Developmental psychology
1.1: Developmental Psychology
Human beings change dramatically as they progress from birth to adulthood. How and why development occurs- and the roles heredity and environment play in this process- have long been subjects of controversy. Let us try to explore one of the branches of psychology that focuses on the understanding of development.
What is Developmental Psychology?
Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on how people grow and change over the course of a lifetime. A scientific approach that aims to explain how children and adults change over time. It focuses on human growth throughout the lifespan. Growth and development is a process where the person thinks normally, eventually & takes a responsible place in society.
This field examines change across three MAJOR DOMAINS: physical development( the growth of the body and the brain, motor and sensory skills, and physical health), cognitive development (capacity to learn, to understand, to reason, and to create), and social-emotional development( social interactions with other people, emotions, attitudes).
Major objectives of developmental psychology:
1. to find out what are the common and characteristic age changes in appearance, in behavior, in interests, and in goals from one developmental period to another;
2. to find out when these changes occur;
3. to find out what causes them;
4. to find out how they influence behavior; and
5. to find out whether they can or cannot be predicted.
To understand the pattern of development, there are fundamental and predictable facts to be considered such as:
Early foundations are critical. Attitudes, habits, and patterns of behavior established during the early years determine to a large extent how successfully individuals will adjust to life as they grow older.
Maturation and learning play important roles in development.
The development follows a definite and predictable pattern like physical, motor, speech, and intellectual development.
All individuals are different-" every person is indeed biologically and genetically different from every other"- Dobzhansky
Each phase of development has characteristic behavior.
Each phase of development has hazards ( physical, psychological, or environmental).
Development is aided by stimulation.
Development is affected by cultural changes.
Social expectations for every stage of development.
Traditional beliefs about people of all ages.
1.2: Developmental Tasks" A developmental task is a task which arises at or about a certain period in the life of the individual, successful achievement of which leads
to happiness and to success with later tasks." - Havighurst
Developmental tasks serve three useful purposes: they are guidelines to enable individuals to know what society expects of them; they motivate individuals to do what society expects, and they show individuals what lies ahead and what is to be expected of them later. The important developmental tasks for different phases in the life span as outlined by Havighurst are shown in the box below.
1.3: Life Span
The Life Span Perspective analyzes the behavior as influenced by developmental processes based on biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors from conception to death. Let us talk about Balte’s lifespan perspective.
Baltes’ Lifespan Perspective: Key Principles
1. Development is lifelong- Development occurs across one’s entire life or is lifelong. Development encompasses the entire lifespan, from conception to death.
2. Development is multidimensional- A complex interaction of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes influence development across the lifespan.
3. Development is multidirectional and results in gains and losses throughout life. We have the capacity for both an increase and decrease in the efficacy of certain traits over the course of the lifespan
4. Development is plastic, meaning that characteristics are malleable or changeable. The nature of human development is more pluralistic than originally thought; there is no single pathway in development.
5. Development is influenced by contextual and socio-cultural influences. Development varies from person to person, depending on factors such as a person’s biology, family, school, church, profession, nationality, and ethnicity.
STAGES IN THE LIFE SPAN
Prenatal period: conception to birth
Infancy: birth to the end of the second week
Babyhood: end of the second week to end of the second year
Early childhood: two to six years
Late childhood: six to ten or twelve years
Puberty or preadolescence: ten or twelve to thirteen or fourteen years
Early adulthood: eighteen to forty years
Middle age: forty to sixty years
Old age or senescence: sixty years to death HAVIGHURST'S DEVELOPMENTAL TASK DURING THE LIFE SPAN
BABYHOOD AND EARLY CHILDHOOD
learning to take solid foods
learning to walk
learning to talk
learning to control the elimination of body wastes
learning sex differences and sexual modesty
getting ready to read
learning to distinguish right and wrong and beginning to develop a conscience
LATE CHILDHOOD
learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games
building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a growing organism
learning to get along with age-mates
beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles
developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
developing concepts necessary for everyday living
developing a conscience, a sense of morality, and a scale of values
developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions
achieving personal independence
ADOLESCENCE
achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
achieving a masculine or feminine social role
accepting one's physique and using one's body effectively
desiring, accepting and achieving socially responsible behavior
achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults
preparing for an economic career
preparing for marriage and family life
acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior -developing an ideology
EARLY ADULTHOOD
getting started in an occupation
selecting a mate
learning to live with a marriage partner
starting a family
rearing children
managing a home
taking on civic responsibility
finding a congenial social group
MIDDLE AGE
achieving adult civic and social responsibility
assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
developing adult leisure time activities
relating oneself to one's spouse as a person
accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age
reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in one's occupational career
adjusting to aging parents
OLD AGE
adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
adjusting to retirement and reduced income
adjusting to the death of a spouse
establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one's age group
adapting to social roles in a flexible way