Introduction
When a child is born, they undergo a series of physical, language, thought, and emotional changes as they progress from dependency on their parents to increasing independence. Both genetic and environmental influences play a role in child development. Also, each child develops at their own pace. This paper will discuss the developmental processes, periods of development, developmental theories, nature versus nurture, and continuity versus discontinuity.
Developmental Processes
There are three developmental processes; biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes. Biological processes cause physical changes. Examples of biological processes affecting development include genes, brain development, increase in height and weight, cardiovascular decline, and hormonal changes caused by puberty (Santrock, 2020). Cognitive processes produce changes in thoughts, intelligence, and language. Children’s cognitive development includes forming a two-word sentence, memorizing the names of favorite toys, and solving puzzles. Socioemotional processes cause changes in relationships, emotions, and personality. For example, a baby may smile in response to his mother’s touch and cry when held by a stranger.
Periods of Development
The five development periods are prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, and adolescence (Santrock, 2020). The prenatal period is the period between conception and birth. In nine months, a single cell develops into a human being with brain, behavioral, and other capabilities. Infancy is the period from birth to 18-24 months. This period is characterized by extreme dependency on parents or guardians. Psychological activities such as language, social learning, motor coordination, and symbolic thought begin during infancy. Early childhood or preschool years is the period from the end of infancy to 5 or 6 years. During this period, a child learns to become more self-sufficient, follow instructions, identify letters, and spend a lot of time playing with peers.
Middle and late childhood is the period between 6 and 11 years. A child masters fundamental reading, writing, and arithmetic skills during this period. The child is also introduced to the larger world and its cultures. Additionally, the child practices greater self-control, and achievement becomes an essential aspect of their world. Adolescence starts between 10 to 12 years and ends at 18 to 19 years. This period is characterized by rapid physical changes in weight, height, body contour, and development of sexual characteristics. An individual feels the need to pursue independence and identity. They also spend less time with family. Lastly, their thought processes become more abstract, logical, and idealistic.
Developmental Theories
Sigmund Freud developed Freud’s theory. He suggests that psychosexual development occurs in five stages. These are oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. According to Freud, an individual’s adult personality is determined by how they resolve conflicts during these stages and the demands of reality at each stage (Brandell, 2019).
Erikson’s theory suggests eight stages of psychosocial development that unfold as a person goes through life. These are trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus identity confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and integrity versus despair. Each stage presents a unique crisis that an individual needs to resolve. If the crisis is resolved successfully, it leads to healthy development.
Piaget’s theory posits that cognitive development occurs in four stages. These are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. Organization and adaptation processes move individuals through these stages (Kazi & Galanaki, 2019). According to this theory, a child’s cognition is qualitatively different at each stage. Vygotsky’s theory suggests that culture and social interaction influence cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, a child’s development of memory, attention, and reasoning essentially involves the use of society’s inventions (Santrock, 2020). Also, social interaction with skilled adults and peers influences a child’s cognitive development.
Robert Siegler developed the information-processing theory. This theory argues that an individual develops gradually, increasing their capacity for information processing. This theory equates the human mind with a computer. Thinking occurs when an individual perceives, encodes, represents, stores, and retrieves information (Brayadi et al., 2022). Siegler points out that good information processing strategies are critical for development.
Nature versus Nurture
Nature refers to biological influences on development. For instance, inheriting a condition such as autism influences a child’s cognitive development. An autistic child is likely to have severe cognitive and socioemotional developmental delays or might not achieve several developmental milestones altogether. Nurture refers to environmental experiences. For instance, growing up in an unsafe environment may limit social interactions, thus affecting the development of social skills.
Continuity versus Discontinuity
Continuity views change as gradual and cumulative. For example, a child may say his first word at 11 months. At 1½ years, he might speak a two-word sentence. As the child grows, he can speak in complete sentences and understand complex words. The discontinuity view sees development as abrupt. According to this view, changes are sudden. For instance, a child can go from thinking only in literal terms to abstract thinking.
Conclusion
The biological, cognitive, and socioemotional developmental processes are inextricably intertwined. The interaction of these processes results in the five periods of development: prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, and adolescence. Theories such as Freud’s, Erikson’s, Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, and Information processing have been developed to explain psychosocial development in humans. Each of them is an essential piece to the puzzle of understanding child development.
References
Brandell, J. R. (2019). 3. Psychoanalytic Theory, Part 1. In Trauma (pp. 67-91). Columbia University Press.
Brayadi, B., Supriadi, S., & Manora, H. (2022). Information Processing And Cognitive Theories Of Learning. Edification Journal: Pendidikan Agama Islam, 4(2), 347-355.
Kazi, S., & Galanaki, E. (2019). Piagetian theory of cognitive development. The encyclopedia of child and adolescent development, 1-11.
Santrock, J. W. (2020). Child Development: An Introduction (15th Edition). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9781260425772
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