
affection and sympathy which are primarily
regarded as emotional responses can also be
treated as social forms of behaviour.
Infancy Stage:

¨ During the first few months the child

begins to make active .social contacts with
the persons in his social environment such
as mother, father, grandmother, elders
who care for him. He becomes aware of
the individuals, who stimulate in him the
feeling of satisfaction.
¨ The child soon learns to differentiate
between his mother and other
persons. Social responses that starts
early in life are those of smiling and
laughing. During the second half of
the first year the child shows negative
response to strangers.
¨ After the eighteen months the infant
reacts to other infants in the environment
and after that he becomes more and
more interested in his playmates. By the
age of two years, he can obey certain
commands given to him and call attention
of other persons to objects be feels
interested in.
Early Childhood Stage:

¨ In this period the child usually has one or two

friends with whom he identifies and plays for
short intervals. The young child selects his
playmates of his own age from his immediate
neighbourhood. He selects friends who provide
him friendly companionship ship. The child at
this stage often quarrels and fights.
¨ The child shows his sympathy by helping others in
difficulty. He needs recognition and praise. He
needs approval of adults. Feeling of being ignored
makes him naughty in the hope of getting attention
that he craves for.
Later Childhood Stage:

¨ At this stage the child enters, the school and

wants to have many friends. He is interested
the play activities that involve the group. He
desires to be in the group of friends of his own
age and sex. The peer approval at this stage
is linked with the strong desire for friendship
and leads to cooperative behaviour.
¨ One important development that takes
place is the increasing interest and ability
in organized activities and in team work.
They form clubs or gangs for games,
sports and other social activities.
Adolescence Stage:

¨ The adolescents have a strong loyalty and devotion to

their groups. They are deeply influenced by peer
groups and their decisions. At this stage, the adolescent
acquires many habits, attitudes, ideals and social skills.
¨ During early adolescent period the close-friend is
usually a member of the same sex. At the later
adolescent period, one usually tries to seek friendship
with a member of the opposite sex. However, this is not
generally permitted in some cultures, and so same sex
friendships are more common.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive
Development
¨ maintains that children go through
specific stages as their intellect
and ability to see relationships
matures.
The following chart delineates the development of infants in
sequential order. The ages shown are averages and it is normal
for these to vary by a month or two in either direction.
3 months – can roll over
4 months – can sit propped up without falling over
6 months – is able to sit up without support
7 months – begins to stand while holding on to things for support
9 months – can begin to walk, still using support
10 months – is able to momentarily stand on her own without support
11 months – can stand alone with more confidence
12 months – begin walking alone without support
14 months – can walk backward without support
17 months – can walk up steps with little or no support
18 months – able to manipulate objects with feet while walking, such as kicking a
ball
Sensorimotor Stage.
¨ This stage occurs between the ages of birth and two
years of age, as infants begin to understand the
information entering their sense and their ability to
interact with the world.
¨ During this stage, the child learns to manipulate
objects although they fail to understand the
permanency of these objects if they are not within
their current sensory perception.
¨ In other words, once an object is removed from the
child’s view, he or she is unable to understand that
the object still exists.
¨ The major achievement during this stage is that
of Object Permanency, or the ability to
understand that these objects do in fact
continue to exist.
¨ This includes his ability to understand that when
mom leaves the room, she will eventually
return, resulting in an increased sense of safety
and security.
Preoperational Stage.
¨ The second stage begins after Object Permanency
is achieved and occurs between the ages of two to
seven years of age.
¨ This stage is marked by Egocentrism, or the child’s
belief that everyone sees the world the same way
that she does.
¨ A second important factor in this stage is that of
Conservation, which is the ability to understand that
quantity does not change if the shape changes. In
other words, if a short and wide glass of water is
poured into a tall and thin glass. Children in this
stage will perceive the taller glass as having more
water due only because of it’s height.
Concrete Operations Stage.
¨ Occurring between ages 7 and about 12, the third
stage of cognitive development is marked by a
gradual decrease in centristic thought and the
increased ability to focus on more than one aspect
of a stimulus.
¨ They can understand the concept of grouping,
knowing that a small dog and a large dog are still
both dogs, or that pennies, quarters, and dollar bills
are part of the bigger concept of money.
Formal Operations Stage.
¨ the final stage of cognitive development (from age
12 and beyond), children begin to develop a more
abstract view of the world.
¨ They also develop an increased understanding of
the world and the idea of cause and effect. By the
teenage years, they are able to develop their own
theories about the world.
Bloopers in Stages of Human Development

¨ Birth to 2 years – “pa-cutean kuno”

¨ 3 to 8 yrs old – paramihan ng toys
¨ 9 – 18 yrs old – pataasan ng grades
¨ 19 – 25 yrs old – padamihan ng syota
¨ 26 – 35 yrs old – pagandahan ng asawa
¨ 36 – 45 yrs old – palakihan ng income
¨ 46 – 55 yrs old – padamihan ng kabit
¨ 56 – 70 yrs old – padamihan ng sakit
¨ 70 and above – pabonggahan ng libing
Sigmund Freud
¨ Sigmund Freud was a Viennese physician who
developed his psychosexual theory of
development through his work with emotionally
troubled adults. Now considered controversial and
largely outdated, his theory is based on the idea
that parents play a crucial role in managing their
children’s sexual and aggressive drives during the
first few years of life in order to foster their proper
development.
Psychosexual Stages of Development

¨ According to Freud, children’s pleasure-seeking

urges (governed by the id) are focused on a
different area of the body, called an
erogenous zone, at each of the five stages of
development: oral, anal, phallic,
latency, and genital.
Oral (0-1 years of age):
¨ During this stage, the mouth is the pleasure center
for development. Freud believed this is why infants
are born with a sucking reflex and desire their
mother’s breast. If a child’s oral needs are not met
during infancy, he or she may develop negative
habits such as nail biting or thumb sucking to meet
this basic need.
Anal (1-3 years of age):
¨ During this stage, toddlers and preschool-aged
children begin to experiment with urine and feces.
The control they learn to exert over their bodily
functions is manifested in toilet-training. Improper
resolution of this stage, such as parents toilet
training their children too early, can result in a child
who is uptight and overly obsessed with order.
Phallic (3-6 years of age):
¨ During this stage, preschoolers take pleasure in their
genitals and, according to Freud, begin to struggle with
sexual desires toward the opposite sex parent (boys to
mothers and girls to fathers).
¨ For boys, this is called the Oedipus complex, involving a
boy’s desire for his mother and his urge to replace his
father who is seen as a rival for the mother’s attention.
¨ The Electra complex, later proposed by Freud’s
protégé Carl Jung, involves a girl’s desire for her
father’s attention and wish to take her mother’s place.
Latency (6-12 years of age):
¨ During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and
children begin to further develop the superego, or
conscience. Children begin to behave in morally
acceptable ways and adopt the values of their
parents and other important adults.
Genital (12+ years of age):

¨ During this stage, sexual impulses

reemerge. If other stages have been
successfully met, adolescents engage in
appropriate sexual behavior, which may
lead to marriage and childbirth.
Freud’s Structural Model

¨ Freud believed that the human

personality consisted of three
interworking parts: the id, the ego, and
the superego. According to his theory,
these parts become unified as a child
works through the five stages of
psychosexual development.
¨ The id, the largest part of the mind, is related to
desires and impulses and is the main source of basic
biological needs.
¨ The id operates on the pleasure principle (Freud,
1920) which is the idea that every wishful impulse
should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the
consequences.
¨ When the id achieves its demands, we experience
pleasure when it is denied we experience
‘unpleasure’ or tension.
¨ The ego is related to reasoning and is the conscious,
rational part of the personality; it monitors
behavior in order to satisfy basic desires without
suffering negative consequences.

¨ The ego considers social realities and norms,

etiquette and rules in deciding how to behave.
¨ The superego, or conscience, develops through
interactions with others (mainly parents) who want
the child to conform to the norms of society.
¨ The superego restricts the desires of the id by
applying morals and values from society. Freud
believed that a struggle existed between these
levels of consciousness, influencing personality
development and psychopathology.
¨ The superego consists of two systems: The conscience
and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the
ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example,
if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the
superego may make the person feel bad through
guilt.
¨ The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture
of how you ought to be, and represents career
aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to
behave as a member of society
Erik Erikson
¨ Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
was a stage theorist who
took Freud’s controversial
theory of psychosexual
development and modified
it as a psychosocial theory.
Erikson emphasized that
the ego makes positive
contributions to
development by mastering
attitudes, ideas, and skills
at each stage of
development.
Trust vs. Mistrust

¨ From birth to 12 months of age, infants must learn

that adults can be trusted. This occurs when adults
meet a child’s basic needs for survival. Infants are
dependent upon their caregivers, so caregivers who
are responsive and sensitive to their infant’s needs
help their baby to develop a sense of trust; their
baby will see the world as a safe, predictable
place.
Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

¨ As toddlers (ages 1–3 years) begin to explore their

world, they learn that they can control their actions and
act on their environment to get results. This is the “me do
it” stage.
¨ For example, we might observe a budding sense of
autonomy in a 2-year-old child who wants to choose her
clothes and dress herself. Although her outfits might not
be appropriate for the situation, her input in such basic
decisions has an effect on her sense of independence. If
denied the opportunity to act on her environment, she
may begin to doubt her abilities, which could lead to
low self-esteem and feelings of shame.
¨ Another example, during this stage children begin
to assert their independence, by walking away from
their mother, picking which toy to play with, and
making choices about what they like to wear, to eat,
etc.
Initiative vs. Guilt

¨ Once children reach the preschool stage (ages 3–6

years), they are capable of initiating activities and
asserting control over their world through social
interactions and play
¨ Initiative, a sense of ambition and responsibility, occurs
when parents allow a child to explore within limits and
then support the child’s choice. These children will
develop self-confidence and feel a sense of purpose.
¨ Those who are unsuccessful at this stage—with their
initiative misfiring or stifled by over-controlling
parents—may develop feelings of guilt.
Industry vs. Inferiority

¨ During the elementary school stage (ages 6–12)

¨ Children begin to compare themselves with their
peers to see how they measure up. They either
develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in
their schoolwork, sports, social activities, and family
life, or they feel inferior and inadequate because
they feel that they don’t measure up.
¨ If children do not learn to get along with others or
have negative experiences at home or with peers,
an inferiority complex might develop into
adolescence and adulthood.
Identity vs. Role Confusion

¨ In adolescence (ages 12–18)

¨ Adolescents struggle with questions such as “Who am
I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?” Along the
way, most adolescents try on many different selves to
see which ones fit; they explore various roles and ideas,
set goals, and attempt to discover their “adult” selves.
¨ Adolescents who are successful at this stage have a
strong sense of identity and are able to remain true to
their beliefs and values in the face of problems and
other people’s perspectives.
¨ When adolescents are apathetic, do not make a
conscious search for identity, or are pressured to
conform to their parents’ ideas for the future, they
may develop a weak sense of self and experience
role confusion. They will be unsure of their identity
and confused about the future. Teenagers who
struggle to adopt a positive role will likely struggle
to “find” themselves as adults.
Intimacy vs. Isolation

¨ People in early adulthood (20s through early 40s).After

we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we
are ready to share our life with others. However, if
other stages have not been successfully resolved, young
adults may have trouble developing and maintaining
successful relationships with others. Erikson said that we
must have a strong sense of self before we can develop
successful intimate relationships. Adults who do not
develop a positive self-concept in adolescence may
experience feelings of loneliness and emotional
isolation.
Generativity vs. Stagnation

¨ When people reach their 40s, they enter the time

known as middle adulthood, which extends to the
mid-60s. Generativity involves finding your life’s
work and contributing to the development of others
through activities such as volunteering, mentoring,
and raising children. During this stage, middle-aged
adults begin contributing to the next generation,
often through childbirth and caring for others; they
also engage in meaningful and productive work
which contributes positively to society.
¨ Those who do not master this task may experience
stagnation and feel as though they are not leaving
a mark on the world in a meaningful way; they may
have little connection with others and little interest in
productivity and self-improvement.
Integrity vs. Despair

¨ From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the

period of development known as late adulthood.
¨ He said that people in late adulthood reflect on their
lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense
of failure. People who feel proud of their
accomplishments feel a sense of integrity, and they can
look back on their lives with few regrets.
¨ However, people who are not successful at this stage
may feel as if their life has been wasted. They focus on
what “would have,” “should have,” and “could have”
been. They face the end of their lives with feelings of
bitterness, depression, and despair.