UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN Introduction to
Human
DEVELOPMENT* Development
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Concept of Development and Growth
1.2 Understanding Lifespan Development
1.3 Lifespan Perspectives
1.4 Characteristics of Lifespan Development
1.5 Critical Period and Sensitive Period during Development
1.6 Domains of Human Development
1.7 Stages of Human Development
1.8 Facts of Development
1. 9 Issues in Developmental Psychology
1.10 Research Methods for Developmental Psychology
1.11 Obstacles in Studying Developmental Psychology
1.12 Empirical Studies on Human Developmen: Indian Context
1.13 Summary
1.14 Keywords
1.15 Review Questions
1.16 References and Further Reading
1.17 Additional Online Resources
Learning Objectives
After go through this unit, you will be able to:
• define the concept of human development;
• differentiate between growth and development;
• explain life span perspectives;
• elucidate the issues involved in the process of human development;
• identify the stages and important domains of development;
• analyse the characteristic features of life span development; and
• explain the research methods and obstacles in studying the
developmental psychology.
*Unit adapted from MPC 002 Lifespan Psychology; Block 1-Unit 1(written by Dr. Shobla
Saxena, Consultant, Discipline of Psychology, SOSS) by Dr. Monika Misra, Discipline of
Psychology, SOSS, IGNOU. 15
,Overview and
Perspectives
1.0 INTRODUCTION
in Human
Development From the moment the human child is first conceived, till the death, the
individual keeps changing constantly and developing. While some of the
changes humans undergo are as a result of chance incidents and personal
choices, the vast majority of life changes and stages the human passes
through, are due to certain common biological and psychological factors
which are partly inherited and partly environmental.
Developmental changes may occur as a result of genetically-controlled
processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and
learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. A
systematic attempt has been made to study these changes which is known as
developmental psychology. Life-span developmental psychology is the field
of psychology that examines both constancy and changes in human behaviour
across the lifespan (Baltes, 1987).The goal of developmental psychologists is
to expand the knowledge about the general principles of development and the
differences and similarities in development across individuals, from a variety
of different perspectives. Thus, while studying different domains of
development, different perspectives are considered to understand
development. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the area
focused on the study of children. It emerged as an area of study in the
beginning itself when psychology as a discipline was evolving. Charles
Darwin (1877) is considered to be a pioneer in the study of child behaviour.
He kept records of his infant son and tried to understand human development
from the perspective of theory of evolution by natural selection. American
psychologist G. Stanley Hall, was one of the first developmental psychologist
whose research on child development focused on the question, ‘what do
children know when they go to school?’ (Hall, 1891). In 1950s research
started on adolescence stage and the relationship between child-rearing
practices and adult personality. The historical roots of development studies
from the west are the theories posited primarily by Piaget, Vygotsky,
Erikson, and Kohlberg.
By reading the sub-branches of psychology till now, you must have realized
that the research in psychology is from a European or an American
perspective (since the discipline originated in the ‘West’). The Indian
scholars in the beginnings were trained in the Western frameworks and relied
heavily on experimentation. However, there are certain culture-specific
concepts that have received the attention of Indian scholars and have thus
been explored in the Indian context. Some of the important researches in the
area of development psychology in India, have been highlighted in the end of
unit. Also, important studies are cited at relevant places in the ensuing Units.
This unit thus, will introduce you to the concepts of development and growth.
Then we describe developmental stages that humans go through, that are
conceptions to birth, infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. This unit
will also focus on the principles of life-span development, its characteristics,
and research methods in studying developing psychology. Finally, we will
present some of the important empirical studies from an Indian perspective.
16
, 1.1 CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT AND Introduction to
Human
GROWTH Development
Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from
conception to death. It refers to development as patterns of change over time.
It does not just involve the biological and physical aspects of growth, but also
the cognitive (changes in thought processes), emotional (changes in
emotional understanding and experiences), and social aspects (relationships,
self-concept and identity formation) related to development. The scientific
study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why
people change throughout life. Thus, development occurs in different
domains. Many developmental psychologists restrict themselves to
qualitative reorganizations in the structure of a behaviour, skill or ability
(Crain, 2000). Heinz Werner posited that development refers only to changes
which increase the organization of functioning within a domain. Werner put
forward two processes involved in development, namely, integration and
differentiation. The former is a process that integrates more basic, previously
acquired behaviours into new, higher-level structures. The latter is a process
that involves progressive ability to make distinctions among things.
In other words, development is defined as a progression towards maturity.
Even though development is a continuous process with competencies
developing, then disappearing, only to appear at a later age, it is not
continuous in the sense that it increases constantly but rather in a series of
waves with whole segments of development reoccurring repetitively. For
example, new born’s walk, if held, and then this ability disappears only to
reappear at eight or ten months of age.
From newborns to teenagers, parents often have questions if their children are
developing normally. WHO is also coordinating an international effort to
develop child growth standards for infants and young children (age 0-5
years). There is a process of child development, which makes a growth curve.
Growth curve is defined as a statistical curve derived from plotting weight
and height against chronological age for comparing an individual child’s
growth pattern with the average age of growth.
Increasing age by itself, contributes nothing to development. What is
important here is maturation and changes that result from experience,
intervening between different ages and stages of childhood. Maturation, thus
refers to those aspects of development that are primarily under genetic
control, and which are relatively influenced by the environment. Growth and
development are in a way intertwined. Growth is a process that results in
structural and physiological changes that are quantitative in nature. The
changes maybe thus be progressive or regressive and may or may not involve
development. Development on the other hand is a progressive change as a
result of maturation and learning. The changes are thus qualitative in nature
and are possible in absence of growth as well. In the words of Crow and
Crow, “growth refers to structural and physiological change, while
development refers to growth as well as those changes in behaviour which
result from environmental stimulation.” Another important characteristic is 17
Human
DEVELOPMENT* Development
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Concept of Development and Growth
1.2 Understanding Lifespan Development
1.3 Lifespan Perspectives
1.4 Characteristics of Lifespan Development
1.5 Critical Period and Sensitive Period during Development
1.6 Domains of Human Development
1.7 Stages of Human Development
1.8 Facts of Development
1. 9 Issues in Developmental Psychology
1.10 Research Methods for Developmental Psychology
1.11 Obstacles in Studying Developmental Psychology
1.12 Empirical Studies on Human Developmen: Indian Context
1.13 Summary
1.14 Keywords
1.15 Review Questions
1.16 References and Further Reading
1.17 Additional Online Resources
Learning Objectives
After go through this unit, you will be able to:
• define the concept of human development;
• differentiate between growth and development;
• explain life span perspectives;
• elucidate the issues involved in the process of human development;
• identify the stages and important domains of development;
• analyse the characteristic features of life span development; and
• explain the research methods and obstacles in studying the
developmental psychology.
*Unit adapted from MPC 002 Lifespan Psychology; Block 1-Unit 1(written by Dr. Shobla
Saxena, Consultant, Discipline of Psychology, SOSS) by Dr. Monika Misra, Discipline of
Psychology, SOSS, IGNOU. 15
,Overview and
Perspectives
1.0 INTRODUCTION
in Human
Development From the moment the human child is first conceived, till the death, the
individual keeps changing constantly and developing. While some of the
changes humans undergo are as a result of chance incidents and personal
choices, the vast majority of life changes and stages the human passes
through, are due to certain common biological and psychological factors
which are partly inherited and partly environmental.
Developmental changes may occur as a result of genetically-controlled
processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and
learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. A
systematic attempt has been made to study these changes which is known as
developmental psychology. Life-span developmental psychology is the field
of psychology that examines both constancy and changes in human behaviour
across the lifespan (Baltes, 1987).The goal of developmental psychologists is
to expand the knowledge about the general principles of development and the
differences and similarities in development across individuals, from a variety
of different perspectives. Thus, while studying different domains of
development, different perspectives are considered to understand
development. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the area
focused on the study of children. It emerged as an area of study in the
beginning itself when psychology as a discipline was evolving. Charles
Darwin (1877) is considered to be a pioneer in the study of child behaviour.
He kept records of his infant son and tried to understand human development
from the perspective of theory of evolution by natural selection. American
psychologist G. Stanley Hall, was one of the first developmental psychologist
whose research on child development focused on the question, ‘what do
children know when they go to school?’ (Hall, 1891). In 1950s research
started on adolescence stage and the relationship between child-rearing
practices and adult personality. The historical roots of development studies
from the west are the theories posited primarily by Piaget, Vygotsky,
Erikson, and Kohlberg.
By reading the sub-branches of psychology till now, you must have realized
that the research in psychology is from a European or an American
perspective (since the discipline originated in the ‘West’). The Indian
scholars in the beginnings were trained in the Western frameworks and relied
heavily on experimentation. However, there are certain culture-specific
concepts that have received the attention of Indian scholars and have thus
been explored in the Indian context. Some of the important researches in the
area of development psychology in India, have been highlighted in the end of
unit. Also, important studies are cited at relevant places in the ensuing Units.
This unit thus, will introduce you to the concepts of development and growth.
Then we describe developmental stages that humans go through, that are
conceptions to birth, infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. This unit
will also focus on the principles of life-span development, its characteristics,
and research methods in studying developing psychology. Finally, we will
present some of the important empirical studies from an Indian perspective.
16
, 1.1 CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT AND Introduction to
Human
GROWTH Development
Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from
conception to death. It refers to development as patterns of change over time.
It does not just involve the biological and physical aspects of growth, but also
the cognitive (changes in thought processes), emotional (changes in
emotional understanding and experiences), and social aspects (relationships,
self-concept and identity formation) related to development. The scientific
study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why
people change throughout life. Thus, development occurs in different
domains. Many developmental psychologists restrict themselves to
qualitative reorganizations in the structure of a behaviour, skill or ability
(Crain, 2000). Heinz Werner posited that development refers only to changes
which increase the organization of functioning within a domain. Werner put
forward two processes involved in development, namely, integration and
differentiation. The former is a process that integrates more basic, previously
acquired behaviours into new, higher-level structures. The latter is a process
that involves progressive ability to make distinctions among things.
In other words, development is defined as a progression towards maturity.
Even though development is a continuous process with competencies
developing, then disappearing, only to appear at a later age, it is not
continuous in the sense that it increases constantly but rather in a series of
waves with whole segments of development reoccurring repetitively. For
example, new born’s walk, if held, and then this ability disappears only to
reappear at eight or ten months of age.
From newborns to teenagers, parents often have questions if their children are
developing normally. WHO is also coordinating an international effort to
develop child growth standards for infants and young children (age 0-5
years). There is a process of child development, which makes a growth curve.
Growth curve is defined as a statistical curve derived from plotting weight
and height against chronological age for comparing an individual child’s
growth pattern with the average age of growth.
Increasing age by itself, contributes nothing to development. What is
important here is maturation and changes that result from experience,
intervening between different ages and stages of childhood. Maturation, thus
refers to those aspects of development that are primarily under genetic
control, and which are relatively influenced by the environment. Growth and
development are in a way intertwined. Growth is a process that results in
structural and physiological changes that are quantitative in nature. The
changes maybe thus be progressive or regressive and may or may not involve
development. Development on the other hand is a progressive change as a
result of maturation and learning. The changes are thus qualitative in nature
and are possible in absence of growth as well. In the words of Crow and
Crow, “growth refers to structural and physiological change, while
development refers to growth as well as those changes in behaviour which
result from environmental stimulation.” Another important characteristic is 17
