FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

PSYCHOLOGY UNIT

Bachelor of Science Education and Bachelor of Language Education

PSY1201 HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Course Description:

This course is designed to aid a student to understand and apply the basic principles of human

growth and development in respect to behavior and learning process.

Course objectives: The student shall be able to understand:

1. Development and growth as lifelong processes.

2. Issues surrounding growth and development.

3. Research techniques used to gather data on the development process.

Expected outcomes: A teacher who knows:

1. Factors that can promote Growth and Development

2. Factors that can affect Growth and Development.

3. His/her role in the promotion of Growth and Development.

Course particulars

Page 1 of 70
• Contact hours: 45 hours

• Credit Units (CU): Three

Method of delivery: (i) Lecture, (ii) Group discussion, (iii) Library research

Methods of Assessment:

• Course work (30%) in form of assignments and tests.

• University Examination (70%) at the end of the semester.

Available Resources: Library, Internet, classrooms, and laboratories and office space

Page 2 of 70
 Detailed Course Content

Week Topic CH

1&2 General introduction 4

• Key concepts in human growth and development.

• Current debates in the field of developmental

• Factors influencing growth and development.

3 Types of development: 2

Physical, Intellectual, Personality, Social, Emotional Periods of life span

development

4, 5 & 6 Perspectives of human growth and development: 6

Humanistic, Psychoanalytic, Social-cognitive, Trait, Fundamental principles

of human growth and development

7, 8 & 9 Stages of life development: 6

Neonatal, Infancy and childhood, Adolescence and Young adulthood,

Adulthood (middle age), and Elderly (gerontology).

10,11 & 12 Stage theories of development 6

General theory of motor development, Erickon and personality development,

Piaget and cognitive development, Kohlberg and moral development, and

Implications of the stage theories to education

13/14 Thinking and language 4

Basic elements comprising thought. Strategies and obstacles involved in

problem solving and decision-making. Structural features of language. Links

between thinking and language.

15 Child-Rearing patterns: 2

Page 3 of 70
 Types of parenting, Culture and parenting styles. Guidelines of children’s

discipline

References

Coon, D. (2004). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behaviour. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth.

Farrant, J. S. (1984). Principles and practices of education. Longman.

Kosslyn, S. M., & Rosenberg, R. S. (2004). Psychology: The brain, the person, the world. Allyn

& Bacon.

Myers, D. G. (2008). Exploring psychology. Worth Publishers.

Course Policies

1. Attendance: You are expected to be here; that’s why you are here. What usually forces you

not to attend? Let’s use functional approach.

2. Time keeping: Class begins promptly. What should happen in case you are late?

3. ICT gadgets: Phones on and off as need arises! FB, TT, WTSP, e-mailing, etc may be required

along the way. In case of urgency/emergency, let us know.

4. Assignments: Late assignments = zero score. No excuses. Think about what can go wrong!

5. Contacting me: +256782305430, [email protected].

6. Academic Dishonesty: You are expected to adhere to all the rules, regulations, and standards

set forth by BU. There shall be no intentional and unintentional plagiarism; cheating on

examinations; using, purchasing, or stealing others’ work; misusing library materials; and so

forth. Failure to obey these rules, regulations, and standards could result in failure, suspension,

or expulsion from the university. Don’t plagiarize or cheat. YOU ARE A CUSTODIAN OF

MORALS and your future matters most!

7. Students with Disabilities: Inform me in case of any disability-related needs as soon as

Page 4 of 70
 possible at the start of the course. Disability is not inability; we are all candidates!

8. Interactions: We should strive to act with integrity, professionalism and be respectful to

fellow students, the course convener, and guests. Short of this, what should happen?

ACADEMIC MORALITY WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED WITHIN THIS COURSE. CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM WILL

NOT BE TOLERATED. ANY STUDENT CAUGHT PLAGIARIZING OR CHEATING WILL RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC ZERO

ON THE ASSIGNMENT IN QUESTION AND MAY BE REPORTED TO THE UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES TO FACE

FAILURE IN THE COURSE OR EXPULSION.

Page 5 of 70
 Week 1 & 2

General Introduction

Key concepts in human growth and development.

Developmental psychology: This is the branch of psychology that investigates how individuals

change over time, while remaining in some respects the same.

Growth: This refers to the process of an individual organism quantitatively increasing in size,

length, height, weight, and expansion of vocabulary. In other words, growth is a purely

biological unfolding of events involved in an organism quantitatively changing gradually

from a simple to a more complex level.

Development: This refers to the orderly and sequential changes in physical, cognitive, and

social abilities that occur in an organism with the passage of time as the organism moves

from conception to maturation to death. In other words, development implies the overall

changes occurring in both the quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects. Therefore, the

term “development” carries a wider and more comprehensive meaning than the term

“Growth.”

Conception: Is the process of formation of a zygote through fertilization of an ovum by a

spermatozoon.

Maturation: Is a component of development that involves the more or less automatic

unfolding of biological potential in a sequence of physical changes and behavior patterns.

Maturity: This refers to the human capacity to continually adapt successfully and cope more

flexibly with the demands and responsibilities of life.

Learning: This is the relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge that results from

the individual’s experience in the environment across the entire lifespan.

Page 6 of 70
 Week 3

Types of Development

Physical, Intellectual, Personality, Social, Emotional (Read about each).

Periods of life span development in human beings

Time plays an important role in development. The passage of time is synonymous with

chronological age, emphasizing changes that occur within the individual as they grow older.

Three sets of influences mediate through the individual to produce development:

1. Normative age-graded influences:

Transition from one stage (e.g., of education) to another with age influences the advancement

in development in all dimensions.

2. Normative history-graded influences

Although there is considerable similarity among members of different cultures, each age

cohort is unique because it is exposed to unique segment of history. An age cohort (or birth

cohort) is a group of individuals born in the same time period. Because society changes over

time, the members of different age cohorts age in different ways.

3. Non-normative life events

These involve unique turning points at which people change some direction in their lives, e.g.,

suffering a severe injury in an accident or combat.

The stages of development have been categorized for convenience as shown in the table below.

Period or stage of Approximate age

development

1. Infancy From birth to 2 years

Page 7 of 70
2. Childhood From 3 years to 12 years

a) Early childhood From 3 years to 6 years

b) Late childhood From 7 years to 12 years or in a strict sense up to the onset of puberty.

3. Adolescence From 13 years to 19 years or in a strict sense from onset of puberty till

a) Early (12-14) the attainment of maturity.

b) Middle (15-17)

c) Late (18-21)

4. Adulthood From the 20 years (but usually depends on the law of the land) to 60

years or in a strict sense from attaining maturity to the age one ceases to

produce one’s own kind.

5. Old age or ageing From 61 years or in a strict sense from the end of the reproduction

capability till death.

Current debates in the field of developmental psychology

1. The nature-nurture question:

Can development be primarily explained by nature or genetics, or it is primarily determined

by nurture, that is, by learning and experience? Development is determined by both nature

and nurture.

2. The continuity-stages question:

This deals with whether development is a gradual process (continuous) with adults having a

greater quantity of a given skill, or children and adults vary in the quality of their

psychological processes. Although many skills show continuity throughout development,

there is evidence of stages for several areas in development.

3. The stability-change question:

Page 8 of 70
This concerns whether people maintain their personal characteristics as they mature from

infants into adults (stability) or they acquire new characteristics that bear little resemblance to

those they had in the previous stage.

Principles of development

1. Development is a product of interaction

Development results from a constant flux or interchange of energy within an organism and its

environment. Hereditary forces inherent in the genetic constitution of the individual and

environmental forces influence the development of the organism.

2. Development follows an orderly sequence

Development follows an orderly sequence in all organisms and there is high degree of similarity

in the order in which various developments appear.

(a) Cephalocaudal: Development starts from head and proceeds towards the heels.

(b) Proximodistal: Development starts from the centre line of the body and proceeds

towards the outer parts.

(c) Locomotion: Locomotion develops in a sequence in all infants of different cultures of

the world. The sequence is creeping, crawling, and walking.

3. Development is a continuous process

Development is a continuous process which begins from the time of conception and continues

till maturity. However, it is not always smooth and gradual; there are spurts in physical

growth and psychological functioning.

4. Bilateral to unilateral trend

The new born is essentially a symmetrical organism anatomically, physiologically, and

functionally. For instance, an infant can use both hands with equal ease up to the age of 2½

years. Thereafter, hand preference starts.

Different developments are interdependent and help each other. Social behaviour is

interrelated with physical development; physical handicap impairs social behaviour. Motor

development of walking has positive effect on intellectual development of children.

6. Development is individualized process

All individuals develop in their own way. Each child has his own rate of physical, mental,

emotional, and social development.

7. Development is cumulative

Each stage in the development of an individual is the culmination of prior growth and

experience.

8. Development proceeds from the general to the specific.

Development begins with generalized responses. Later, the individual exhibits specific and

goal-directed responses.

9. Rate of development varies in males and females.

There is a difference in the growth rate of boys and girls. Girls mature earlier in comparison

to boys. Girls are taller and heavier than boys during pre-adolescence but by the end of

adolescence boys surpass them.

10. Principle of integration

Development involves a movement from the whole to the parts and from the parts to the

whole. It is the integration of the whole and its parts as well as the specific and general

responses that enables a child to develop satisfactorily in relation to various aspects or

dimensions of personality.

11. Principle of predictability

Page 10 of 70
Development is predictable, meaning that the patterns and sequence of development can

enable us forecast the general nature and behaviour of a child in one or more aspects or

dimensions at any particular stage of its growth and development.

12. Principle of spiral versus linear advancement

Development is not linear; there is no such thing as longitudinal development. The individual

often moves back for consolidation. Hence individuals exhibit a spiral pattern of movement.

Educational Implications of the Principles of Growth and Development Assignment:

1. Elucidate the educational implications of the principles of human growth and development.

(10 marks)

Educational Implications

The principles of growth and development have important implications in education:

To Understand Children’s Problems

The knowledge of these principles of growth and development provides a chance for the teacher

to understand the kind of problems a student can have which can assist in the academic as well

as in the personality development of the child.

To Understand the Individual Difference

If a teacher would be knowing these principles of growth and development, the teacher can

consider the individual difference while assessing the child’s performance in the class.

To Choose the Appropriate Teaching Methods

The knowledge of these principles of growth and development can help the teacher to choose an

appropriate way of teaching method as well as teaching aids to be used in the classroom for the

betterment of a child’s development.

Page 11 of 70
Assists in Classroom Environment Setup

If a teacher would know the principles of growth and development then the teacher would

provide a free environment in the classroom which can assist the student to feel free to ask any

doubt and have any discussion in the classroom.

Useful in the Organization of Various School Activities

The school can take advantage of these principles of growth and development to organize

various activities and clubs in accordance with the students’ requirements.

To Keep a Track on the Student’s Academic Performance

The growth and development principles also help the teacher to keep track of the students’

academic performance to map the areas of improvement.

To Assess the Overall Development Process

Specifically, the principles of growth and development assist the teacher as well as the school

authorities to assess a student’s overall development process in which all kinds of development

are included such as physical development, mental development, personality development, and

emotional development over the period of time.

To Predict the Students’ Behavior

The principles of growth and development can also help the teacher to predict the behavior of

the students in the classroom and the previous knowledge a student can have about the topic as

per the cognitive abilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that these principles of human growth and development bear very

important educational implications which teachers need to understand before teaching the

learners, and the learners themselves need to know in order to enhance the teaching-learning

process.
Page 12 of 70
Factors influencing growth and development.

Assignment:

2. Describe the factors that influence human growth and development. (20 marks)

Page 13 of 70
 The Biological Basis of Human Development

Heredity and Environment

Heredity refers to the biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring through genes.

Such traits could be physical, (e.g. weight, height, skin colour, etc), mental, or social. The traits

are carried by the genes. The genetic make-up of individuals varies; this is the reason why

children born of the same parents may be different. While some are short, light in complexion,

fat, others may be tall, dark in complexion, thin.

Heredity also refers to the biological factors which contribute to the development of the

individual through the process of cell division. The two cell divisions associated with human

development are mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is simply the process in which a cell duplicates

its chromosomes and then divides into two genetically identical daughter cells. While meiosis

is the process in which a germ cell divides, producing gametes (sperm or ova) each containing

half of the parent cell’s original complement of chromosomes. In humans, the products of

meiosis contain 23 chromosomes.

Environmental factors connote all external conditions and influences that affect the life and

development of an individual from conception to death. It includes the physical environment,

home environment, the school, peer influence, religious and cultural influences. Psychologists

have come to belief that both heredity and environmental factors contribute in influencing

human development. While heredity establishes certain limitations and directions of growth

and development of an individual, environment furnishes the condition which may enhance or

dwarf what is inherited. For instance, two individuals that have similar hereditary traits but are

nurtured in different environments will grow up showing clear differences in their

characteristics; on the other hand, two individuals brought up in the same environment may not

develop the same way if their genetic make-up differs.

The nature – nurture controversy started in the classical Greek era among philosophers like

Plato and Aristotle (Plato’s student), John Locke, and others. The areas debated were heredity

versus environment, nature versus nurture, maturation versus learning, innate versus acquired

characteristics, etc. In the history of psychology, the great debates centered on the controversy

over nature and nurture. This controversy was based on the two schools of thought – the

hereditarians and the environmentalists.

The hereditarians favoured nature and claimed that all hereditary traits were transmitted directly

through the chromosomes via genes from generation to generation where environment was of

little consequence. In this case, if your father was a criminal, you will be a criminal; and if your

mother’s 1Q is only 89, then you shouldn’t choose a career like medicine. The hereditarians

believe that hereditary traits play a dominant role in human development than the environmental

conditions such as provision of nutrition, health, sanitation etc. Whereas the environmentalists

assert that an adequate environment will contribute to development of an individual’s

potentialities, hereditarians stress that no matter the amount of environmental conditions

provided for an idiot, he cannot attain the level of university professor. Along this line, the

combination of heredity and environment (e.g.

social, mental, emotional, physical) contribute handsomely to human development.

On the other hand, the environmentalists claim that the most important thing is how an

individual is raised or nurtured, not based on genetic endowment. The environmentalists insist

that all people are born genetically equal and that they differ as a result of environmental

opportunities.

Page 15 of 70
The modern stand on nature – nurture dimensions emphasizes that behaviour has multiple

causes. It is the result of heredity interacting with environment that can influence human

development. Based on this stand our hereditary potentialities can be nourished based on the

type and quality of our environmental conditions.

How Genetic Traits are Transmitted

Heredity involves a number of genetic mechanisms. These genetic mechanisms are as follows:

i) Development begins at conception from a parent sex cell which is formed by the union of a

sperm and an ovum forming a zygote which contains 46 chromosomes (23 from each parent).

Each sperm and ovum contain minute structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes

house smaller hereditary traits known as genes. Each gene (or group of genes) represents a

hereditary factor such as color of eyes, or shape of nose etc which is transmitted as a unit.

Physical traits developed as the result of the influence of a combination of genes.

Gender is determined by the 23rd pair of chromosomes (ie the sex chromosomes). The normal

female inherits one sex chromosome (an x chromosomes) from each parent whereas a male

inherits an x chromosome and a smaller Y chromosome. Therefore, the father and not the

mother determines the sex of a child. The father (XY) can transmit either X or Y chromosome

to his offspring. Identical heredity is present only in twins developed from the same fertilised

ovum.

Chromosomal Disorders

These arise as a result of inheritance. These disorders are associated with the presence of too

few or too many chromosomes. They include Down’s syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome,

Turner’s syndrome, and the XYY syndrome (super male syndrome). Some of these

abnormalities can also result from the uneven meiosis of male gametes.

Page 16 of 70
Down’s syndrome occurs when a child inherits extra 21st chromosomes. Children with the

syndrome receive their “extra” chromosome from their father rather than from their mother.

The child will be mentally retarded with a number of distinctive physical features.

Klinefelter’s syndrome is a result of imbalance in the distribution of X chromosomes. This

implies if a Y chromosome from a sperm cell reaches the ovum first, the Zygote will become

a kinefelter male (XXY). Here the males fail to develop secondary sex characteristics and show

deficiencies on tests of verbal ability.

Turner’s syndrome occurs when the ovum containing no X chromosome is fertilized by an

Xbearing sperm; the result will be an XO female (who has Turner’s syndrome). The female

remains small in stature, and fail to develop secondary sex characteristics. She exhibits mental

deficiency.

The “Super male” syndrome (the XYY) results when the child receives an extra Y chromosome

from the father. The child is taller than average and tends to score below average on intelligence

tests.

The poly – x syndrome occurs due to a sex chromosome abnormality involving females who

inherit three X chromosomes. These females are normal in appearance, have extremely

feminine characteristics, remain fertile, and tend to score below average on intelligence tests.

Page 17 of 70
 Scientific Methods in Developmental Psychology

Psychology as a science requires scientific methods of investigation using certain research

tools. Developmental psychology is an inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary field, made of

sociology, anthropology, and biology. Human life is a process of continual development. The

developmental changes in human life find expression in physical, intellectual, personality, and

social changes. Five prominent research methods are employed in the study of human

development.

The Observation Method

The observation method is a research technique that involves the direct observation of a

phenomenon in its natural settings. The observation method is classified into two namely,

naturalistic observation method and participant observation method. In naturalistic

observation the researcher observes the specific behavioural characteristics of children or

adolescents or adults in natural setting. It enables the researcher to study individuals

independently of their ability to report on themselves while it does not disturb or affect the

events under investigation. The participant observation enables the researcher to become part

and parcel of the group which is to be observed. In this case, a rapport is established with the

group in order that they may not become conscious of his presence so that they may not hide

their actual behaviour or overt behaviour. The observation method may have a number of

limitations such as the subjectivity of interpretation and collection of data from overt behaviour

which does not provide reliable information regarding internal mental process.

The Survey Method

The survey method especially employs interviews (structured/unstructured) and questionnaire

for the determination of incidence and prevalence of given attitudes and behaviour with

Page 18 of 70
identifiable population. For instance, the researcher may be interested in studying the

abnormality and prevalence of drug abuse among adolescents or to find out the prevalence of

certain child-rearing or maltreatment of widowhood practices and so on. The method uses two

approaches to collect the data viz: - longitudinal approach and cross-sectional approach. The

longitudinal approach is employed by the researcher for studying human development in order

to compare the same individuals at different intervals at any specific age bracket. The

researcher observes their developmental characteristics regularly from year to year. The cross-

sectional approach compares different groups of individuals of varying age cohort to specific

aspect of developmental stages.

The Case Study Method

A case study is an in-depth investigation of a particular person, group, event, or community.

While this research method provides a great deal of information about a specific person, the

results are often difficult to generalize to larger populations. For this reason, case studies are

most often used in clinical research or other cases where certain aspects of the subject's life

cannot be reproduced or duplicated. This method focuses upon a single individual rather than

a group of subjects of different ages within behavioural problems. The case study method is

used in clinical settings involving maladaptive children and adults. The case study method is

categorized into the clinical case study or case history and developmental case study. The

clinical case study is designed to gather information and present conditions of the participants.

In clinical case study, information is specifically collected from the following sources: biodata,

past history such as the state of mother during pregnancy, relation between children and parents

of the family and so on; and present condition may derive information from physical, mental,

and social -emotional of child’s development after birth. The developmental case study or

genetic method uses two approaches to collect the data viz:- longitudinal approach and cross-

sectional approach. The two approaches have been explained under Survey Method.

Page 19 of 70
The Experimental Method

The method offers cause and effect relationships. It is a study in which the researcher

manipulates one or more variables known as independent variables and measures the resulting

changes in the other variables termed dependent variables to attempt to determine the cause of

a specific behavior. The independent variable is assigned to be the causal factor in the variables

being studied while the dependent variable is usually some measure after subjects’ behaviour.

For instance undergraduate class students talk noisily when the lecturer is out of the room but

become quiet when the lecturer enters; the change in the level of lecture room noise is the

dependent variable and its cause by the lecturer’s presence is the independent variables.

The experimental method uses a systematic procedure called experimental design. It provides

guidelines to the researcher to carry out his research sequentially. The experimental design is

made up of the experimental group and control group for the purpose of testing hypotheses.

The control group is associated with the experimental group except that the researcher did not

introduce change into it. The control group provides a mental standard against which the

changes in the experimental group can be measured.

Page 20 of 70
 Weeks 4, 5, and 6

Perspectives of Human Growth and Development

The major perspectives of human growth and development include Psychoanalytic, Social–

Cognitive, Humanistic, and Trait perspectives.

Freudian Theory of Psycho-Sexual Development

Psycho Sexual Stages of Development

The Oral Stage

The Anal Stage

The Phallic Stage

The Latency Stage

The Genital Stage

Freudian Personality Structure (Read General Psychology notes)

Ego Defence Mechanisms (Read General Psychology notes)

Learning Theories of Human Development

Learning theory of human development also known as behaviourist theory or stimulus response

(S-R) theory stresses observable behaviour as the basis of interpreting human growth and

development. The theorists (behaviourists) believe that human beings are born with a vacant

mind and that they react to environmental stimuli. They view child development as a series of

changes in interaction between the organism and its environment. They emphasise the

importance of the environment in child development. In the course of growing up a child’s

actions are reinforced or polished and as a result the child learns what is expected of him/her.

Learning theories are rooted in a mechanistic orientation in which the model for all occurrences

Page 21 of 70
is the machine. The three major learning theories include operant conditioning by B.F. Skinner;

classical conditioning by Ivan P. Pavlov, and social learning theory by Albert Bandura.

Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning Theory of Human Development

B. F. Skinner was an American psychologist. He is known as the father of radical behaviourism.

He believed that it is relevant and profitable to observe and identify factors that influence

individuals’ behaviour. Skinner sees learning as a series of experiences which influences

behavioural change in the same way that conditioning does. Here conditioning denotes the

process by which conditioned responses are learned or acquired. For Skinner, each learning

experience is a stimulus that produces a behavioural response.

In operant or instrumental conditioning, the response must be made before a reward is given or

before an aversive stimulus is removed. In this regard, when an individual’s response is

followed by a positive reinforcer or reward, then there is a tendency for the individual to repeat

the response. For example, food serves as a positive reinforcer for a hungry child.

Skinner conducted an experiment (with a hungry rat). He constructed a box and fitted the box

with a lever. Skinner placed a hungry rat in the box with a bar projected out with the food dish

beneath it and higher bulb above the bar. In the box, the rat moved up and down restlessly and

occasionally pressed its paws upon the bar. The container with pellets of food was attached in

such a way that as soon as the rat pressed the bar a pellet of food would fall into the dish. The

rat ate and immediately pressed the bar again. In the experiment, Skinner observed that the

food reinforced bar-pressing, while the pressing response was instrumental in producing a

reinforcer (food) which acted as a stimulus for response (salivation).

Page 22 of 70
Thus, Skinner demonstrated the role of reinforcement in the learning process. He concluded

that the behaviours we develop as we grow up depend on the consequences that follow these

behaviours in the future. In the course of growing up, a child’s actions are reinforced or polished

and as a result the child learns what is expected of him or her. The educational implication of

this is that parents and teachers are architects and builders of a child’s behaviours. Parents and

teachers could use reinforcement to shape the child’s behaviours to proper responses. Again in

the classroom, feedback is important; effective teaching is dependent on immediate feedback.

Classical Conditioning Theory of Ivan. P. Pavlov

In instrumental conditioning the behaviour is emitted by the organism, and the association

between emitted behaviour and the reinforcement is contingent upon behaviour. But in classical

conditioning, behaviour is elicited by stimulus and the association is between a stimulus and

elicited responses.

The influential work of Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist, is based upon the idea of classical

conditioning. Briefly, Ivan Pavlov studied the salivation reflex in dogs in the presentation of a
Page 23 of 70
piece of meat. He discovered that by pairing the sound of a bell with the piece of meat, he

established a new relationship between a stimulus (the sound of a bell) and a response

(Salivation) that was not associated with one another. Note that the meat is the unconditioned

stimulus and the saliva produced by the dog is the unconditioned response, while the striking

of the bell is the conditioned stimulus.

The classical Conditioning Process

Social (Observational) Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory emphasizes social variables as determinants of behaviour and

personality. Albert Bandura, a Stanford University Psychologist, was the proponent of social

learning theory. Bandura’s position differs from Skinnerian (radical behaviourist) viewpoint

Page 24 of 70
and other traditional S-R theorists. For instance Skinnerians have difficulty explaining the way

a child acquires a new behaviour that the child never attempted before; the key steps involved

in the process of learning from models, the way that consequences (reinforcement, punishment)

influence future actions, and the development of complex behaviours.

Social Learning theorists propose that children learn through imitation or modelling on what

they see and hear other people say and do. Bandura (1969) uses the word modelling along with

the terms observational learning and vicarious learning to mean that the child adds to his

repertoire of actions by seeing or hearing some-one else perform the behaviour rather than by

overtly manifesting the behaviour himself. Learning therefore occurs as a result of the

interaction between the personal (cognitive factors), behaviour, and environmental factors

according to the triadic reciprocity principle.

Page 25 of 70
The new behaviours are learned initially through observing and imitating a model than through

differential reinforcement. The models are classified as real-life, symbolic and representational.

For example, at home and school, real-life models for younger children are parents, relatives,

teachers, and other persons in the community. Children also acquire symbolic model through

the presentation of instructions and pictures especially in the school. A model presented by

television is representational. Further, in the schools and homes much attention is given to

exemplary models.

Page 26 of 70
Page 27 of 70
 Week 7, 8, and 9

Phases/Stages of Human Growth and Development (The Life Span)

1. Prenatal Development

2. Neonatal Development/Infancy

3. Childhood Development

4. Adolescence Stage

5. Adulthood Development

Prenatal Development

Introduction

Growth and development are the result of interaction of the influences of genetic and

environmental factors, and maturation and learning. These aspects of human development

cannot be understood without the knowledge of biological processes. In general there are five

stages of human growth and development. These stages are prenatal, neonatal, childhood,

adolescence, and adulthood, in this unit therefore we shall discuss the prenatal development

stage of life span.

Biological Determinants of Human Development

The foundation of life starts from conception with the union of a male sex cell (spermatozoon)

and the female sex cell (ovum), to form a zygote (the fertilised ovum). This process is called

fertilisation. The sex determination occurs at the time of conception; sex depends on the type

of the male gamete that unites with a female gamete. The spermatozoa and ova are alike and

carry equal numbers of chromosomes (22 matched and one unmatched which may be an x or a

y). Chromosomes are the hereditary or genetic materials of life. They carry genes, which
Page 28 of 70
determine heredity or inheritance. They also determine the sex of the child. A male results from

XY combination while a female results from xx combination.

Page 29 of 70
Prenatal Development

The prenatal period begins at conception and lasts up to birth with approximately 270 to 280

days (or nine calendar months in length). The whole process of prenatal development involves

three main stages, viz.

i) The period of the zygote (the germinal period)

ii) The period of the Embryo (the embryonic period)

and

iii) The period of the foetus (the foetal period)

Stages of Prenatal Development

The Zygotic Period (the Germinal Period)

This extends from fertilization to the end of the second week. The zygotic period is

characterized by the growth of the zygote with an initial linkage between the zygote and the

support system of the mother. This is the period of rapid growth as a result of increased cell

division. The zygote is implanted in the uterine wall after fertilization.

Embryonic Period

The embryonic period lasts from the end of the second week to the end of the eighth week. The

period is characterized by rapid growth as the developing organism emerges recognizable as a

human foetus. It also establishes the placental relationship with the mother. Furthermore,

during this period, the main organs like the arms, legs and the internal organs like the kidney,

liver, lungs, face, mouth, ears, etc start to be defined better. In the 8th and 9th weeks, a

recognizable human body is realised.

The embryonic stage is therefore a period of rapid development of the nervous system. The

embryo is attached to the wall of the uterus by means of the placenta, which functions as a

Page 30 of 70
channel to permit entry of food materials, oxygen and hormones to, and removal of carbon

dioxide and metabolic wastes from the embryo. The cephalocaudal and proximodistal

development occur at this period.

Foetal or Fetal Period

The foetal period is the final stage in prenatal life which begins with the ninth week and ends

with birth. During this period the differentiation of the major organs continues, and the organs

themselves become capable of assuming their specialized functions. At the eighth week, the

internal and external organs developed and the organism now resembles a human being.

Factors Affecting Prenatal Development

Some identifiable factors affecting development from fertilization to birth include the

following:

- Malnutrition and age of mother; drug usage, maternal illness, effect of rhesus (Rh) factor and

other blood factors, maternal emotional state, etc. The maternal nutrition should be of high

quality for the survival of the pregnant mother because the foetus depends directly on its mother

for food supply through the placenta and umbilical cord. Equally the mother’s emotional state

changes from one pregnancy to another which depends on the age of the mother.

In addition, the Rhesus factor (Rh factor) is one of the causes of the mental subnormality as a

result of incompatibility of mother’s blood (rhesus negative) and her foetus’s. This

incompatibility of blood may lead to damage of its blood, or brain.

Neonatal Development

Neonate development or infancy is a period of postnatal development. An infant or neonate is

a child in the first period of postnatal life from zero to two or three years. It is the shortest

period of all postnatal developmental stages or periods. The infant or the period of the neonate

Page 31 of 70
occurs from the cutting of the umbilical cord to the end of the second week of postnatal life.

An infant is a child that must adjust to the new environment outside the mother’s body. Growth

is still very rapid during this period. In this stage emphasis is laid on the physical, physiological,

and motor development at infancy.

Characteristics of Neonate Development

This stage is characterized by rapid growth and development. The survival of the child depends

on physiological, social, psychological, digestive and physical adjustments that must be made

at this stage of development. Physiologically, the child’s survival depends on the adjustment

of outside the womb body in terms of breathing in and breathing out of oxygen.

Psychologically, the result of complaints during birth is completed when the infant begins to

show signs of development progress in behavior; the digestive adjustment of the child borders

on proper feeding and elimination of excretory waste products in order to determine the amount

of sleep and comfort of the child. This feeding, sleeping and crying are process of adjustment

of the child which determines developmental changes in size, weight and structure of the infant.

This stage is also characterized by stoppage or half stoppage in growth and developmental

environment. This is a period of plateau in development.

Physical and Motor Development

The infant growth and development follow two patterns basically: cephalocandal and

proximodistal principle. After birth, there are manifestations of physical and motor

development. Physical development refers to developmental changes in size, height, weight

and strength of various parts of the body. It also depends on the ability of the infant to control

and coordinate the movements of the head, trunk and leg muscles. Motor development is

closely related. The infant’s physical growth generally takes place in an orderly fashion with

predictable changes occurring at different age levels. The motor development follows the

cephalocandal law. The infant’s motor development depends upon the overall physical growth.

Page 32 of 70
Precisely, the levels of skeletal and muscular development enable the infant to craw, walk,

climb and grip objects. The infant also gain mastery over his head followed by his trunk and

leg muscles. The infant’s development of manual skills proceeds through the proximodistal

principle. Not all body systems and parts grow at the same rate, for example, the skeletal and

internal organ system show growth spurts, one in entry infancy and the other at adolescence.

Infancy and adolescence have marked acceleration of growth called the infant growth spurt or

the adolescence growth spurt. Apart from physical and motor development, the infant

experiences perceptual development. The infant experiences a pattern or sequence of changes

in focusing and organizing visual events.

The Concept and Nature of Childhood Development

Childhood starts after infancy at the age approximately two years and extends to the age of five

or six years. Childhood is divided into three separated periods namely early, middle and late

childhood. Early childhood falls within the age bracket of 2 to 5 years. The middle childhood

extends from approximately 6 years to 8 years and late childhood extends from approximately

9 years to 11 years plus. Some psychologists talk about early childhood or babyhood and vice

versa while others omit it completely. In this case childhood is divided into early and late

childhood.

Early Childhood

Early childhood is the first stage of childhood development. It extends from 2 years to 5 years

or approximately 6 years. Whereas infancy falls within Piaget’s sensori-motor period of

intellectual development where the infant learns and develops motor skills by manipulating

objects around him, early childhood extends to piagetian second stage of intellectual

development from two to 7 years called pre-operational stage when the child begins to acquire

vocabulary and he can use the language within his environment completely, play and skip

Page 33 of 70
about. This is the stage of early childhood development (ECD) education (nursery or

kindergarten for 3-5-year olds).

Physically, the early childhood is most rapid in growth as that experienced in infancy. There

are qualitative changes in size, height and body proportions of changes. The child is self-

centred and concerned with objects of play or trip. But he becomes interested in other children.

At this stage, improvement is made in the aspect of perceptual development. In this regard the

child develops a variety of motor skills because he enjoys the repetition of learning skills such

as self-feeding, playing, jumping, and so on. The child develops perception of size, shape,

colour and time etc. In terms of language development, the enabling environment and early

childhood training helps the development of vocabulary.

Mentally, the child develops rapidly, in terms of acquisition of new experiences. The child is

inquisitive and reflects this through questioning about this environment. Since he or she is in

primary school at the age of 6 he or she is able to use symbols in language, play and problem

solving.

Socially, the child learns to cooperate with his friends and others on shared interests especially

in playing, simple stories, etc. Emotionally, early childhood provides personal and social

adjustment of the child. The emotional expression in early childhood are intense.

Development Tasks

Each stage of development has certain tasks to acquire for later development. In every culture,

for example, individuals are expected to master certain saleable skills and acquire approved

Page 34 of 70
patterns of behaviour. Failure to acquire these developmental changes and patterns of behaviour

acquired at various ages during the life span may result in unacceptability in the society. These

skills and patterns acquired are what Hurlock called social expectations for every stage of

development.

These social expectations, according to Havighurst, are developmental tasks. According to

Havighurst, “a development 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, while failure leads to unhappiness and difficulty with later tasks.” This implies that an

individual must acquire an acceptable degree of competency in learning skills and behaviour

as expected of his age, sex and after circumstantial situation. Again failure to achieve saleable

skills and expected behaviour in each stage of human development will lead to difficulty in the

next stage. The mastery of developmental tasks may be affected by nutrition, health, state of

socioeconomic status of parents, intelligence, etc.

Developmental Tasks in Infancy and Early Childhood

The developmental tasks of infancy and early childhood include learning to be mobile,

communicating by the use of language of immediate environment, taking solid foods, and

control and elimination of body wastes. In addition, the child learns to differentiate a boy from

a girl (sex differences), achieving physiological stability; learning to distinguish right from

wrong and developing conscience (through teaching of moral and tradition) forming simple

concepts of social and physical realities such as parents (mother and father), other realities, etc.

Learning to relate oneself emotionally to parents, siblings and other people are all crucial in

speech as a result of being a child or a result of deficiency in the use of words. The parents and

teachers are influential factors to the achievement of the tasks. The influence of the home begins

before birth and throughout life.

The middle childhood lies between six and eight years. The child at this stage is supposed to

be in primary school after attending pre-primary school if he or she had access to it. Middle

childhood is characterized by Piaget’s concrete operational stage. During this stage the child

prefers concrete objects. The child is more sociable, and full of activities and likes learning by

doing. He likes to play games with his peers. It is an age of competition and rivalry.

Physically, the period of middle childhood is characterized by body coordination and

movements. The increase in physical coordination enables the child to be vigorously involved

in activities. Morally, the child looks at his parents and his teachers as models of morality.

Socially, the child plays with peers and mates. Peers do influence the behaviour of young

children through modelling or imitation. Parents and relatives as well as teachers play important

roles in the social development of the child. Emotionally, in the period of middle childhood,

the child becomes more emotional in terms of expression of happiness, anxiety, sadness,

affection, and love, among parents, teachers and other people and even their peers and mates.

Both parents and teachers should understand that anxiety and fear affect the behaviour of

children at these stages. Psychologists believe that anxiety and fear affect intellectual

performance of the child. The child should study in an anxiety- and fear-free environment.

Mentally, this is a period of discovery. Piaget observed that children at this stage are able to

learn the operations of subtraction, addition, multiplication of numbers that involves logical

thinking as a basis to classify objects and events and understand how they are related while in

primary school. They are able to solve simple problems that involve mass, weight, number,

length, area, and quantity.

Page 36 of 70
Developmental Tasks of Middle Childhood

The developmental tasks of middle childhood like any other period of human development

demands the social expectations of a child at home, community and school which the child

must accomplish in order to cope with the stage of development successfully. The

developmental tasks of middle childhood and late childhood are the same.

The Period of Late Childhood

Psychologists regard this period as the “gang” age, “the age of conformity” or “the age of

creativity” because group activities play important roles in the child’s life. In the view of

Hurlock, late childhood is called the going age because older children are interested in activities

with their peers and want to belong to a gang, which expects them to conform to the patterns

of behaviour and to the values and interest of its members. This period or stage falls within the

age bracket of 8 to 11 years.

The period involves operational stages of Piaget’s cognitive development especially in the

concrete operations stage (8 to 11 yeas). Basically, the child is involved in intuitive thinking.

As such he or she can handle a number of reactions to each other and arrange objects orderly.

This period is marked by more social or communicative speech and greater dependence on

intuitive thinking rather than just on perception. Personality development and socialization are

essential at this age and their experience is tied to their immediate environment. At this stage,

the child also develops moral standards of their group. He accepts the group activities as he

prepares himself to the next stage.

Page 37 of 70
Developmental tasks of late childhood

i) Learning physical or motor skills for ordinary games. This implies that some of the

skills are acquired by children through interaction with their peers. The parents and teachers

should enable them develop these motor skills through proper coordination, supervision and

teaching.

ii) Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a growing organism. In this respect,

children should be trained in the areas of sanitation, and health habits.

iii) Learning to get along with agemates. Sociometrically, children should be taught to

maintain good relationship with their peers and agemates.

iv) Beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles.

v) Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating.

vi) Developing a conscience, a sense of morality and a scale of values. For example,

children should be exposed to good family upbringing and religious and moral instructions

especially in primary school.

vii) Developing attitudes toward social groups and constitutions: children should be

encouraged to obey rules and regulations of their school and society. They should be taught to

respect one another in their everyday living.

ix) Achieving personal independence: Children should be encouraged to work independently

with their school activities and develop self-skills.

Page 38 of 70
Adolescence Stage

Psychologists, guidance counsellors, and educators have given various definitions of

adolescence from time to time in terms of physical, mental, social and emotional maturity.

Some psychologists define adolescence as a transition period between childhood and

adulthood. Lewin (1968) views an adolescent as a person in a “no man’s land.” The adolescent

is neither a child nor an adult but is caught in a field of overlapping forces and expectations

between the field of childhood and adulthood. It is some-times referred to as the period of

teenage. This stage of development varies in length from person to person, family to family,

one socio-economic level to another, and from culture to culture. It includes the period of

mental, emotional and social maturity, legal maturity as well as physical maturity. Some

psychologists maintain that chronologically adolescence lies roughly between ages of 12 and

18 years. The psychologist Jersild defines adolescence as that span of years during which boys

and girls move from childhood to adulthood.

During adolescence, the person experiences a spurt in physical growth, changes in holding

proportions and the maturing of primary and secondary sex characteristics. Zanden (1978) calls

this period adolescent growth spurt when the adolescent experiences a very rapid increase in

height and weight. The growth spurt typically occurs at about the age of twelve in girls and

fourteen in boys. It is known as pre-adolescence or pubescence. The pre-adolescent growth

spurt is followed by a period of speedy growth known as puberty. During puberty, the person

experiences rapid increase in the size of the genital organs and the individual attains sexual

maturity. Puberty is attained between 13 and 14 years of age. However, puberty (the beginning

of sexual maturity) occurs from the first menstrual period (i.e. the menarche) in girls and the

appearance of pubic hair in boys. During puberty, male hormones (androgens) in boys and

female hormones (oestrogen) in girls are increased in production. Puberty stage varies from

culture to culture and both boys and girls develop at different rates. Some mature earlier; others

Page 39 of 70
are late developers. The adolescence period is divided into early adolescence and late

adolescence. Early adolescence is usually referred to as the period of teenage which extends

from 13 to 16 plus, while late adolescence covers the period until 18, the age of legal maturity

in Uganda when individuals are eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Adolescence

Adolescence is regarded as a period of “storm and stress.” It falls within Piaget’s formal

operational stage of cognitive or intellectual development. Jean Piaget calls adolescence the

period of formal operations. Its hallmarks according to Zanden are logical and abstract

reasoning.

Outline the characteristics of adolescents in addition to the following:

• exhibit social and recreational interests

• Pay attention to members of opposite sex

• Adolescents like to form peer groups and move in gangs

• They want to be noticed and recognized

• Adolescents exhibit heightened emotional tension (“storm and stress”)

• They may be isolated or rejected within their peer groups/gangs.

• They are moody and not predictable

• They share ideas

• They have high ability to carry out formal operations, that is, ability to carry out logical and

abstract reasoning

• They have the ability to solve more difficult problems

• They can formulate hypothetical issues

• They have increased level of vocabulary and use of imagination.

Page 40 of 70
• Their attention span is longer.

• They have the ability to generalize facts and make decisions

Developmental Tasks of Adolescents

(i) Achieving new and more mature relation with age mates of both sexes – the adolescent

is expected to maintain a cordial relationship with his age group.

(ii) Achieving a masculine or feminine role – An adolescent is expected to exhibit sex -

roles

(iii)Accepting one’s physique and using the body effectively – An adolescent worries a lot

about his/her physical appearance in terms of size, height, and weight.

(iv) Achieving assurance of economic independence – The Adolescent needs to acquire

vocational skills to become economically independence.

(v) Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults - should be able to

control their aggressive tendency through learning.

(vi) Selecting or preparing for an occupation – Adolescents are expected to choose their

career based on certain factors that influence them. There is the need for career

counseling.

(vii) Preparing for marriage and family life – maintaining a friend relationship may lead

them to marriage life.

(viii) Developing intellectual skills and concepts for necessary civic competency – they

are also expected to develop their intellectual skills in readiness for secondary schools

and higher institution

(ix) ix) Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour and character - adolescents

are expected to exhibit accepted behaviour.

(x) x) Acquiring a set of values as a guide to behaviour – Adolescents should address the

societal issues through exhibiting proper behaviour.

Problems of Adolescents

What problems do adolescents face as a result of the changes they undergo?

Educational Implications of Studying Adolescence

Of what significance is the study of adolescence to the classroom teacher?

Adulthood Development

Adulthood is associated with aging in terms of biological and social changes across the life

span. Biological aging refers to changes in the structure and functioning of the human organism

through time. While social aging refers to changes in an individual’s assumption and

relinquishment of roles with time.

Adulthood is the longest period of the human life span divided into three periods: early

adulthood; middle adulthood or middle age; and late adulthood or old age. Definitions of early,

middle, and late adulthood also vary depending upon the current age. Adult implies grown to

full size and strength or being mature. Legally, in Uganda adulthood is reached at the age of 18

when an individual has the right to vote in the political dispensation. Adults experience certain

predictable physical and psychological changes accompanied by the beginning of the decline

or loss of reproductive capacity.

Page 42 of 70
Developmental Tasks of Adults

i) To build, modify and enhance the life structure within the periods of each era depicted as

early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adult transition and late adulthood. ii) Forming and

modifying single components of the life structure.

According to Levinson, the components include:

- Forming and modifying a dream, creating a structure in which the dream can be lived out and

attaining goals to fulfill the dream; - Forming and modifying an occupation

- Forming love - marriage and family relationships

- Forming mutual relationships (e.g. friendships are rare; amicable relationships are more

likely)

- The tasks associated with becoming an individual involves reintegrating basic polarities of

young-old etc.

Early Adulthood

Early adulthood is a period of adjustment to a new pattern of life between the ages of 18-40

described as “reproductive age, problem age, and settling down age.” It is also a period of

emotional tension (like adolescence period with heightened emotionality), creative age and

commitments. Young adults also experience social isolation as a result of self-centeredness

which contributes to loneliness or what Erickson has referred to as an isolation crisis. During

this period, individuals have left the late adolescence stage to early adulthood with certain

social expectations which differs from culture to culture.

The early adulthood developmental tasks include the following:

i) Getting started in an occupation: Adults who are still in exploration stage of choice

of occupation may try to settle down after getting an occupation. Others who have completed
Page 43 of 70
their professional education may get occupations that will suit their interests and abilities. The

economic value derived from the occupation will leverage the adult to commit himself or

herself to adult roles and responsibilities.

ii) Selecting a mate – Immediately an adult settles down with accompanied occupation,

he or she would like to get married, occupational mobility notwithstanding.

iii) Learning to live with a marriage partner – adults who get married at this stage,

decide to learn to live with each other for proper adjustments of home. iv) Starting a family

– Adults will eventually learn to start and maintain family.

v) Maintaining a home with arrival of children. Adults need to manage a home in its

ramifications.

vi) Tasking a civic responsibility – Adults should take certain civic responsibilities in

communities and society.

vii) Finding a congenial social group – Adults should belong to social groups of interest

that will not constitute a hindrance to his or her roles. Accessibility of social groups will enable

the young adult to interact and be able to know the world around so that individuals will not

continue to lag behind among members of their groups.

Hazards arise when the adults cannot meet these tasks. In some cases, they become inferior and

inadequate to function among their social groups. For instance, adults suffer from prolonged

age–group influence and unrealistic aspirations. They are also emotionally disturbed as a result

of inadequate personal and social adjustments.

Vocational and family adjustments in early adulthood are prone to problems if adequate

foundations on which to build their adjustments are not met due to role – expectations of this

period. The major problems in vocational adjustment at this stage comprise how to select,

prepare and keep a vocation. But successful men and women in terms of vocational adjustment

make voluntary changes of jobs.

Page 44 of 70
Middle Adulthood (Middle Age)

This period generally lies between age forty and age sixty. It is a long period in the life span

and is subdivided into early middle (40 to 50 years) and advanced middle (50 to 60 years).

During middle age, physical and physiological changes become more apparent. It is marked by

mental changes especially at sixty years where there is a decline in physical vigour. In Uganda,

at age sixty many adults are subjected to mandatory retirement from civil service as proposed

by Donald Super in his theory of career development.

The middle age is characterized by the time when men undergo a change in virility and women,

a change in fertility. Adults in middle age also experience some developmental crises including

parental expectations from their children or children’s failures to come up to their expectations.

This crisis may come from the death of a spouse.

The middle age is also a period of stressful situation in the home, work and social aspects of

their lives, and or general evaluation of life. The developmental tasks of middle age include the

problems of adjustment which are difficult to both men and women to attend to. But most

developmental tasks of middle age prepare the individual for successful adjustment to old age.

The developmental tasks of middle age as highlighted by Havighurst include the following:

i) Achieving adult civic and social responsibility,

ii) Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults

iii) Developing adult leisure-time activities,

iv) Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person

Page 45 of 70
v) Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of

middle age;

vi) Reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in

one’s

vii) occupational career and

viii) Adjusting to aging parents,

The developmental tasks of middle age can be summarized as

a. Tasks relating to physical changes – Adults should accept and adjust to physical

changes that occur during the middle age

b. Tasks relating to changed interests – The adults at this stage should develop interest in

adult–oriented leisure time activities in family matters as they assume civic and social

responsibilities.

c. Tasks relating to vocational adjustments imply that the middle- aged person should

establish and maintain economic status which will enable him to live properly and.

d. Tasks relating to family life – The middle – aged person should assist teenage children

around him to become responsible and happy adults. The couples should also exhibit

harmonious relationship among themselves.

Late Adulthood

Immediately after middle adulthood, the next stage with identical similarities and structural

characteristics is the late adulthood or old age.

In adulthood, the later years is classified into two, namely early old age (age 60 to age 70);

and advanced old age (70 to death). The beginning of old age is known as elderly who occurs

after middle age.

Biologically, aging refers to changes that occur in the structure and functionality based on time

frame as humans. It is a continuous process which begins at prenatal and ceases at death.
Page 46 of 70
Physically, it is a period of decline to an individual’s physical characteristics. Older people are

viewed as physically unattractive and in capable of sexual activity and sickly.

Chronologically, their ages make them to be regarded as elderly deficient in mental activity

and aimless in mind based on ignorance, prejudice and superstition surrounding aging for

generation or an over estimation of the decline in intellectual functioning unit that occurs with

aging. Contrarily certain professions in Nigeria finally retired at the ages of 65 and 70

respectively. Aging is also accompanied by various physiological changes. For instance, the

old age experienced decline in capacity for physical work and exercise. There are marked

individual differences and variations on certain problems or adjustment. Majority of them

experienced poor personal and social adjustments in the home, community and society at

large.

Psychological, social and physical hazards are prominent at this period. For example, physical

hazards as characteristics of old age are diseases, handicaps, malnutrition, dental disorders

and sexual deprivation etc. Psychological hazards include among others, feelings of

inferiority and inadequacy resulting from physical changes. Physical helplessness and

meeting social obligations are difficult for many of them.

The developmental tasks of old age can be summarized as:

(i) Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health – In this period, individuals are

expected to adjust to weak in strength and health wise

(ii) Adjusting to retirement and reduced income – Old people are expected to adjust to

economic pressures such as low income.

(iii)Adjusting to death of spouse – Old people find it difficult to adjust in terms of death of

spouse. At times the loss of dear ones creates emptiness syndrome.

(iv) Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’s age group – Old people must

adjust to companionship in order to avoid loneliness.

Page 47 of 70
(v) Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements and

(vi) Adapting to social roles in a flexible manner - Old people must adjust to his social roles

both in the home and community at large.

Page 48 of 70
 Week 10, 11, 12

Stage Theories of Human Growth and Development

Psychosocial Theory of Erick Erikson

Erick Erickson is one of the best-known Neo-Freudian scholars. He pays more attention to the

importance of socio-cultural determinants of human development. He agrees with Freud that

people are born with basic instincts and that personality has three components namely the id,

ego and superego. Erikson (1972) stresses that children are active, adaptive explorers who seek

to contribute to their environment rather than passive creatures who are moulded by their

parents. He also assumes that human beings are rational creatures whose thoughts, feelings and

actions are largely controlled by the ego. Erikson is known as an ego psychologist because he

believes that an individual must first understand the realities of the social world (an ego

function) in order to adapt successfully and show a normal pattern of personal growth (Shaffer,

1985). His primary concern is with psychosocial development but he did not clearly specify

the types of experience that an individual must have in order to cope with and resolve

psychosocial crises. Erikson also notes that individuals develop a “healthy personality” by

mastering life’s outer and inner dangers. Development follows the epigenetic principle which

according to Erikson (1968) implies that anything that grows has a ground plan and out of this

ground plan the parts arise, each having its time of special ascendancy, until all parts have

arisen to form a functioning whole.

Developmental Stages

Erik Erikson observed that human beings follow a developmental Pattern throughout their

lifetime. He formulated eight major stages of Development accompanied with crisis or conflicts

during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Page 49 of 70
1. Trust versus Mistrust (Birth – 1year)

Basic Trust versus Mistrust Stage of psychosocial development occurs predominantly during

infancy. This stage relates to Freudian oral stage and Piagetian sensorimotor stage. Because

an infant is utterly dependent, the development of trust is based on the dependability and

quality of the child’s caregivers. To resolve this conflict the child must develop a sense of

security. If a child successfully develops trust, he or she will feel safe and secure in the world.

The deprivation of affection and love in infancy threatens the baby to turn into mistrust or a

suspicious person. Caregivers who are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or rejecting

contribute to feelings of mistrust in the children they care for. To resolve this conflict, the

child must develop a sense of security

2. Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1- 3yrs)

The Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt correspond to anal stage of Sigmund Freud’s

psychosexual theory. This stage also corresponds to pre-operational stage (symbolic) of

Piaget’s Cognitive developmental theory. The autonomy versus shame and doubt of Erikson’s

theory of psychosocial development fall within early childhood stage. Children at this stage

become autonomous in their personal care, and explore their physical environment and reaffirm

their autonomy in terms of self-control. Children who successfully complete this stage feel

secure and confident, while those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt.

3. Initiative versus Guilt (3- 6 yrs)

The Initiative versus Guilt corresponds to the phallic stage of Freud’s psycho-sexual theory and

preoperational stage of Piaget. Majority of children at this stage have completed their pre-

primary school and started primary school according to the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. Here

children initiate activities or games with their peers having achieved physical autonomy. In this

respect if the family and school environment are strict and inflexible, they may acquire

undesirable feelings of guilt. Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to

Page 50 of 70
lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt and

lack of initiative.

4. Industry versus Inferiority (6 -12 yrs)

The Industry versus Inferiority of developmental stage of psychosocial of development

corresponds to latency stage of Freudian theory of psychosexual development and concrete

operational stage of Piaget. Children at this stage may have completed primary school and

joined secondary school. Majority of children acquire a sense of mastery, competence and

responsibility while in the school environment. Children who are encouraged and commended

by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who

receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be

successful.

5. Identity versus Role Confusion (12- 20 yrs)

Erickson’s developmental stage of identity versus role confusion (Genital stage of Freud and

Formal operations of Piaget) in fact correspond to puberty and adolescence stage with the age

bracket of 12 to 18 years plus. Erickson made the greatest contribution to the study of identity

in adolescence which he expressed as “identity crisis.” Here the adolescent is in search of his

own identity quite different from his parents or from socio-cultural setting especially among

his peer groups and out groups. At this stage the adolescent also tends to search for vocational

identity among a variety of professions and specialties. He also exhibits sexuality identity,

ideological identity and personal identity apart from vocational identity. The sexuality identity

leads the adolescent to identify with adults, male or female, which may cause problems for

many teenagers while ideological identity accounts for another dilemma the adolescent has to

face.

The primary conflict during the adolescent period involves establishing a sense of personal

identity. Failure to develop an identity results in role confusion. Teenagers cannot continue to
Page 51 of 70
blindly accept the parents’ or other influential adults’ ideologies. It is a search for personal

identity. In this regard, some resolve their problems early and others take years to do so. Those

who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will

emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and control.

Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will be insecure and confused about

themselves and the future. In this circumstance, failure in the identity search eventually brings

role confusion in his beliefs, ideas, sexuality and career or vocation.

6. Intimacy versus Isolation (20 -40 yrs)

Another developmental stage involves Intimacy versus Isolation (youth stage). The

adolescent’s role confusion is shaped at this stage. He/she develops the ability to work toward

a specific career accompanied with intimate relationship with friends. This is a stage of young

adulthood where a man and a woman establish an intimate relationship which leads to mutual

trust and healthy development. The failure of adolescents to establish interpersonal

relationships can lead to isolation. Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close,

committed relationships with other people. Those who are successful at this step will develop

relationships that are committed and secure. Remember that each stage builds on skills learned

in previous stages. Erikson believed that a strong sense of personal identity was important to

developing intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of

self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation,

loneliness, and depression.

7. Generativity versus Stagnation (40- 65 yrs)

The adulthood stage according to Erikson is associated with Generativity versus Stagnation of

psychosocial crisis and healthy personality. The adults build up new family and work. They

also contribute beyond their immediate families and to society through hard work as well as

through the upbringing of their children and relatives. The adult’s failure to attain these

developmental tasks and goals may lead to stagnation or fixation. During adulthood, we

Page 52 of 70
continue to build our lives, focusing on our career and family. Those who are successful during

this phase will feel that they are contributing to the world by being active in their home and

community. Those who fail to attain this skill will feel unproductive and uninvolved in the

world.

8. Ego Integrity versus Despair (65–death)

At old age, people experience psychosocial crisis in terms of integrity versus despair as a result

of retirement. The individuals at this stage have retired from active service and accepted life as

it is and face his last days and death with dignity. Some of them acquire satisfaction in looking

back upon their live. If the psychosocial crisis of the older individuals is not solved,

dissatisfaction occurs when they are approaching the end of their lives which leads to despair.

Despair according to Erickson (1963) implies the feeling that the time is now short, too short

for the attempt to start another life and to try out alternative roads to integrity. According to

Erikson (1968), this phase occurs during old age and is focused on reflecting back on life.

Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will

experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair.

Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity.

What are the educational implications of this theory?

Page 53 of 70
 Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget assumes that intelligence is made up of two divisions namely functional invariants and

structure. The functional invariants are of two types known as organization and adaptation. He

further grouped adaptation into two processes namely accommodation and assimilation. The

next word Piaget used is schemas (or schemata). Piaget believes that intelligence works through

the terms mentioned.

Basically, organization and adaptation are inborn intellectual functions of cognitive structures.

Organization is “the process by which a child combines existing schema into new and more

complex intellectual structures” or bodies of knowledge.

A schemata is a logically organized pattern of thought or action that one constructs to interpret

some aspect of one’s experiences. For instance, a child may have a schema about a type of

animal, such as a dog. If the child's sole experience has been with small dogs, the child might

believe that all dogs are small, furry, and have four legs. Suppose then that the child encounters

a very large dog. The child will take in this new information, modifying the previously existing

schema to include this new information

Piaget believes that a child is born with a number of reflection schemata. Piaget described three

kinds of intellectual or cognitive structures as behavioural schemata, symbolic schemata and

operational schemata. The behavioural schemata are organized patterns of behaviour that are

used to represent and respond to objects and experiences. The symbolic schemata imply that

the child is capable of representing actions mentally to satisfy his/her objectives. The internal

mental symbols (images or verbal codes) are used to help the child to represent aspects of

experience. The operational schemata imply that a child performs in his or her objects of

thought through a cognitive operation that include mental activities such as actions implied in

mathematical symbols.

Page 54 of 70
The goal of organisation is to advance the adaptive function.

Adaptation is the aspect of intelligence which organizes the interaction between the individual

and environment. It is a process of adjusting to the demands of the environment.

Adaptation also occurs when the process of assimilation and accommodation are balanced.

According to Piaget, adaptation occurs through two complementary activities of assimilation

and accommodation.

Assimilation occurs when humans are faced with new or unfamiliar information and refer to

previously learnt information in order to make sense of it. It is the process of taking in new

information into our previously existing information. It is the process by which the child

understands new information or interprets new experiences in relation to the existing schemas

which is integrated into cognitive structure. Seeing a dog and labelling it "dog" is an example

of assimilating the animal into the child's dog schema. Piaget believes that as we assimilate

new experiences, we will also accommodate such experiences.

Accommodation is the process of modifying existing schemas (old schemas) or structures in

order to fit with the new information (or new schemas). Every assimilation of schemata

involves an accommodation to that schema (mental model) or experience. Everyday children

are repeatedly assimilating new information or experiences and accommodating their cognitive

structure to those experiences. Therefore, assimilation and accommodation cannot exist one

without the other. They are two sides of a coin. Every assimilation of a schema involves an

accommodation to that schema.

The total process of assimilation and accommodation for maintaining intellectual balance at all

age levels is what Piaget termed equilibration. Piaget believes that all children try to strike a

balance between assimilation and accommodation. As children progress through the stages of
Page 55 of 70
cognitive development, they maintain balance between applying previous knowledge

(assimilation) and changing behaviour to account for new knowledge (accommodation).

According to Piaget, cognitive development is marked by altering states of equilibrium and

disequilibrium. Equilibration helps explain how children are able to move from one stage of

thought into the next.

Adaptation: is the interaction between the individual and the demands of his/her

environment. It also occurs when the process of assimilation and accommodation are

balanced.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive development

Piaget also believed that children go through different stages of development and move from

one stage to another once they achieve specific developmental milestones. He proposed four

stages of cognitive development. He asserts that intelligence unfolds in the four distinct stages

or periods between early childhood and adolescence.

1. Sensorimotor Stage

Infants learn about their world by interacting with it through their senses. Piaget maintained

that children at the sensorimotor stage are relying on behavioural schemata as a means of

exploring and understanding the environment. During this stage, an infant’s knowledge of the

world is limited to their sensory perceptions and motor activities. Behaviours are limited to

simple motor responses caused by sensory stimuli. Children utilize skills and abilities they are

born with, such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening, to learn more about the

environment. Children explore the world through their five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing,

and sight. During this stage, children are extremely egocentric, meaning they cannot perceive

the world from others' viewpoints.

Page 56 of 70
Educational implications: It is important for caregivers to keep babies' environments clear of

dangerous objects such as small objects or poisonous substances. As babies actively make sense

of the information they take in through their senses, this process has an actual effect on the

quality of their brain development. Babies that are properly stimulated, cared for, and loved

actually develop better than babies who are neglected. Babies literally need touch and affection

from caregivers in order to grow and to thrive properly. Babies who do not receive appropriate

touch and affection may ultimately have developmental problems. Babies' senses can be

stimulated in many ways: listening to caregivers speaking, looking at different objects and

colors, and playing with toys that have different textures.

2. Pre-Operational Stage

The preoperational stage of cognitive development occurs between ages two and seven (2-

7years). It is subdivided into pre-conceptual stage (pre-logic stage 2 – 4yrs) and the intuitive

reasoning stage (4 to 7yrs). The pre-conceptual child is characterized by egocentric use of

language and heavy dependence or perception in solving problems. The intuitive stage is

marked by more social or communicative speech and intuitive thinking or reasoning. During

this stage, children are able to represent the world with words and images. They are thinking at

a symbolic level but the logical thoughts are not yet developed.

Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally

manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people, which he

termed egocentrism. Children also become increasingly adept at using symbols, as evidenced

by the increase in playing and pretending. A preoperational child is able to use an object to

represent something else, such as pretending a broom is a horse. Role playing also becomes

important during the preoperational stage. Children often play the roles of "mommy," "daddy,"

"doctor," and many others at this stage. Children at this stage cannot conserve or use logical

thinking.

Page 57 of 70
Piaget conducted several experiments to demonstrate children’s inability to conserve at this

stage. In one conservation experiment, equal amounts of liquid are poured into two identical

containers. The liquid in one container is then poured into a different shaped cup, such as a tall

and thin cup, or a short and wide cup. Children are then asked which cup holds the most liquid.

Despite seeing that the liquid amounts were equal, children tend to choose the cup that appears

fuller. Piaget conducted a number of similar experiments on conservation of number, length,

mass, weight, volume, and quantity. Piaget found that many children lack understanding of

conservation prior to the age of five.

3. Concrete Operational Stage

The concrete operational stage begins around age seven and continues until approximately age

twelve (7-12 years). The concrete operations stage emphasized children capability of

performing operations that are directly related to objects. Children at this stage increase in

knowledge and skills and decrease in egocentrism or self-centredness. During this stage,

children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking logically

about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts.

During this stage, Children can now conserve, classify, seriate, decentre, accommodate and

participate in most of the things required of them at school. The child develops an ability to

think abstractly and to make rational judgments about concrete or observable phenomena,

which in the past he/she could not understand. Applying his new knowledge of language, the

child begins to use symbols to represent objects. Piaget determined that children in the concrete

operational stage were fairly good at the use of inductive logic. Inductive logic involves going

from a specific experience to a general principle. On the other hand, children at this age have

difficulty using deductive logic, which involves using a general principle to determine the

outcome of a specific event. One of the most important developments in this stage is an

understanding of reversibility, or awareness that actions can be reversed. An example of this

Page 58 of 70
is being able to reverse the order of relationships between mental categories. For example, a

child might be able to recognize that his or her dog is a Labrador, that a Labrador is a dog, and

that a dog is an animal.

4. Formal Operational Stage

The formal operational stage of cognitive development begins at approximately age twelve

(adolescence stage) and lasts into adulthood (i.e. from age 12 onwards). The term formal is

used by Piaget because adolescents at this level of thinking possess the ability to consider the

possible, and therefore, is able to reason about the form of an argument apart from its contents.

While children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability to

think in abstract concepts emerges during the formal operational stage. Piaget believed that the

formal operation child develops the skill of deductive logic. Deductive logic requires the

ability to use a general principle to determine a specific outcome. This type of thinking involves

hypothetical situations and is often required in science and mathematics.

Implications of Piagetian Theory for the Teaching-Learning Process

The Piagetian theory of cognitive development has a lot of educational implications that are

relevant for teacher–interns and professional teachers in the field. An understanding of the

theory helps the teacher to improve his or her classroom practices and learning outcomes in the

child. Falaye (2009) has enumerated some of these implications as follows:

i. Teachers should plan classroom activities that are appropriate for the learner, taking

into consideration the developmental stage of the learner.

ii. Teaching and learning must be sequential from simple to complex, concrete to

abstract such that they are appropriate for the cognitive level of the learner.

iii. Teaching and learning must be supported with the use of learning materials that are

relevant and appropriate for the developmental stage of the learner.

Page 59 of 70
iv. The teacher must not be rigid in his or her approaches to teaching. Individual differences

in the learner should be noted. Even though time boundaries are set for the different

stages, learners within the same age bracket may have different learning needs that the

teacher should recognize and attend to

v. The teacher should use discovery methods in facilitating learning in the child. The teacher

should provide ample opportunity to explore the environment.

vi. Teaching should be interactive and less formal particularly when teaching younger

children. Apart from heredity factor, the environment plays a significant role in cognitive

development. Therefore, the teacher should ensure that the environment, especially the

physical environment, is made conducive for learning.

Social Cognitive and Moral Development - Lawrence Kohlberg

Kohlberg followed Piaget’s conceptualization of cognitive-developmental stages but focused

specifically on socialization and the child as a “moral philosopher” who frames the moral order

in social relations. It is a theory that expanded upon Piaget’s work by focusing most principally

on t he concept of justice, and positing a development that continues throughout an individual’s

lifetime.

Kohlberg based on the Heinz's dilemma to develop the levels and stages of moral

development:

A woman was near death. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was

a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was

expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce.

He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's

husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together

about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and

asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the

Page 60 of 70
drug and I'm going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's

laboratory to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal

the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

From this dilemma, Kohlberg developed three levels of moral thinking, with each level

comprising two stages, as summarized in the following table:

Levels Stages Construction of moral realities

Preconventional 1 Obedience and Punishment orientation: deference to superior

power and apprehension for physical consequences of action. For

example, we follow the law because we do not want to go to jail.

2 Instrumental Relativist Orientation: Pragmatic concerns of

need satisfaction rather than justice. For instance, a person steals

money from another person because he needs that money to buy

food for his hungry children.

Conventional 3 Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation: with approval seeking and

conformity concerns. In this stage, a person judges an action based

on the societal roles and social expectations before him.

This is also known as the “interpersonal relationships” phase. For

example, a child gives away her lunch to a street peasant because

she thinks doing so means being nice.

4 Law and Order Orientation: This stage includes respecting the

authorities and following the rules, as well as doing a person’s

duty. The society is the main consideration of a person at this stage.

For instance, a policeman refuses the money offered to him under

the table and arrests the offender because he believes this is his

duty as an officer of peace and order.

Page 61 of 70
Postconventional 5 Social Contract Orientation: with respect for society as a whole

with individual interests relativized by larger context. In this stage,

the person is look at various opinions and values of different people

before coming up with the decision on the morality of the action.

6 Universal Ethical Principles Orientation: The final stage of

moral reasoning, this orientation is when a person considers

universally accepted ethical principles. The judgment may become

innate and may even violate the laws and rules as the person

becomes attached to his own principles of justice.

Ecological Systems Theory

Also known as the Human Ecology Theory, the Ecological Systems theory formulated by Urie

Bronfenbrenner states that human development is influenced by the different types of

environmental systems. The theory helps us understand why we may behave differently when

we compare our behavior in the presence of our family and our behavior when we are in school

or at work.

The Five Environmental Systems

The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments throughout our

lifespan that may influence our behavior in varying degrees. These systems include the micro

system, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macro system, and the chronosystem.

1. The Micro System

The micro system setting is the direct environment we have in our lives. Your family, friends,

classmates, teachers, neighbors and other people who have a direct contact with you are

included in your micro system. The micro system is the setting in which we have direct social

interactions with these social agents. The theory states that we are not mere recipients of the

Page 62 of 70
experiences we have when socializing with these people in the micro system environment, but

we are contributing to the construction of such an environment.

2. The Mesosystem

The mesosytem involves the relationships between the microsystems in one's life. This means

that your family experience may be related to your school experience. For example, if a child

is neglected by his parents, he may have a low chance of developing positive attitude towards

his teachers. Also, this child may feel awkward in the presence of peers and may resort to

withdrawal from a group of classmates.

3. The Exosystem

The exosystem is the setting in which there is a link between the context where the person does

not have any active role, and the context where the person is actively participating. Suppose a

child is more attached to the father than to the mother. If the father goes abroad to work for

several months, there may be a conflict between the mother and the child's social relationship,

or on the other hand, this event may result to a tighter bond between the mother and the child.

4. The Macrosystem

The macrosystem setting is the actual culture of an individual. The cultural contexts involve

the socioeconomic status of the person and/or family, ethnicity or race, and living in a still

developing or a third world country. For example, being born in a poor family makes a person

work harder every day.

5. The Chronosystem

The chronosystem includes the transitions and shifts in one's lifespan. This may also involve

the socio-historical contexts that may influence a person. One classic example of this is how

divorce, as a major life transition, may affect not only the couple's relationship but also their

children's behavior. According to a majority of research, children are negatively affected on

the first year after the divorce. The next years after it the interaction within the family becomes

more stable and agreeable.

John Bowlby was the first psychologist to extensively study attachment. According to Bowlby's

Attachment Theory, attachment is a psychological connectedness that occurs between humans

and lasts for a long period of time. To Bowlby, attachment is what keeps a baby connected to

his mother, considering the needs of the child that can only be satisfied by the parent.

Characteristics of Attachment

There are four basic characteristics that give us a clear view of what attachment really is. They

include a safe heaven, a secure base, proximity maintenance, and separation distress.

These four attributes are very evident in the relationship between a child and the caregiver.

1. Safe Haven

Ideally, the child can rely on his caregiver for comfort at times whenever he feels threatened,

frightened or in danger. For example, if a child is given a toy that he doesn't like, he'd cry and

his mother would remove the toy and hug the child so he would stop crying.

2. Secure Base

Here, the caregiver gives a good and reliable foundation to the child as the child goes on

learning and sorting out things by himself/herself. For example, a child would ask questions to

his mother about why his dad got sick and can't play with him at the moment.

3. Proximity Maintenance

This means that the child aims to explore the world but still tries to stay close to the caregiver.

For example, a teenager discusses peer problems with the mother.

4. Separation Distress

This means that the child becomes unhappy and sorrowful when he/she becomes separated

from the caregiver. For example, an infant cries loudly when the mother leaves for work.

Page 64 of 70
Attachment Styles

Aside from Bowlby, other theorists contributed to the study of attachment. Mary Ainsworth,

Main, and Solomon are the main researchers who theorized the different styles of attachment

that can be observed in the relationship of one person to another. These attachment styles

include: secure, ambivalent-secure, avoidant-insecure, and disorganized insecure attachments.

1. Secure Attachment

When children are securely attached to their caregivers (parents), they feel happy whenever

their caregivers are around, but are upset when they get separated from them. While the child

is in distress when the parent is away, still, he/she feels secure that the caregiver will return

sometime soon.

2. Ambivalent Attachment

Children who are ambivalently attached become very upset and sorrowful whenever they get

separated from the parents. They do not feel that they can rely on the caregivers whenever in

need of something.

3. Avoidant Attachment

A child who has an avoidant attachment tends to keep away from the parents. This may be

caused by parents who are fond of neglecting or abusing their children.

4. Disorganized Attachment

This is when there is no clear (or mixed) attachment between the child and the caregiver. When

the parent acts as an apprehensive caregiver and a reassuring one at different times, the child

may get confused and show this kind of attachment.

Why is studying Bowlby's Attachment Theory important to a teacher trainee?

Page 65 of 70
Why Children Behave the Way They Do

Children show different kinds of attitude as they socialize with other people and explore the

world. In psychology, childhood temperament involves many aspects of the child’s personality

that leads to the formation of his/her attitudes and behaviors. Understanding a child’s

temperament is crucial in parenting and guiding the child throughout life. Behaviors of

Children Thomas and Chess identified nine behaviors of children:

1. Activity

This refers to the physical energy of the child. A child may be very active and constantly

moving, while another child may be behaved, relaxed and prefers to sit still rather than run

around. The first child may be sports-oriented, while the second child may be more interested

in fine motor activities like sketching and reading.

2. Regularity or Rhythmicity

This refers to whether the child has routines or is random in terms of biological functions. If a

child always wakes up at 7 am and wants to eat at 11 am, he/she may want things to be done in

a routine manner, whereas a child who wakes up at different times may do things at random.

3. Initial Reaction

The main question here is whether the child is hesitant in approaching other people or things,

or he/she is bold enough to face them as if without thinking.

4. Adaptability

Here, we ask whether a child is able to adjust to new things or changes in the environment

easily, or resists such changes.

5. Intensity

When assessing for intensity, we ask whether the child is calm during a certain situation, or

becomes tense (e.g., excited)?”

6. Mood

Page 66 of 70
This refers to the child’s response to a pleasant or unpleasant event or thing.

7. Distractibility

This refers to the likelihood of the child to be distracted or left undisturbed by other things in

the environment.

8. Persistence and Attention Span

This concerns whether the child easily loses interest in doing an activity, or is patient enough

to finish it.

9. Sensitivity

This refers to a child’s tolerance towards changes in the surroundings. For example, a sensitive

child may be distracted when the mother turns on the radio, while a less sensitive child is able

to continue his/her task at hand.

Types of Children

Looking at the nine behaviors that a child may show, Thomas and Chess identified three types

of children in terms of their childhood temperament.

1. The easy child is one who has a routine in his/her biological functions like waking,

sleeping and eating. He/she has a generally positive attitude, good mood, and adapts to change

easily. He/she may become frustrated at times but is capable of smiling again after some time.

2. The difficult child is one who has random cycles of waking, sleeping, eating and

elimination. When faced with new things or changes, the difficult child shows a negative

behavior or approach like crying loudly or throwing tantrums. He/she need a longer time in

order to adapt to new people, food or places.

3. The slow-to-warm-up child is one who initially shows a negative approach but of milder

intensity than of the difficult child when faced with new food, things, people and events.

However, repeated exposure to these changes would lead to the child’s acceptance, and he/she

may gradually show a more positive response towards them.

Page 67 of 70
Page 68 of 70
 Week 13 and 14

Thinking and Language

Basic elements comprising thought.

Strategies and obstacles involved in problem solving and decision-making.

Structural features of language.

Links between thinking and language

Page 69 of 70
 Week 15

Child-Rearing Patterns

Types of parenting

Culture and parenting styles.

Guidelines of children’s discipline

Page 70 of 70