1. CHAPTER 1
Nature and Principles of Development
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this chapter, the student should be
able to:
1. develop an understanding of the theoretical
grounding and context of development;
2. distiguish significant constructs related to the
child and adolescent development;
3. construct a definition of human development and
its implications.
2. Development is the pattern of biological, cognitive, and
socioemtional chnages that begins at conception and
continous throughout the lifespan. Most development involves
growth, although it eventually involves decay (dying)
• Important Terms in the Study of Development
GROWTH - refers to physical terms we need to recognize when we
try to understand how children develop
AGING - in a biological sense, is the deterioration of organisms
(including human beings) that leads inevitably to death.
MATURATION - is the biological unfolding of an individual
according to a plan conatines in the genes
LEARNING - is the process through which experience brings about
relatively permanent changes in thoughts, feelings, or brhavior
ENVIRONMENT - refers to all the external physical an social
conditions and events that can affect us, from crowded living
quarters to stimulating social interactions
3. The Processes and Periods in
Development
• Biological Processes - involve changes in the
child’s body
( development of the brain, gains in height, changes in motor skills, puberty’s hormonal
changes)
• Cognitive Processes - involve the child’s
thinking, intelligence, and language
(enable a growing child to memorize a poem, imagine how to solve problem, come up with a
creative strategy, speak meaningfully connected sentences)
• Socioemotional Processes - involve changes in
the child’s relationships with other people,
changes in emotion, and changes in personality
(parents’ nurturance toward a child, a boy’s aggressive attack on a peer, an
adolescent’s feelings of joy after getting good grades)
4. Development Stages
STAGE AGE PERIOD MAJOR FEATURES
1. Prenatal Conception to birth Physical Development
2. Infancy Birth at full term to
about 18 months
Locomotion established; rudimentary language;
social attachement
3. Early Childhood About 18 months to
about 6 years
Language well established, sex typing, group
play; ends with readiness for schooling
4. Late Chiledhood About 6 to about 13
years
Many cognitive processes become adult except
in speed of operation; team play
5. Adolescence About 13 to about 20
years
Begins with puberty, ends at maturity,
attainment of highest level of cognition;
independence from parents; sexual relationship
6. Young Adulthood About 20 to about 45
years
Career and family development
7. Midlife About 45 to about 65
years
Career reaches highest level; self assessment;
“empty nest” crisi; retirement
8. Late Life About 65 years to
death
Enjoys family achievements; dependency;
widowhood; poor health
5. The Lifespan Perspective
• 1. Development is a lifelong process
• 2. Development is multidimentional
• 3. Development always involves both gain
and loss
• 4. Development is characterized by lifelong
plasticity
• 5. Development is shaped by its
historical/cultural context
• 6. Development is multiply influenced
• 7. Understanding development requires
multiple disciplines
6. Basic Issues in Human Development
• 1. Assumptions About Human Nature
a. Original Sin: Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) portrayed children as inherently
selfish and bad, believing that it was society’s task to control their selfish and
aggressive impulses and to teach them to behave in positive ways
b. Inherently Good: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) argued that children
were innately good, that they were born with an intuitive understanding of right
and wrong, and that they would develop in positive direction as long as society did
not interfere with their natural tendencies.
c. Tabula Rasa: John Locke (1632-1704) maintained tha an infant is a tabula
rasa, or a blank slate waiting to be written on by his or her own experiences.
Locke believed that children were neither innately good nor bad; they could
develop in any number of directions depending on yheir experiences.
• 2. Nature and Nurture
a. Nature refers to the behavior and characteristics manifested because of the
influence of biological forces (heredity and biologically-based dispositions)
b. Nurture refers to the influences brought about by the exposure to the
environment (includes learning experiences,child rearing methods, societal
changes and culture)
7. • 3. Activity and Passivity
>Some theorists believe that children are curious, active creatures who in a very
real sense orchestrate their own development by exploring the world around them or
by shaping their own environment.
>Other theorists view human as passive beings who largely products of forces
beyond their control-usually environmental influences.
• 4. Continuity and Discontinuity
>Discontinuity theorists picture the course of development as more loke a series of
stair steps, each of which elevates the individual to a new level of functioning.
> Continuity theorists view human development as a process that occurs in small
steps, without sudden changes.
• 5. Universality and Context-Specificity
> The extent to which developmental changes are common to everyone (universal)
or different from person to person (context specific)
