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