Growing process of humans involves in examination of both constancy and change in human behavior across the entire life span, from conception to death. Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain growth, change and consistency throughout the lifespan.
Babies have different kinds of reflexes and motor activities that help newborn babies to survive after birth. Reflexes are newborn, unlearned, automatic responses to certain environmental stimuli. There are four main reflexes called rooting reflex, blink reflex, withdrawal and grasp reflex.
Regarding to rooting reflex, when the baby’s cheek is stroked, the baby turns his head towards the stroking, open its mouth and tries to suck. This ensures that the infant’s feeding will be a reflexive habit. Blink reflex is when a light is flashed on the baby’s eyes, the baby tends to close both eyes. It is significant in protecting eyes from strong and potentially dangerous stimuli. Withdrawal presents when a soft pinprick is applied to the sole of baby’s foot, and the baby flexes the leg. The significance of his behavior is keeping the exploring infant away from painful stimuli. Grasp reflex takes effect once an object is pressed on the baby’s foot. The baby grasp the object pressed and this involves in helping exploratory learning.
Apart from these, cognitive development is also important in the growth of a child. It relates to how children think, explore and figure things out. The most well known and influential theory of cognitive development is Piaget’s Cognitive developmental theory. According to him, there are 4 stages of cognitive development. They are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational stages.
Sensorimotor stage happens from birth to 2 years. At this stage, the infant explores the world through direct sensory and motor contact. Object performance and separation anxiety develop during this stage.At the end of sensorimotor stage they learn object permanence.
During the preoperational stage which occurs between the age of 7 to 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists even if it can no longer be seen. This important milestone which is known as ‘object permanence’ is a sign that the memory is developing. They begin to represent the world with words and images which reflects increased symbolic thinking. They begin to use languages and are able to think abstractly about objects. They also develop memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between the past and the future. But their thinking is based on intuition and not completely logical. So they are unable to grasp complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison. They lack the ability to deduce or reason, that is, their thinking is governed by perception rather than logic.
Egocentrism occurs when a child is unable to distinguish between their own perspective and that of another person. Children tend to stick to their own viewpoint, rather than considering the view of others. Indeed, they are not even aware that such a concept as “different viewpoints” exists. They can’t perform operations which are mental representations that are reversible. They will be able to understand, for example, 8+2=10 but not the reverse, 10-2= 8. For example, a child is able to use an object to represent something else, such as pretending a broom is a horse. Role-playing also becomes important. Children at this stage lack the concept of conservation.
Conservationists believe in the permanence of certain attributes of objects or situations in spite of superficial changes. When given a short beaker and a long thin beaker, where the long thin beaker is filled with the same volume of water from the short beaker and asked whether they are the same, the 4 year old child would say that the long thin beaker contains more water, as she can’t mentally reverse the pouring action but an 8 year old will say that the volume is the same.
During the concrete operational stage which occurs from 7 to 11 years, children’s thinking becomes less egocentric and they become increasingly aware of external events. They begin to realize that one’s own thoughts and feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality. They can gradually reason logically about concrete events and are able to classify objects into different sets. They understand that other people have thoughts and feelings. During this stage, however, most children still can’t think abstractly or hypothetically.
One of the most important developments at this stage is the awareness that actions can be reversed. As an example, a child understands that her favorite ball that deflates is not gone but can be filled with air again and put back into play.
During formal operational stage which occurs from 12 years old upwards, they are capable of thinking abstractly, understanding ethics and using philosophical and scientific lines of thought. They are able to create make believe situations, hypothetical possibilities and are more idealistic.
Apart from that, there are several periods of development. Infancy period belongs from birth to 18 – 24 months and the children extremely dependent on adults. Language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination, social learning and parent-child relationships begin in this period.
Early childhood belongs to the infancy to 5 – 6 years. During this period children become more self-sufficient and learn to take care of themselves. Also develops school readiness such as following instructions, identifying letters and spend many hours playing with peers.
Middle and late childhood belongs to ages 6 – 10 years . During this period children master reading, writing, maths, etc., exposing to their culture and the world around them and development is centered around achievements and self-control increases.
The next period is adolescence which provides preparation for adulthood. Depending on the culture and historical context, adolescence starts around 10 – 13 years and ends around 18 – 22 years. Puberty, abstract thinking, independence, school events, friendships and relationships, and getting one’s first job are key functions of adolescence. In early adolescence includes mostly pubertal changes. Late adolescence is the latter half of the second decade of life involves in career interests and identity exploration.
The next period is adulthood which comprises of three phases called early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Early childhood begins in the late teens or early twenties and lasts through the thirties which Establishes personal and economic independence and career development. Middle adulthood starts between 35 – 45 years and ends around 55 – 65 years. Transmitting values to the next generation, increased reflection about the meaning of life, enhanced concern about one’s body are the major characteristics of this period. Late adulthood starts around 60 – 70 years until death. Decreasing strength and health, retirement and reduced income, reviewing one’s life and adapting to changing social roles, less responsibilities and more freedom are the characteristics of this period.
Eventually it is crystal clear that human growth is far from being a simple and uniform process of becoming taller or larger. It is a huge process of physical, cognitive and moral development during the journey from birth to death.
By Rtr. Dulari Udeshika
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