Course Outline: NUR 311

Human Growth & Development

1. Introduction
 The Meaning & Scope of Human Dev’t.
 Phases of Development
2. Major Issues in Development
 Nature versus Nurture
 Maturation versus Learning
 Early versus Later Experience
 Critical periods
3. Prenatal Development
 The Germinal Period
 The Embryonic Period
 The Fetal Period
4. Physical Development
 Physical dev’t : infancy, childhood, adolescen
 Impact of Physical dev’t on personality
 Physical dev’t & sexual development
 Nutrition and development
5. Personality development
 Overview of theories of personality dev’t
 Psychosexual development
 Psychosocial development
6. Cognitive Development
 Piaget’s theory of cognitive dev’t
 Stages of cognitive dev’t
 Implications for education
7. Moral Development
 The concept of morality
 Psychoanalytic theory
 Social learning theory
References:
1. Developmental psychology today, CRM Books, Del Mar, California.
2. Lifespan Human Development, Ambron & Brodzinsky
3. Linda L. Davidoff, Introduction to Psychology, 3rd edition.
 What is
Growth & Development?
The Meaning & Scope of Human Dev’t
The change in 9 months from two independent cells,
the ovum and the sperm into this complex creature is
astonishing, but not more astonishing than the dev’t
that will occur during subsequent months and years. In
a week he will be feeding well; in a year he will be
walking; in 10 years he will be a member of a gang; and
after 6 or 7 decades he will cease to function as an
integrated, vital human being. After 7 or 8 decades, he
will be dead. The details will differ, but in general this is
the story of all men that constitutes developmental
psychology.
 The Meaning of Development?
Dev’t implies orderly change. The human being is
capable of, and demonstrates changes throughout
his life. Generally, the rate of change is more rapid
during early than later years of life, both because
changes in the body are less rapid the older one
gets and because with increasing age people tend
to establish more stable routines of living. For all
types of behaviour there are periods of rapid dev’t
followed by periods of relative stability
 The Concept of Development
Developmental psychology is concerned with the
description and explanation of progressive
changes in behaviour and abilities that are a
result of maturation and experience. It covers the
investigation of the growth of physical structure
and mental functioning from any point after
conception to any time before death. It also make
attempts to separate the effects of biological
maturation and of experience on human
development.
 Phases of Development
There are many ways in which the life cycle can
be divided. One of the most obvious is by
chronological age, there are disadvantages,
however, in using age for this purpose. Phases
are chronological divisions of the human life
cycle which is much broader than that implied by
age. For our purpose it will be sufficient to
consider 7 phases: prenatal, infancy, childhood,
adolescence, youth, maturity, and old age.
 Prenatal Phase
Why should psychologists be concerned with the
organism before birth? Perhaps they are interested
in behaviour, and less than ten weeks after
conception the new organism begins to
demonstrate gross adaptive forms of behaviour.
Brush the mid-facial area of the young fetus, and it
will rotate its head and upper trunk away from the
source of stimulation. This seems to be the fetus’
first response, but as it develops , it displays much
more complex and varied forms of behaviour.
 Infancy
This phase is perhaps best defined to begin at birth
and to end when the child is able to exist
independently of his mother, i.e. capable of feeding
himself, of walking, and of talking. Infancy is not only
of interest to parents, psychologists, and
paediatricians but also to members of other disciplines
like linguistics and anthropology. Is the infants mind a
tabula rasa, a blank slate that is filled only through
experience, or are there innate means by which the
child perceives the world and organizes his
experiences?
 Childhood
The beginning of childhood marks the end of infancy
where control of children by parents begin to decrease.
Physically independent, more or less self sufficient, the
child resist the efforts of adults to determine what he
will wear, what he will eat, with whom he will play, and
when he will go to bed. The child enters school; he no
longer exist in the here-and-now and his behaviour
becomes increasingly complex, and his thinking more
and more abstract. The child’s appearance begins to
change, and long dormant hormones become active and
childhood gradually ends.
 Adolescence
Adolescence defined by physical changes like increase
in height and the appearance of secondary sexual
characteristics is a familiar concept. Whereas
childhood is characterized by a dominant interest in
members of the same sex, adolescence is characterized
by an increasing interest in the opposite sex. The
adolescent searches for ultimate; truth, love, beauty,
and a sense of self. What am I? And who am I?. Parent-
child relations become strained with parents striving to
maintain control and the adolescent seeking self
determination.
 Youth
This is a transition between adolescence and
adulthood. In the biological sense, individual here are
adults, most range in age b/n 20 and 30, but
sociologically they are not mature; they have not yet
made the commitments to career and family that are
normally used to differentiate the mature adult from
the adolescent. But psychologically, these young people
seem to have completed what are usually considered
to be the tasks of adolescence; i.e., emancipation from
family, relative tranquility about sexuality, and
formation of a relatively integrated self identity.
 Maturity
People tend to think of the mature adult as being
much more static than the infant, child, or
adolescent. There are no universal physical changes
that characterize maturity, there are no new
approaches to social relations to be acquired,
personalities seem stable, and intellectual activities
are often at the peak of efficiency. However, there
are some common problems faced by adults; how
does the adult adapt to being a parent or not being
a parent? And how does the adult respond to the
 Old Age
Aging seem to be a modern problem. Because of
continuous improvement in health care, nutrition, and
the physical environment, a substantial proportion of
the population consists of individuals over the age of
65 especially in the developed world. But not too long
ago, society thought that persons over 65 years were
too old to work and consigned them to lives of
idleness and dependence. Now however, the trend has
changed and some challenges posed especially relating
to retirement. Is retirement from work a desirable
goal?