human development class essay

88 Human Development Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best human development topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on human development, ❓ essay questions about human development.

Human Development Index: Limitations and Benefits The development of education in the country is based on the mean of years among adults aged 25 years and the expected schooling duration of children at the time of schooling age.
Theories of Human Development Essay The ability of a child to act on the effects of his/her surrounding has significant implications on other aspects of development, and each and every accomplishment enhances the child’s level of independence. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
Human development index It is important to note that the origin and development of the human development index is closely linked to the United Nations, to be more precise, to the United Nations Development Program’s annual development reports.
Human Development: Nature or Nurture? With studies and theories carried out to examine the impact of nature on the personal development and personality traits, heredity is an important factor in the development.
Erikson’s Theory of Human Development and Its Impact on My Life The criticism and the thin skin aspects became evident to me in my adolescence when I was looking for an explanation of my issues with establishing social relationships.
Human Development and Groundwater Sustainability The experiment aims to address the impact of human development on the sustainability of groundwater. This aggregation of waste to the landfill is a threat to groundwater and the environment.
The Effect of Emotions and Desires on Individual Development As a result, the urges and the desires are forced into the unconscious mind in order to stop any damage of the individual.
Friendships in Human Development In this stage, positive interactions and mutual activities no longer serve as an excuse for betrayed trust and a lack of dependability, and children begin to understand the role of apologies in reestablishing friendships.
Human Development in the Elderly Phase Therefore, the elderly are in need of a sense of love and belonging from their friends and family members. The community and the church have a role in providing older adults with avenues to meet […]
Human Development Theories: Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget Much attention should be paid to the way in which these psychologists explain the role of culture that includes a set of values, beliefs, and attitudes that shape the behavior of an individual.
Learning and Cognition: The Purpose of Human Development Visual learning is a type of learning that involves the use images to pass on information and ideas to the learner.
Cognitive Growth Stages: Piaget & Freud The pre-operational stage: At the pre-operational stage, the child learns to exercise language and to characterize things by words and images. At this stage of development, the anus acts as the centre of attraction of […]
Aspects of Human Development Stages These are the people in her immediate surroundings, and she can impact their impressions of her. Since she has confidence in her ability to be independent, she is unafraid and confident.
Auditory and Vestibular Systems in Human Development A specific feature of the vestibular system is that a significant part of the sensory information processed in it is used for the automatic regulation of functions performed without conscious control.
Aspects of Lifespan Human Development Thus, I decided not to stop there and continue to build my life in a way that would make my grandmother proud of me.
New Theories of Human Development At the beginning of the course, it seemed quite natural to measure development by a degree of rational thinking and independent analysis. Overall, the hierarchical model seems to be largely irrelevant in the context of […]
The “Human Development and Faith” Book by Kelcourse The authors who provided their essays to this editor also have a religious or psychology work background.”Human Development and Faith” by Kelcourse help one explore the context of human development, the specifics of each stage […]
Faith and Other Areas of Human Development From my point of view, there is undoubtedly a certain kind of connection between the development of faith and other areas of human development.
Human Development in Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Indeed, information from a mental status exam can be combined with that of family and individual historical background help in the establishment of timely assistance to be accorded to the patient.
Discussion of Human Development Human development refers to individuals’ social, psychological, physical, and cognitive development throughout their lifespan, from prenatal development to late adulthood. Physical development includes growth in motor skills and brain, body, sense, and health development.
The Relationship Between Human Development Index and Socio-Economic Variables The HDI is derived from or directly linked to the life expectancy of people and the gross national income of the county’s population.
The Human Development and Political Indexes The Brand Development Index for this product can be calculated by dividing the number of brand sales by that of households in countries A and B.
Jigsaw Model: Human Development and Learning The steps of jigsaw include; The teacher creating groups and giving an assignment on the following topic; salt marshes Each learner should get a sub-topic on the salt marshes.
Human Development: A Life-Span Approach The motor activities of a child also represent his mental growth and development. The other important element to know is the factors affecting the development- the environment of the child.
Elementary Education, Human Development and Learning In a classroom environment, it is normally important that the teacher helps the learners to develop high self esteem. The introduction of competition in the groups is a motivating factor that will boost the learners’ […]
“Eight Stages of Human Development” by Erik Erikson This is important because it helps the child to develop essential skills of the will. It is not surprising therefore that the crucial relationship at this stage is with buddies and marital partners.
Erik Erikson Human Development Theory Eriksson’s concept is simple and neat, however, it is very sophisticated, and the concept is a base for extensive or complex discussion and examination of personality and behavior. This is the infant stage; the infant […]
Human Development and Issues in Clinical Practice At the same time, Ego views it as a matter of consideration for the social worker only as of the one who is interested in the efficiency of his work and fulfills all the ethical […]
Human Development: Term Definition According to Kohlberg’s gender identity development theory, “young children learn to understand about their gender and the meaning of being that gender in their each and everyday life”.
Social-Emotional Learning in Human Development This paper analyzes the skills, or personal capabilities, that contribute to positive social development in children, addressing the school and the family environment qualities that encourage or inhibit this development. A Teacher’s Use of the […]
Human Development In Different Ways Using Theories He is the one who has sent us in this world to live and to do various types of activities so that we can understand that what actually life means. And the answer is that […]
The Psychological Aspects of Human Development Despite the possibility of analyzing human aggression in the context of several areas of psychology, the social sphere is the most suitable for integrated assessment and work.
Human Development in the Ecological Context Though I spent the most of my life in boarding schools, my caregivers provided me with the required portion of support and understanding.
Nature vs. Nurture Factors of Human Development Advocates of the nurture concept believe strongly that the natural environment reshapes the behaviors of many people. That being the case, people should consider the role played by the environment towards reshaping their experiences and […]
Wellbeing and Human Development While assessing the wellbeing of people in a country, a person should look at a series of indicators that can throw light on the degree of human development in a certain region or state.
Social Psychology Role: Self-Esteem and Human Development The relation between the concepts and the response is closely analyzed to determine the most important criteria people’s actions can be judged by. A person is stereotyped and the thinking leads to over-generalize towards others.
Human Development Theories: Adolescence and Adulthood In the growth and development stage of a human being, the adolescent period has been considered to be a natural stage found between childhood and adulthood.
Technology and Human Development This paper discusses video games as learning tools to highlight the kind of knowledge that they present to learners and their effectiveness in enabling people to acquire the knowledge.
Measuring Economic Development: Human Development Index This paper discusses the economic development of China and India on the basis of the Human Development Index. The purpose of this paper is to compare the economic development of India and China.
Freud’s Theory as to Human Development In the beginning, a person is driven primarily by the id or the part of the psyche that focuses on instinctive needs and desires.
Human Development Index in Economic Measuring The study had several objectives, including classifying the scientific approaches to the formation and development of human potential, determining the core of the HDI in a system of quantitative and qualitative economic parameters, and determining […]
Stress Impacts on the Human Development To narrow down on the diverse nature of stress, this paper will focus on one of the mechanism that has been identified as a possible solution of controlling stress levels in individuals.
Human Development: Sexual Behaviors Among Adolescents The independent variable of the research is the age of the participants, while the dependent variables are different social environments that children derive sexual information that influences their sexual development.
Human Development: Democratization and Economy’ Relations Economic development refers to the increase in the wellbeing of a society both qualitatively and quantitatively. In a nutshell, democratization and economic development are complementary issues in the process of human development.
Lifespan Perspectives on Human Development This makes it necessary for individuals to understand the human development process, a function that they can achieve using the human lifespan perspective. Finally, because the context of occurrence of different activities is important in […]
Nurture and Human Development It is notable that parents are the ones who are normally the closest people to their offspring during the processes of early growth and development.
Human Development. Role of Agriculture. Importance of Technology and Foreign Aid in Mozambique The access to wage labor, which enhances the state of agriculture and the whole country, depends on the people’s education. The rapid development of the agriculture is connected with foreign investments and earnings, as they […]
Incorporating Human development theory It is understandable to establish various components of human development in the realms of drug abuse, addiction, and other relevant provisions applicable in this context.
Whether China Has Done a Good Job Promoting Human Development and Well Being Since 1949 This era was marred with challenges such as domestic wars among the communities in china, international feuds in Asia and the world at large, economic challenges like the great depression of the 1920s and the […]
Gender specific health issues in Medium Human Development Countries Gender issues in health between women and men are different and there is a disparity in how the health systems respond to men and women issues.
Human Development and Learning A teacher can ask students that lack social skills to monitor the class activities and report about those in the end of every day.
Human Development and Learning: Analysis of the Lesson For instance, in the video the teacher asked a student to remind who can talk to her and talk to the messenger instead of talking to her.
Contrasts and similarities of Indonesia and Brazil’s human development condition Human development in Brazil over the last ten years is a clear indication to other countries of the world that economic growth is possible despite lack of expansive economic level. The crises led to increased […]
Critically Discussion: Nature is Solely Responsible for Human Development Human development is influenced in a great way by nature, but this is not to say that nature is solely responsible for human development.
Human Development: Adolescence as the Most Important Age Range The stage is therefore very important in understanding the behavior of an individual. This is a stage when the life of an individual is either made or destroyed.
The Bioecological Model of Human Development The aspects related to the school attended by a child have also been observed to have impacts on the performance of the child and the general development of the child.
Theory, Methodology and Human Development: HIV/AIDS and Education in African Countries This is correct despite advances of remarkable nature in our comprehension of the virus’s molecular biology and its effects on the body; advances that have resulted to therapeutic findings in the second decade of the […]
First Look into Human Development in United Arab Emirates The Prime Minister of the UAE is in charge of all activities of the government. The UAE has a diverse and multicultural society and the influence of Islam is evident in its development.
Can Only Democracies Enhance “Human Development”?
Can Relationships Affect Human Development?
Does Diversity Impair Human Development?
Does Economic Freedom Promote Human Development?
Does Global Fertility and Cultural Transition Affect Human Development?
Does Human Development Index Provide Rational Development Rankings?
Does Human Development Influence Women’s Labor Force Participation Rate?
Does Infrastructure Affect Human Development?
Does Political Competition Influence Human Development?
Does the World Bank Have an Impact on the Human Development of the Poorest Countries?
How Does Culture Affect Human Development?
How Does Eye Development Affect Human Development?
How Should Human Development Research Inform Educational?
How Nature and Nurture Affect Human Development?
How Psychologists Integrate the Study of Human Development With Theories?
How Are Relationships Important for Human Development and Growth?
How Do Theories and Perspectives Inform Our Thinking About Human Development?
What Can Psychology Teach Us About Human Development?
What Does the Human Development Index Tell Us About Convergence?
What Drives Human Development in Nigeria?
What Makes the Study of Human Development a Science?
Education and Human Development: How Much Do Parents Matter?
How Human Development During Trauma and Does Spirituality Help?
Human Development Index: Are Developing Countries Misclassified?
What Are the Five Main Stages of Human Development?
What Is the Importance of Human Development?
What Is an Example of Human Development?
What Are the Four Principles of Human Development?
What Is the Meaning of Human Development?
What Is the Most Important Aspect of Human Development?
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Essay on Human Development

Students are often asked to write an essay on Human Development in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Human Development

The concept of human development.

Human development is a process of enlarging people’s freedoms and improving their well-being. It involves increasing the choices and opportunities for all people.

Dimensions of Human Development

There are three main dimensions: health, education, and living standards. Health is measured by life expectancy, education by years of schooling, and living standards by income.

The Importance of Human Development

Human development is crucial. It helps societies to progress, reduces poverty, and promotes equality. It’s a way to help everyone live a productive and fulfilling life.

Challenges in Human Development

Despite its importance, many challenges exist, like inequality, environmental degradation, and political instability. Overcoming these challenges is vital for sustainable human development.

250 Words Essay on Human Development

Introduction.

Human development, a multidimensional concept, is a process of enlarging people’s freedoms and improving their well-being. It encompasses the enhancement of both individual potential and societal growth, focusing on aspects such as education, health, standard of living, and participation in societal activities.

Theoretical Framework

The Human Development Index (HDI), introduced by the United Nations Development Programme, quantifies human development. It emphasizes three fundamental dimensions: knowledge, longevity, and decent standard of living. However, human development is not merely a function of these quantifiable elements; it also involves intangible aspects such as freedom, dignity, and autonomy.

Role of Education

Education plays a central role in human development. It equips individuals with knowledge and skills, empowering them to contribute to societal progress. Education fosters creativity and innovation, driving technological advancements and economic growth.

Health and Living Standards

Health is another crucial component. A healthy population is more productive, contributing to economic growth and societal development. Additionally, a decent standard of living, characterized by access to basic needs and services, is vital for human development.

Societal Participation

Active societal participation promotes inclusivity and equality, essential elements of human development. It enables individuals to contribute to and benefit from societal progress, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual respect.

In conclusion, human development is a comprehensive and nuanced concept. It encompasses not only economic growth but also aspects such as education, health, living standards, and societal participation. It is about creating an environment where individuals can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests.

500 Words Essay on Human Development

Human development is an intricate interplay of biological, psychological, and sociocultural processes that begin at conception and continue throughout the lifespan. It encompasses the growth and maturation of the human being, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes.

The Biological Perspective

From the biological standpoint, human development begins with genetics. Our genetic makeup, coupled with environmental influences, guides our physical growth and maturation. This includes the development of the brain, motor skills, and health. Understanding the biological aspects of human development allows us to grasp why we are the way we are, and how our physical attributes and health conditions may influence our life experiences.

The Psychological Perspective

The psychological perspective focuses on the development of mental processes, behaviors, and emotions. Cognitive development theory, proposed by Jean Piaget, suggests that individuals pass through different stages of cognitive growth as they mature. This theory underscores the importance of experiences and interactions in shaping our cognitive abilities, personality, and emotional well-being.

The Sociocultural Perspective

The sociocultural perspective emphasizes the impact of social and cultural factors on human development. According to Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, our cognitive development is heavily influenced by our social interactions and cultural context. This perspective highlights the importance of understanding the cultural and social norms, values, and expectations that shape our behaviors and identities.

Interplay of Factors

It is important to recognize that these perspectives do not exist in isolation. They interact in complex ways to shape human development. For instance, our biological makeup may influence our cognitive abilities, which in turn can be shaped by our sociocultural environment. Similarly, our sociocultural context may impact our physical health through factors such as diet, lifestyle, and access to healthcare.

Human Development Index

To measure human development, the United Nations uses the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and having a decent standard of living. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare.

In conclusion, human development is a multifaceted process influenced by biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. It is a continuous journey that shapes our physical attributes, cognitive abilities, emotional well-being, and social interactions. Understanding these factors and their interplay can provide valuable insights into human behavior and well-being, and guide efforts to promote healthy development and improve quality of life. The HDI, while not perfect, gives us a tool to measure and compare human development across different contexts.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Human Development Essay: Topics, Examples, & How-to Guide

A human development essay explores how a person or group of people can grow and thrive.

A human development essay is a piece of writing that explores how a person or group of people can grow and thrive. Several disciplines study these processes and might require you to get ready with this kind of assignment:

Biology analyzes human body development issues throughout our lifespan;
Psychology views human development as gaining or abandoning certain behavioral trends;
Sociology explains the cause-and-effect relationships between an individual and a group;
Economics studies the growth of human freedoms through the improvement of their well-being.

This article systematizes the available bulk of knowledge on the importance of human development. We have collected the essential concepts and approaches you can explore through our human development essay topics and samples.

💵 Human Development in Economics

🤯 human development in psychology.

🧒 Human Growth Essay Topics
📑 Outlining Your Essay
1️⃣ HD Theories: Essay Example
2️⃣ HD & Economic Growth: Essay Example

The first Human Development Report introduced this notion back in 1990 . But the discussion of the relationship between economic growth and human development started in the middle of the 20 th century.

Now we believe that GDP is not the only indicator of our well-being . Human life is more than just selling, buying, and consuming.

Human development in economics focuses on the creation of equal rights and opportunities for everyone . This approach states that the entire society would prosper from the happiness of each of its members.

In these terms, human development has two dimensions:

enhancement of human abilities;
provision of prerequisites for our growth.

Human development has two dimensions: enhancement of human abilities and provision of prerequisites for our growth.

The former explores how we could ensure that everyone has access to education , healthcare, and decent living conditions. The latter involves achieving environmental sustainability and equality of rights and opportunities for people of all genders, ages, and ethnic backgrounds.

Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) emphasizes that people and their well-being are the criteria for a country’s prosperity, not only its economic growth.

Today, we use HDI to question the efficiency of national policy. It also allows us to compare different countries with the same GDP but different human development levels. Analyzing this data, governments can refocus their priorities and correct past mistakes.

HDI is calculated as the geometric mean of the following normalized indices:

Life expectancy at birth is used to calculate the life expectancy index, where 85 years is the maximum.
The education index is the sum of the expected and mean years of schooling divided by 2.
This index is determined as GNI per capita.

Meanwhile, HDI is not as comprehensive as one might expect. HDRO (the Human Development Report Office) claims that it does not consider human inequalities, the empowerment of minorities, poverty levels, and gender disparity .

Psychology views human development from an individual’s perspective. This discipline distinguishes between three directions of human development.

The picture describes three directions of human development in psychology.

Physical changes occur in our bodies. How do we grow from a baby into an adult and from an adult into an older person? How do we acquire new motor skills, and what is the biology of our senses? What do our brains consist of , and how do they change with age? Correct answers to these questions help us explain the next direction.
Cognitive changes cause the development of human behavior. What goes on in our brain that defines what kind of people we are? This domain focuses on logical thinking, learning, understanding, moral reasoning , and practical intelligence. It searches for the ways we could learn faster and become better versions of ourselves.
Psychosocial changes track the growth of our social skills and preferences. It all starts with the principal caregiver. Gradually, we begin to interact with more people, such as friends, distant relatives, educators, and colleagues. It is all about our self-image, self-esteem , emotions, and relationships. The psychosocial domain also studies our ways to cope with losses or death.

Human Development Theories

The history of psychology knows many human development theories, many of which are still trusted. We will focus on the two fundamental approaches. They divide childhood into several critical stages that define our character, habits, likes, relationships, and even success in life.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s theory is the most widely accepted approach to child development. He believed that children construct knowledge while they manipulate and explore the objects around them. Jean Piaget marked four stages of cognitive development .

Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years). A child learns that objects do not disappear. Their activity is all about experimenting with things to see what happens. This stage should culminate with developing the deferred imitation skill. It involves the ability to reproduce an action or sound made by another person later.
Preoperational stage (2-6 years). Children use symbols to represent words and ideas. They develop the language and make-believe play but still lack logical reasoning . They are egocentric and cannot imagine that other people may feel or think differently.
Concrete operational stage (6-12 years). Thinking becomes logical and focused. Children develop inductive reasoning: they observe to make generalizations about the world around them. But they still struggle with deductive thinking.
Formal operational stage (12 years – adulthood). Abstract thinking emerges. They learn to develop theoretical ideas to explain the world.

Freud’s 5 Stages of Psychosexual Development

The Father of Psychoanalysis believed that human personality consisted of ego, superego, and id. They become unified and inseparable once the child passes the five stages of psychosexual development.

Oral stage (0-1 year). The mouth is the pleasure center for the infant. That is why everyone is born with a sucking reflex. If the oral needs are not met during the first year of life, the child can start biting their nails or suck a thumb.
Anal stage (1-3 years). Children gain control over their bodily functions. They experiment with feces. But early toilet training can make a child too obsessed with order.
Phallic stage (3-6 years). Children find out the pleasure they can get from their genitals. According to Freud, this is when the sexual desire to the parent of the opposite sex emerges. Boys go through the Oedipus complex. They want to replace their father and see him as a rival in the mother’s love. Later, Carl Jung spoke of the Electra Complex, a similar mechanism in girls.
Latency stage (6-12 years). Sexual instincts give way to the superego. During this period, children adopt the moral principles and values of their parents.
Genital stage (12+ years). Sexual instincts reemerge. If all the above steps passed successfully, adolescents would show appropriate sexual behavior.

But this theory is too controversial to be taken for granted. Do parents define their child’s sexual and aggressive drives? Nobody knows for sure.

💡 232 Human Development Essay Topics

Since human development is a debatable and scarcely studied area of knowledge, it offers a whole lot of topics to discuss. For your convenience, we have divided them into two categories:

The first can be used for essays on human development psychology.
The second includes human growth and development essay topics in economics and sociology.

155 Human Development Topics (Psychology)

Psychology focuses on the emotional, intellectual, and social development of an individual. Scientists traditionally divide this growth into stages, according to the respective age. That is why the topics here can be about early childhood, parent-child relationships, school years, adolescence, marriage, and divorce .

Child psychology: Theories of development by J. Piaget .
How can parents facilitate their child’s relationships with peers?
Divorce: Psychological effects on children .
Which purposes does attachment play in infants?
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development.
Which ideas of Freud’s psychosexual development theory do you think are valid?
Find the common features between Freud’s psychosexual theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory.
Child development and education.
Explore the causes of inferiority complex in adolescents.
Children’s play: An ingredient needed in children’s learning .
How does one’s sense of self influence their future relationships?
Corporal punishment and its effects on children.
Why do we need to reward the feeling of gratitude in adolescents?
What is the role of the family in shaping our social well-being?
Developmental psychology in adolescence.
Describe the principles of caregiving you consider as healthy and beneficial.
Personal development plan .
What is social knowledge, and where do we gain it?
Write a human development theories essay.
Emotional development in children and adults.
What do the preferred leisure activities of adolescents tell us about their development?
Early childhood classroom environment plan .
Does the gender of the main caregiver matter?
Study the effect of orphanage education on a child’s psychology.
The introduction to early childhood education.
Is a child’s family or school more defining for their development?
Second life : Professional development and communication .
How does patriarchal prejudice undermine the intellectual growth in girls?
Does the lack of college-level education make a person less smart?
Sigmund Freud’s personality and psychoanalysis.
How did dr. Maria Montessori use human tendencies for child development?
Adult learning theories .
How does a father’s toxic masculinity impact a boy’s emotional well-being?
Early childhood cognitive-based philosophy .
Make a research summary of the role of IQ in human development.
Explore the causes of the “terrible threes.”
Lifespan human development: perspective and theories.
Write a reflection about risk-taking behaviors in teenagers.
Linking human development to the human condition .
Is poverty the worst factor for a child’s development?
Early childhood education activities and trends .
Analyze the consequences of substance abuse in adolescence.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for depression in adults .
Do children adopt their same-sex parent’s gender roles in adulthood?
Child abuse and neglect effects on adult survivors .
What is the role of creativity in a preschooler’s development?
Tools of the mind in the early childhood development.
Do you agree that all psychological disorders of children under 12 are caused by an unhealthy family atmosphere?
The theories of child development .
How do we learn to control our emotions?
How autistic children develop and learn?
Analyze the major results of gender-neutral education.
Early childhood education and skills development .
When is the due time to start sex education of children and why?
Erik Erikson’s theory of development .
What is the tole of symbolic function and make-believe play in a child’s development?
Family structure and its effects on children .
Why is egocentrism in children normal?
Infant development.
Establish the relationship between language development and intellectual growth.
Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional development .
Sexism in human development theories.
How an operant conditioning influences child development .
Awareness of age-related change helps to live a healthy life.
Middle childhood and adolescence development.
The adverse effect of malnutrition in a child’s development.
Assessment in early childhood: Special education .
When is stress positive and negative for the psychological development of an individual?
How video games affect children .
Analyze human development in multigenerational families.
Erickson’s psychosocial development and its stages.
Compare and contrast the American and Japanese approaches to education and their results.
Theoretical perspectives on human development: Freud, Piaget, and Skinner .
The role of controlled independence in childhood.
Technology impacts on the new generation of children .
Why is periodical boredom necessary for a child to develop?
Learning and student development theories and factors .
Why is human development the basic need of any society?
The development of secure and insecure attachments in children .
Why is intellectual growth so pleasurable for us?
Moral and personality development.
If the human development mechanism is equal for all, why are we so different?
21 st century skills development .
Why do modern sociologists think we should work less?
Peer pressure on children in high school .
What could we learn from the indigenous African tribes in terms of the psychological development of children?
Interaction for child’s development and learning.
Schools: an unknown war where we miss our childhood?
Effects of media on children .
To which degree do genes determine our development?
Jean Piaget – cognitive theorist.
Why are foster children less prepared for adult life than their adopted peers?
When should children start school ?
When do children stop learning through play?
Managing stress better: Personal development .
Which socio-emotional factors make aging less depressing?
Preschool play role in the cognitive development.
The benefits and drawbacks of grandparents’ raising children.
Autism as the most prevalent developmental mental disorder .
How does lifelong learning benefit human brain?
Teaching and supporting adult learners .
How does lifestyle influence our cognition?
Parent-child relationships and parental authority .
Should adults develop an awareness of their aging?
Early intervention for young children with autism.
Why do scientists no longer view aging as a negative process?
Development and improvement of communication skills .
Which factors define our ability for emotional regulation?
Child’s play observation and parent interview .
Compare the Christian and Muslim cultural differences in human development.
The early abuse’ impacts on teenagers emotional development .
Are private nurseries and schools better for children’s development?
Behavior change in learning processes.
Why is generation alpha more emotionally intelligent than any earlier-born children?
Videogame addiction and its impact on children .
Shout less and explain more: the effect of the modern approach to caregiving.
Adult education, its objectives and approaches .
Why should we tell our daughters they are smart rather than beautiful?
Personal development: Career management .
How does social change impact the life of an individual? Give examples.
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s child development theories.
Suggest mentoring interventions for at-risk adolescents.
Adult learning and effective instruction .
To which extent should we normalize children with developmental disorders?
Negative impacts of adult cartoon television programs on children .
Do developmental differences make us more human?
Social psychology in people’s life.
Do all families need psychotherapy, like they need a family doctor?
Childhood sexual abuse and adolescents’ self-esteem .
Which barriers do LGBT adolescents meet in their development?
Life-span development and personal life experiences .
Outline a positive youth development program.
Understanding learning: theories’ impacts.
Explain eating disorders as the result of incorrect upbringing.
The influence of online games on children and adults .
Describe the changes our brain suffers under continuous stress.
The psychological effect of 9-11 on young adults .
Typical vs. Atypical development in children.
Social psychology: group influence on the self.
Why is mindfulness important for human development?
Importance of a teacher in child development .
We learn behavioral health from our parents.
Divorce influence on childrens’ mental health.
How do behavioral phenotypes emerge during early development?
Child development theories: Comparative analysis .
Why do many children function differently in home, school, or community settings?
Communication role in the children’ development .
Suggest ways to identify co-occurring conditions in developmental disorders.
Psychological child development theories.
Describe the existing approaches to establishing healthy schools.
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development .
Parental autonomy vs. Monitoring: which is better for an adolescent?
Postpartum depression effect on children’s development .
How do parents’ beliefs and values determine their parenting strategies?
Childhood and optimal development analysis .

77 Human Development Topics (Economics)

How entrepreneurship in the energy sector can pave the way for sustainable development in Africa .
What are the parties involved in human development, and why don’t they share the same interests?
Should we care about income inequality ?
Why does totalitarianism entail stagnation?
Democratic and Economic Development in Asian Countries.
Do migrant incomes spur economic development in their native countries?
International human resource development .
How does the growth of female entrepreneurship favor economics?
A development of American society .
How can equal rights and possibilities of all people make governments more efficient?
Resolving the problems of poverty and income inequality .
How does the availability of loans benefit human development?
Development Theory and Human Rights.
Should towns transform into cities to become more prosperous?
Resource availability for low to moderate income families in New York City .
Is feminism a sign of human evolution?
Rapid urbanization in the developing world is increasing .
What is the impact of literacy campaigns in socially disadvantaged rural areas?
Poverty reduction in developing countries .
Find the relationship between water resources and the level of farming development in a given region.
Human Rights for Development.
Explore the growing urban-rural interactions in large cities.
Employment opportunity for people with learning disabilities in the UK .
Give examples of win-win scenarios in human evolution.
Analysing a community development: Case study .
Why do societies often ignore or resist the advantages of human development?
How innovation and growth strategy will develop Abu Dhabi economy through Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 .
Study the role of recreational possibilities for the local population.
Values of innovation and entrepreneurship in economic development .
The effect of food availability on human development.
Millennium Development and Well-Being of Families.
Do you support transnational social movements, and why?
Compensation and benefits in an area of human resources development .
Do religions favor economic development?
Influence of religion on the development of colonial American society .
Analyze the impact of socioeconomic context on human development.
Is nationalism beneficial for a country’s well-being?
The development of the industrial work environment .
Which factors impede poor people from growing their capital?
Crime prevention through social development .
Is leisure more critical for economic growth than production?
Alternative Fuels and the US Nation Development.
Should the government regulate human development, or is it unpredictable?
Development traps and failure: The negative consequences of disasters on the economy .
What are the external factors of human development in emerging countries?
Fiscal decentralisation and local economic development in Ghana .
Human Development Index (HDI) Vs. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
National human resource development in Asian states .
Which aspects would you include in the HDI formula?
Is late retirement beneficial for a country’s economic development?
Environment: Sustainable Development in Abu Dhabi.
Which material conditions affect human evolution?
The critical points of equal employment opportunity .
The role of sustainable development in a country’s well-being.
Globalization drives inequality: Liberalist and structuralist perspectives .
What is the primary goal of human development for economics?
The income gap in the US economy .
Are elevated birth rates a positive or negative factor for economic growth?
Human resources development in the UK and Australia .
What is the relationship between foreign capital penetration and human life expectancy in third-world countries?
Economic and Social Development of the UAE.
How does ethnic homogeneity influence human development in a given area?
Gender wage gap and inequality .
Why is the majority of wealthy countries democratic?
Human resource development practices to achieve economic growth: The case of Singapore .
Analyze the role of free medicine in social well-being.
How can the employment of the disabled favor a country’s economy?
Assessing why Nigeria LNG has been restricted in development .
How is the work/family balance of employees important for a company’s prosperity?
Workforce development and modern trends .
Explore the effect of an individual’s well-being on a country’s development.
Small business and development in South Africa .
How does democratization improve a country’s productivity?
Regional inequality of Yogyakarta .
How does English training in third-world countries influence their development?
Post-disaster development of Haiti .
New conceptions of adulthood among the youth in the developing countries.

🧒 Human Growth and Development Essay Topics

The impact of aging on human development.
How do role models promote moral and behavioral development in the 21st century?
Socioeconomic factors and their value in growth and development.
The development of moral predispositions at an early age.
The value of professional development of a person.
Genetic regulation of growth in height and weight in teenagers.
The role of initiative and guilt in the preschool age group.
What are the main red flags in growth and development?
Child health and human development over the lifespan.
Emotional development of a person from birth to old age.
Regulation of early human growth: the main peculiarities.
COVID-19 and its role in children’s social development.
How does environmental pollution affect human growth and development?
The language development in humans and its key stages.
How does maternal physical activity influence fetal growth?

Haven’t found the perfect topic in the lists above? Use our essay topic generator !

📑 Human Development Essay Outline

1. Introduction. By the end of your essay, your readers will surely forget what you wrote here. But do not underestimate the effect of a well-composed introduction on your audience’s expectations! Do your best to sound inspiring and upbeat in your human development essay introduction. Tell yourself, why did you select this topic? If it is an exciting issue for you, the readers will also get interested. So, the introduction speaks about the topicality and urgency of a problem. The thesis statement culminates your introduction. You should explain your position in a single sentence. Here are some good and bad examples:

Need to formulate a thesis statement? Use our thesis-making tool !

2. Main body. The primary rule here is structure. It is hard to read one long paragraph with many ideas. Introduce each argument from the new line. Give a topic sentence at the beginning of each section and then elaborate on it with examples and reflections.

3. Conclusion. In the field of human development, the conclusion of an essay should provide the prospects of the tendency you analyzed. Imagine yourself an analyst consulting an international company. What will happen if they continue doing the same? How can they reach different results? Once again, try to sound inspiring.

1️⃣ Human Development Essay Example #1 (Psychology)

Below you will find a sample of human development essays for a psychology-related discipline. It illustrates the outline we have mentioned above based on the topic Why Is Freud’s Developmental Theory considered outdated?

Human Development Theories Essay

1. Introduction. In the XXI century, we are all obsessed with development. We would like to become a better version of ourselves, develop our country, and humanity as a whole. Unfortunately, there is no axiom confirming the mechanism of human development.

Thesis statement. This essay explores the pitfalls of Freud’s developmental theory and questions its applicability.

2. Main Body.

Argument 1. Freud drew his theory from memories of his patients. But certain experiences people believe are true often turn out to be inaccurate. Sometimes, we fabricate our memories due to how we felt back then or would like to feel now. Thus, Freud used unreliable sources of information about child development.

Argument 2. Freud’s theory revolves around sexuality . But as Jung and Adler noticed, human life is more complicated than that. Oversimplification reduces us to instincts, which is not true. People have their subconscious fears and desires, but sexual energy is only one of their aspects.

Argument 3. Sigmund Freud only worked with adults. All adults are former children, but the researcher never studied children in their games, education, or frustrations. Freud had six kids, but his career never allowed him to spend much time with family. It is questionable how someone could draw conclusions about a child’s mental processes without actually speaking to a child.

3. Conclusion. Sigmund Freud largely contributed to modern psychology. He was the first to question our rational thinking and intellectual sobriety. But his five stages of psychosexual development are far from reality. First, they are constructed based on inaccurate and unreliable reports of mentally disturbed people. Second, sexuality is only one of the many things that make us who we are. Third, the scientist never did live research on children. That is why his theory is outdated now.

2️⃣ Human Development Essay Example #2 (Economics)

If you need to write an essay on human development while studying economics, you may use the following sample. It illustrates how to write an essay on the relationship between human development and economic growth.

Human Development and Economic Growth

1. Introduction. What happened first, human development or economic growth ? The early signs of economic growth appeared when the first people started exchanging their goods with the neighboring tribes. They had to develop a new skill and change their picture of the world to catalyze economic growth.

Thesis statement. This essay aims to confirm the two-way linkage between the development of individuals and economic growth.

Argument 1. If that first exchange of crops and cattle did not work out, we would have never got as developed as we are now. The economic growth that happened once we had mastered “business negotiations” gave us the necessary resources to develop other skills.

Argument 2. Human development is hardly predictable. The most significant improvements in technology, medicine, construction, and science happened during the most challenging times for humanity. The two world wars showed that we could develop when the economy is in decay. But the new production methods and scientific achievements give us an opportunity to grow the economy when things get better.

Argument 3. Economic growth without human development is limited. For example, when a third-world country receives an external capital inflow, its economy stabilizes or even grows. But if its population does not acquire new models of doing business, the money will end. Such a country will return to its previous poor condition.

3. Conclusion. It would be wrong to say that human development caused economic growth or vice versa. None of the two are possible without the other. Human development happened first, but further knowledge acquisition required economic growth. Improvement of the economy does not guarantee human intellectual growth. Meanwhile, it is an indispensable prerequisite for our development.

❓ Human Development Questions & Answers

What does the science of human development seek to understand.

This science tries to find the reasons why people tend to change over time or why they remain at the same level. It establishes the mechanisms through which we become more educated, moral, organized, and civilized. The science also describes the benefits and drawbacks of human development for the economy, sociology, psychology, and ecology.

What is Human Development and Family Studies?

Human Development and Family Studies focuses on the health and psychology of individuals throughout their lifespan. This area of knowledge discusses human life in the context of their family relationships and social roles. It is an interdisciplinary science that involves psychology, economy, and sociology.

How does culture affect human development?

Culture defines the way we perceive society and the world as a whole. It affects our vision of reality from early childhood. Culture influences our beliefs, values, and purposes. Moreover, it is a decisive factor for our self-image as an individual and a member of society.

What makes the study of human development a science?

The study of human development explores how we learn, mature, and adapt to changes and adverse conditions. It is largely related to psychology but also involves sociology, economics, anthropology, and biology. It is a science because it aims to describe, predict, and understand the changes in human behavior that bring us to development.

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108 Human Development Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on human development, ✍️ human development essay topics for college, 👍 good human development research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting human development research titles, ❓ human development research questions.

The Impact of Communication on Human Development
Theories of Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead about Human Development
Sustainable Human Development
The Role of the Environment and Genes in Human Development
Human Development Psychology
Art Education and Human Development
Bioecological Model of Human Development
Human Development in Early Adulthood During their life, a person goes through many developmental stages, each associated with specific activities. This paper examines early adulthood.
“Lifespan Human Development” by Sigelman, Carol, and Elizabeth Rider In his theory, Jean argues that we absorb information and knowledge according to our brain constructs that are developed from our past experience with certain concepts in the world
Analysis of Human Development Theories The paper focuses on the human development theories, such as classical conditioning, Hierarchy of Needs Theory, and social learning theory.
Human Development: Key Aspects The ecological perspective studies humans from an environmental standpoint, which includes social, emotional, and biological influences.
Child Labor’s Negative Impact on Human Development This paper argues that child labor is by far the worst form of atrocities because it inhibits positive development by robbing children of the opportunity to gain life skills.
Global Poverty and Human Development Poverty rates across the globe continue to be a major issue that could impair the progress of humanity as a whole.
Human Development Theories by Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson Several perspectives on the phenomenon of human development exist. These are represented by the framework designed by Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson.
Developmental Research: Human Development Developmental research determines progress and development. This can be done by examining the relationship between factors contributing to that development.
Human Development and the Security and Safety Index The objective of this research was to look at the connection between human development and the security and safety index.
Cognitive Changes in Human Development Cognitive development is part of human development and refers to the abilities of individuals to acquire thinking, problem-solving, concept understanding.
Research Designs in Human Development Studies This paper analyzes several types of research design, which include observational research technique, longitudinal design, cross-sectional research, and sequential research design.
Adolescence and Human Development Challenges There are various questions about how puberty affects adolescents concerning the fact that not all people are impacted in the same way.
A Unified Theory of Human Development In the paper, the definition, benefits and disadvantages of a unified theory on human development will be discussed.
Human Development Theories: The Science of Learning and Development There are many theories on how human development through different stages of life affects an individual’s life and mental health.
Why Adolescents Take Drugs: Human Development Delinquent and irresponsible behaviors such as substance abuse, violence, and unsafe safe practices produce serious social and health implications.
Human Development Psychology: Stages, Socio-emotional Development, and Emotional Attachment Lifespan development is the growth of the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that incurs throughout life.
Human Development Psychology Issues This paper summarizes learned information on the development of human, in particular transgender disorders and homosexuality, and personality development.
Pregnancy, Human Development and Heredity This paper presents the physiological concepts that revolve around pregnancy and their implication in human development.
Technologies Growth: Significance for Human Development Nowadays, various types of technologies are acknowledged to have become an integral part of people’s life. It is reasonable to claim that such progress might have a positive impact.
Global Social Progress and Human Development The global social progress concept provides an opportunity to look at the development of the humankind as the process enhanced by a combination of multiple factors.
Human Development in Zimbabwe The report covers’ human development’, it’s meaning, and measures within the context of Zimbabwe development by incorporating aspects of the United Nations Development Program.
Mobile Phones’ Social Impacts on Sustainable Human Development
Addiction and the Effects on Human Development
Child Health and Human Development Over the Lifespan
Foreign Direct Investment According to Different Countries’ Stages of Human Development
Biological and Environmental Factors and Human Development
How Nature and Nurture Affect Human Development
Corruption and Human Development Correlation in Western Balkan Countries
Determining the Relationship Between Happiness and Human Development
Psychology and Human Development: Theory of Radical Behaviorism
Human Development and Quality of Institutions in Highly Developed Countries
Computers and Their Influence on Human Development
Economic and Human Development in Global North and Global South
Measuring Human Development and Environmental Sustainability in European Countries
Developmental Psychology and Human Development
Rainbows: Jean Piaget and Human Development
Cognitive Development and Erikson’s Stages of Human Development
Animal and Human Development Throughout the Ages
Human Development and Income Inequality as Factors of Regional Economic Growth
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Human Development
Economic and Social Determinants of Human Development
Capitalism, the State, and the Underlying Drivers of Human Development
Human Development and Its Impact on the World
Biological Human Development and Its Interaction With Environmental Influences
Environmental Degradation and Inclusive Human Development in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Civil War and Human Development: Impacts of Finance and Financial Infrastructure
Natural Environment and Early Human Development
Factors Affecting the Human Development Index
Aid, Conflict, and Human Development
Comprehensive Human Development: Realities and Aspirations
Education and Human Development: How Much Do Parents Matter?
Democratization and Human Development
Poverty, Human Development, and Growth: An Emerging Consensus
Human Development and Regional Disparities in India
Ecological System and Its Effects on Human Development
Dynamic Linkage Between Economic Growth and Human Development
Climate Changes and Human Development
Gender and Regional Inequality in Human Development
Behaviorism and Human Development
Migration, Poverty Reduction Strategies and Human Development
Anxiety Disorder, Socialization, and Human Development
Circular Migration and Human Development
Economic and Human Development Policies Since Independence
Gender Codes and the Human Development Indicator
Counseling and Human Development in Multicultural Society
Global Governance for Human Development
Freud’s and Erikson’s Perspectives on Human Development
Shaping the Future: How Changing Demographics Can Power Human Development
Cultural and Political Influences on Human Development
Energy Consumption Transition and Human Development
Faith and Successful Human Development
What Happens at Each Stage of Human Development?
How Have the Natural Characteristics of Melanesia Affected Human Development?
How Does Cultural Anthropology Influence Human Development?
What Research Designs Are Used to Study Human Development?
How Do the Foundations of Human Development Influence the Work of Mental Health Counselors?
What Are the Main Theories of Human Development?
How Does the Impact of the Human Development Process Differ From Learning?
How Does Biology and the Environment Affect Human Development?
When Was Sigmund Freud’s Theory on Human Development First Published?
How Does Culture Affect Human Development?
What Is Human Ecology about Human Development?
How Does “Nature vs. Nurture” Influences Human Development?
How Did Erik Erikson Apply the Epigenetic Principle to Human Development?
How Do Heredity and Environment Interact to Influence Human Development?
What Variables Does the Human Development Index Incorporate?
Why Do Many Countries With High Gross Domestic Product Have a Low Human Development Index?
How Many Stages Does the Human Development Have?
Why Lifelong Motor Development Is a Vital Part of Human Development?
What Factors Best Explain Human Development?
At What Stage During Human Development Does the Lumbar Curve of the Spine Develop?
What Does the Science of Human Development Seek to Understand?
What Period of Human Development Brings About the Most Rapid Change?
What Importance Does Social or Moral Development Have for Human Development?
What Is the Critical Period Hypothesis of Human Development?
How Do Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology Each Relate to Human Development?
How Does Neuroscience Relate to Human Development?
What Makes the Study of Human Development a Science?
What Is the Cognitive Domain in Human Development?
Is Human Development a “Means” to Achieve Economic Growth?
How Does Physical Geography Impact Human Development and Settlement?

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Home — Essay Samples — Economics — Human Development — The theories on human development

The Theories on Human Development

Categories: Human Development Human Physiology

About this sample

Words: 494 |

Published: Nov 19, 2018

Words: 494 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

Berger, K. S. (2014). The Developing Person Through the Life Span. Worth Publishers.
Essay UK. (2014). Sigmund Freud And Erik Erikson Theories Of Human Development. Retrieved from https://www.essay.uk.com/essays/psychology/sigmund-freud-and-erik-erikson-theories-of-human-development/
Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2018). Theories of personality. McGraw-Hill Education.
Friedman, S. L. (2018). Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory of development: Young adults' resolution of the intimacy versus isolation crisis. Journal of Adult Development, 25(2), 81-92.
Hall, G. S. (1922). Senescence: The Last Half of Life. D. Appleton.
Hoffman, L. (2017). A critical analysis of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Human Development, 60(6), 327-341.
Kline, P. (2019). Personality: The psychometric view. Routledge.
Lerner, R. M. (2018). Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Theory and method. John Wiley & Sons.
Mcleod, S. (2018). Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Stevens, R. (2018). Freud's psychosexual stages of development. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychosexual.html

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In the works of different researchers, it is claimed that social behavior is not something naturally acquired as a result of aging. Indeed, children’s inadequate behavior usually results from the lack of social and communication skills. Hemmeter, Ostorsky and Fox in the article “Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: A Conceptual Model for Intervention” emphasized that “creating a caring, socially rich, cooperative, and responsive environment requires an intentional and systematic approach” (2006). The development of social skills and personal capabilities requires appropriate education, gentle guidance of the adults, responsible parenting and good school environment.

There are key social skills that are essential for children when they enter school: an ability to develop positive relationships with peers and adults, an ability to communicate emotions effectively and adequately, an ability to listen (Hemmeter, Ostorsky & Fox, 2006), nonaggressive behavior. Also, children need compassion, ability to work in the team, and, later, an ability to stay calm under pressure. Social skills are skills and behaviors that facilitate interaction and help to achieve social status. The ability to communicate emotions is essential for open and easy communication with peers, without hypocrisy or inadequacy that may lead to misunderstanding or absence of friends. The ability to listen underlies understanding and not interrupting the speaker; inability to listen may make a child a bad company and unwelcome in conversations. The ability to show compassion is vital for children, as it allows understanding of someone’s feelings and sharing them; children without it may be perceived as cruel or aggressive, and thus they may have problems with peers. Working in the team is an indivisible part of every child’s life (games, competitions, classroom activities). Inability to collaborate and respect friends may lead to ostracism or loneliness.

A chief influence in the lives of teenagers and children are their parents, claims Sara in her article devoted to parent-children relationships (2002). It is their family that plays a key role in the establishment of the moral beliefs and social behaviors.

In order to develop social skills such as ability to listen and ability to communicate, parents need to respect their child and not treat him or her as a silly and irresponsible creature. Sara provides the next example: when a child does something wrong (stealing, lying), parents should deal with it by means of conversation, not a lecture (2002). Young children depend on their relationships with parents or caregivers “to teach them about themselves and the world they live in” (Aviles, Anderson & Davila, 2006); these relationships shape children’s understanding of their behaviors by the parents/caregivers responses. What is normal for the family members is normal for the child. So, showing respect in the family enhances the ability to listen to what adults say and the ability communicate adequately, i.e. as it is normal for certain society.

A human development psychologist Erick Erickson also emphasized the parents influence during first years of the child’s life. By the age of five, the child develops trust or mistrust to the world and society, autonomy or doubtfulness about one’s capabilities, and initiative to play (explore, fantasize…) or guilt (Elkind, 1970). Parents must create caring and responsive family environment in order to promote easy communication with children and other adults. The child who was cared of, listened to and played with will be socially active and open. Responsive family provides the child with friendly and caring communication with parents; this communication improves the child’s ability to communicate as well as adequate responses to child’s communication. Family communication enhances the child’s ability to communicate by creating behavioral patterns and promoting initiative.

In contrast to caring and responsive family atmosphere, the family environment may inhibit children’s social development. If the child experiences aggression, temperamental difficulties, noncompliance, and language difficulties, it indicates problems in the family. Problems like violence and absence of sympathy may inhibit social skills. Violence in the family inhibits communication skills and compassion. Due to violence children may distrust adults and other people, and thus be unable to develop positive social relationship. Also, witnessing violence leads to low self-esteem and inhibit the ability to stay calm under the pressure. Absence of sympathy and care in the family does not provide development of compassion. As social skills are behavioral patterns, compassion must also be a pattern. In order to develop this pattern, caring and responsive approach is needed, thus lack of family care inhibits compassion. To summarize this paragraph, it is essential to point out that negative family environment influences children’s behavior greatly – much more than classroom environment, for example.

At a certain age, a child enters school where teachers can influence his or her social development. The main controlling and directing school environment force is the teacher, his competent work and monitoring of the class. When taught routines and expectations by teacher’s directions and feedback, children learn ethics; this promotes an ability to develop positive relationship with peers and adults in certain society. When children are taught to manage themselves, they learn to stay calm under the pressure. Of course, it is essential for the teacher to make a classroom atmosphere creative and comfortable in order to promote co-working and teamwork. Friendly and creative atmosphere may involve competitions or creative activities with motivating incentives, teaching to be a good loser; such things contribute to the ability to work in the team. It must be comfortable for children to express themselves freely.

In order to foster compassion skills, teacher must provide an example by expressing compassion himself and showing that this is normal. Good example can shape a proper perception of expressions of compassion and thus contribute to this skill. Also, classroom activities include listening to teacher’s instructions or explanations; listening to instructions must be silent and attentive, so children learn to listen first and ask question after. Friendly and creative environment may include active communication or argument, and this provides children with perfect example of communication model, when one person listens to other, and vice versa. Thus, general communication skills and listening skills are improved.

Obviously, negative classroom environment may inhibit social and academic success of the children. Teacher’s indifference may cause a feeling that the child is insignificant, his problems are ridiculous, he is left to his own devices, and adults are not interested in communication with him. It inhibits his ability to develop positive relationship with peers and adults. Inability to find a common language with students or racial or sexual harassment may inhibit the same social skill and compassion as well, as aggressiveness will be deemed normal.

Sara provides an idea that illustrates the central idea of this paper. “If you want your kids to grow up to be kind, compassionate and caring, you’re going to have to lead the way” (Sara, 2002). It means that all adults who can influence the child’s life should improve his or her social development in some way or other.

It does not matter, who you are – a parent or a teacher. When you have children that depend on you, you must remember that whether they will trust you or avoid your company, or whether they will be successful in communication with peers or ostracized, depends on social education that must start in the early childhood and last until late adolescence.

Aviles, A., Anderson, T., & Davila, E. (2006). Child and Adolescent Social-Emotional Development Within the Context of School. Child & Adolescent Mental Health , 11(1), 32-39. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2005.00365.x.

Elkind, D. (1970, April 5). Erik Erikson’s Eight Ages of Man. The New York Times Magazine . Reprinted by permission from The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 16, 2010 from http://www.ceed.pdx.edu/ectc_sscbt/pdfs/EriksonsEightAgesofMan.pdf

Hemmeter, M., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2006). Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: A Conceptual Model for Intervention. School Psychology Review , 35(4), 583. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

Sara, S. (n.d). (2002) Parents can pass values along to children, experts say. Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) , Retrieved September from Newspaper Source database.

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Human Development Essay Examples

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American Psychological Association. (2002). Developing Adolescents: A Reference for Professionals. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/develop.pdf Caskey, M. & Anfara, J. V. (1999-2017). Developmental Characteristics of Young Adolescents. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from Association for Middle Level Education: https://www.amle.org/ ArticleID/455/Developmental-Characteristics-of-Young-Adolescents.aspx Curtis, A. C. (2015). Defining Adolescence. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 7 (2), 1-40. Retrieved from: http://scholar.utc.edu/jafh/vol7/iss2/2 Sanders, R. A. (2013). Adolescent Psychosocial, Social, and Cognitive Development. Pediatrics in Review, 34 (8). Retrieved from: http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/content/34/8/354 Sokol, J. T. (2009). Identity Development Throughout the Lifetime: An Examination of Eriksonian Theory. Graduate Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1 (2), 1-11. Retrieved from: http://epublications.marquette.edu/gjcp/vol1/iss2/14

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Adolescent Development

focus on the last of those. To be complete with this analysis, adolescence is not the end of human development given that many suggest that development extends into the 20's and 30's. Even so, the adolescent years of development are hailed by many as being the most pivotal, at least in some regards. While many would debate the above, it is clear that the adolescent years are among the most important. Analysis Regardless of the development or life stage that is in question, there are many developments and changes that occur during the adolescent years and they come in many forms. These forms include physical, cognitive, emotional, social… Continue Reading...

Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

of the most important stages of human development . It is the period which all components of human nature and abilities are formed, and, therefore, has a direct influence on personality formation. The intricacies of this crucial stage of human development have been a major interest to scientists and psychologists in different fields of human studies. There have been many studies conducted to help proffer clear understanding of children’s cognitive development. Some of the most prominent amongst the theories in this regard are by the two psychologists whose findings have been center of reference in academic discourses… Continue Reading...

The Stages of Childhood Development Physical Cognitive

144). Research in biology and human development shows that infants are developing their sensorimotor skills by engaging with objects, particularly by reaching and grabbing (Rochat, 2003). Also evident at the sensorimotor stage is the infant’s ability to learn via both classical and operant conditioning, such as with the introduction of stimuli to induce specific behavioral responses (Lightfoot, Cole & Cole, 2009). Infants demonstrate the ability to form social attachments and exhibit individualized emotional responses, too, with differences depending on environmental factors like parental behavior and culture (Lightfoot, Cole & Cole, 2009. While their ability to… Continue Reading...

Issues in Developmental Psychology

.....theoretical perspectives to understand human development is stage theories, which postulate that human development takes place in different stages and change throughout the life span (Lerner et al., 2013, p.466). Erikson's Psychosocial Theory is an example of a theory under this perspective, which state that there are eight stages of psychosocial development that are biologically developed to manifest in a pre-determined, sequential way. Through this theory, Erikson effectively demonstrates that lifelong development involves integration of internal forces and external situations that influence development of ego. Borzumato-Gainey et al. (2009) conducted a study on life… Continue Reading...

Classroom Observation

learning group for further instruction. That is what the teacher did in the end. 4. Theories and principles of human development ; motivation and learning as shown by learners and teachers Teaching as an Intellectual Engagement It is apparent that the most conspicuous and significant points about these ideas is that influence knowledge acquisition and the learning process is that teachers are thoughtful professionals who have both the learner and the content matter on their mind. The teacher seeks to construct a formidable link between content and the learner. It was observed many years back by reformers that curriculum is not immune to manipulation by the teacher. Teachers shape and… Continue Reading...

Intelligence Learning Memory Cognition

create optimal learning environments and conditions. Built on the premises of both cognitive psychology and the study of human development , these findings have tremendous implications for creating new pedagogies of diversity. In terms of how these findings influence my past or current beliefs about knowledge development, I believe that the study simply substantiates what I already intuited. There are a number of different variables that impact learning, among them the social environment and norms in the classroom, the methods used by the teacher to communicate not just knowledge but modes of thinking and approaching problem solving, and also self-directed learning, motivation, and interest. References Zhang, L.F. & Sternberg,… Continue Reading...

Parent and Child Communication Article Review

2014). The main role in the article that has been that of a professional development psychologist. The professional studies human development of an individual, which encompasses the mental, social and physiological development that comes about at every stage of life. The professional developmental psychologist has studied the genetic effects experienced by the adolescent in such a phase, in addition to different environmental aspects like parental methods, which fashion how such adolescents evolve. The article does not refer to the interaction between psychology professional and professionals in other fields. Instead, the article explores the phenomenon of adolescent behavior in this phase in terms of hiding information from their parents and… Continue Reading...

Nature Vs Nurture Essay

human development such as intelligence and personality are determined by genetic make-up. Empiricists however, believe that there are acquired.” (Conkbayir 186) Notable Empiricists like John Lock made popular the Latin phrase: tabula rasa. This phrase means ‘black slate’. The child’s mind serves as a blank slate from which learned experiences and interactions can form a child’s personality later and into adulthood. When Empiricists examine child development, they aim to look for how the child was raised, who they interacted with, what traumatic experiences they endured. They then base their conclusions… Continue Reading...

Nature Vs Nurture Vs Free Will

responsible for human development . Whatever skills and attributes people acquire over time is done so because of a need to adapt in order to survive. Individual human beings receive genetic coding from their parents that enables them to carry on these adaptive skills throughout their lifetime and pass them on to the next generation. Galton viewed this idea as the most likely explanation for human behavior. This concept was popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, as the eugenics movement got underway. Scientists and researchers were interested in controlling the… Continue Reading...

Dreams the Unconscious Mind and Defense Mechanisms

Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic theory suggest that early stages of human development have a significant impact on our relationships and our ego throughout the life span. According to Freudian theories, manifested behavior is based on latent problems of the past. The therapeutic process of psychoanalysis is designed to help the client become aware of past problems or latent desires that have been suppressed during the process of psychological development. Key themes that emerge in the literature on psychoanalytic theory include the role of the unconscious mind in shaping self-concept and behavior, dreams as the language of the unconscious mind, and… Continue Reading...

Domestic Violence and the Effect on Children

violence live in homes that are essentially devoid of the most basic human elements needed for proper human development to transpire. Maslow defined this development based upon the Hierarchy of Needs. Before an individual can grow to be self-actualizing, he must first obtain the basic necessities of life—food, shelter, and love. In a family where domestic violence is a quality of life, children are the unnoticed victims, whose lives are shaped and sometimes altered for the worse. This paper will discuss how domestic violence impacts children and what effects that has on the criminal justice system. Freeman (2015) shows through case study what can happen to a… Continue Reading...

Annotated Bibliography on Neo Freudianism

theorists capitalized on Freud’s research on the subconscious and unconscious, as well as human development . Instead of focusing on psychosexual stages or sexual hang-ups, these theorists stressed other psychological issues including interpersonal relationships, attachment styles, and coping mechanisms. Jung added to the discussion a deeper investigation of dreams, focusing on the concept of the collective consciousness as a repository of cultural symbols. However, Hall & Lindzey (1957) also stress Jung’s contributions to personality theory. Not an experimental study, Hall & Lindzey’s (1957) work is meaningful in that it encapsulates the major issues that emerged in the post-Freudian era. This source acknowledges Freud’s contributions… Continue Reading...

Psy600 Week 2 Assignment

in the article that has been that of a professional development psychologist. The professional studies human development of an individual, which encompasses the mental, social and physiological development that comes about at every stage of life. The professional developmental psychologist has studied the genetic effects experienced by the adolescent in such a phase, in addition to different environmental aspects like parental methods, which fashion how such adolescents become. The article does not refer to the interaction between psychology professional and professionals in other fields. Instead, the article explores the phenomenon of adolescent behavior in this phase in terms of hiding information from their parents; and… Continue Reading...

The Impact of Social Media on Teenage Girls

stance. This type of design refers to a sociological theory of understanding and perspective where human development is based and connected via engagement with other humans, as noted by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann. The specific research design will be an interview format, with each participant being interviewed on camera in a one-on-one format. This method of data collection will go hand in hand with the grounded theory that the research is centered in. Grounded theory will ensure that all interpretations emerge from the exact data collected. The interview process will help refine the data, and hopefully a common theme will emerge from the data… Continue Reading...

Supreme Court Sodomy Cases Rulings

with the general lack of empathy for others. This stunted mentality of human development , justice and tolerance, poisoned Hardwick’s case when it was brought before the Supreme Court, were it was not presented in terms of privacy or other indelible civil rights. Justice Byron White asserted, “The issue presented is whether the Federal Constitution confers a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy” (Bazelon, 2012). The answer turned out to be one of the Supreme Court’s most shameful decisions, and a clear representation that justice had not been served. The Court essentially ruled that homosexuals did not have a fundamental right… Continue Reading...

Infancy and Toddlerhood S Developmental Stage Age Group

Developmental Stages Developmental Stage/Age Group: Infancy and toddlerhood (0 - 3 years) Erickson maintains that the first human development al stage involves an individual’s interactions with his/her surroundings, normally the baby’s immediate social and physical environment, which is made up of home and family (Levinson, 1986). Especially important at this point (i.e. infancy) is the mother- baby relationship – the very first social bond one forms. Receptive mothers sensitive to the distinctive requirements of their baby will help cultivate a sound sense of self- worth within the baby, facilitating the development of a sound, all- round physical, emotional and psychological constitution, which happens between 0 and 18 months… Continue Reading...

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Essay on Theories of Human Development

Human development invites the creations of various theories and perspectives that help understand people, their development, growth, and the physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes they experience throughout their lives. Human development is based on the principle that most things in life can only be achieved through age and experience, resulting in maturity and character development. Through scientific proof, various psychologists and scientists have developed theoretical frameworks that explain and predict individual behaviors and development. There are three significant approaches to human development; the psychosexual, psychosocial, and ecological approach

Freud’s psychosexual theory states that children’s development occurs in a series of stages related to erogenous zones. Freud suggested that parents play a critical role in managing their children’s sexual and aggressive drives during early childhood, fostering their proper development. This theory posits that human personality consists of three interworking components: the id, the ego, and the superego, which unify as children go through the five stages of psychosexual development. The id focuses on desires and impulses. The ego focuses on reasoning while the superego helps to apply morals and values from society. According to Jeffrey & Lene (2019), Freud named five stages of his theory and emphasized that the early stages were vital, and most of later development were determined by the age of 6.

Erikson’s psychosocial theory states that human beings have to resolve various crises to become successful and complete. Erikson proposed eight stages of human development. Each stage has two conflicting ideas that must be resolved for children to develop into successful and active members in their societies (Maryville University, n.d). The conflicting ideas have two possible resolutions, a healthy and an unhealthy one. Failure to resolve the conflicts will result in the feeling of inadequacy and incompleteness (Barbara & Newman, 2015). In addition, Erikson posits that significant changes occur throughout a person’s life span, based on psychological and social aspects.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory states that a child develops within a complex system of relationships. They include the microsystem characterized by parent-child relationships; the mesosystem comprises the extended family, school, neighborhood; and the ecosystem, which comprises the general society and culture. Additionally, the macrosystem is characterized by socioeconomic status, poverty, ethnicity, and the chronosystem is characterized by shaping environmental aspects with life changes and sociohistorical circumstances. This theory is significant because it incorporates historical aspects as important influencers on human development (Jeffrey & Lene, 2019). Further, Bronfenbrenner posits that children and adolescents play pivotal roles in their development, not entirely dependent on external influences.

Erikson modified Freud’s psychosexual theory into an eight-stage theory of development. It means that Erikson’s theory is an advanced model of Freud’s theory. Freud’s theory is psychosexual, related to the psychological and sexuality aspects, while Erikson’s theory is psychosocial, which relates to the psychological and social aspects. Bronfenbrenner’s theory is ecological as it relates to environmental aspects. Further, Freud’s theory focuses on conscience, where a person learns the rights and wrongs through a person, a being, or a voice that gives moral lessons and advice. On the other hand,

Erikson’s theory focuses on autonomy, where people learn how to be independent and self-sufficient. Additionally, Freud’s theory suggests that the early childhood stages are the most essential in human development. At the same time, Erikson believes that every stage in a person’s life is vital in molding their life. Compared to Erikson and Freud’s theories, Bronfenbrenner’s theory does not focus on life stages. Instead, he emphasizes numerous influences that model humans in the social environment (Jeffrey & Lene, 2019). It is also important to note that the three theories play significant roles today in the study and planning of children and adolescent’s development.

In conclusion, human development is a broad, complex process with different scientists trying to develop the most appropriate and exclusive explanation. Human development theories provide various ideas developed from scientific proof to predict and learn individual developments and behaviors. Most people experience the stages highlighted by Freud and Erikson, while Bronfenbrenner’s environmental aspect relates to most people’s lives. Regardless of the difference in their explanations, the three theories explicitly outline human development as it is. Human beings go through several stages in their life, and every stage is significant in its way. Further, early childhood experiences play a significant role in shaping our adult life, and the people and things we engage with are significant determinants of our development.

Barbara, N. M., & Newman, P. R. (2015) Theories of human development Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315871240

Jeffrey Jensen Arnett & Lene Arnett Jensen, (2019) Human Development: A Cultural Approach Pearson ISBN.13: 978-0-134-64134-8

Maryville University (n.d) What is Human Development and Why is it Important? Stages of Human Development: What It Is & Why It’s Important (maryville.edu)

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Module 1: Lifespan Development

Defining human development, learning outcomes.

Describe human development and its three domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development
Explain key human development issues about the nature of change: continuous/discontinuous, one course/multiple courses, and nature/nurture

Domains in Human Development

Figure 1 . Human development encompasses the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that occur throughout a lifetime.

Physical Domain

Many of us are familiar with the height and weight charts that pediatricians consult to estimate if babies, children, and teens are growing within normative ranges of physical development. We may also be aware of changes in children’s fine and gross motor skills, as well as their increasing coordination, particularly in terms of playing sports. But we may not realize that physical development also involves brain development, which not only enables childhood motor coordination but also greater coordination between emotions and planning in adulthood, as our brains are not done developing in infancy or childhood. Physical development also includes puberty, sexual health, fertility, menopause, changes in our senses, and primary versus secondary aging. Healthy habits with nutrition and exercise are also important at every age and stage across the lifespan.

Cognitive Domain

If we watch and listen to infants and toddlers, we can’t help but wonder how they learn so much so fast, particularly when it comes to language development. Then as we compare young children to those in middle childhood, there appear to be huge differences in their ability to think logically about the concrete world around them. Cognitive development includes mental processes, thinking, learning, and understanding, and it doesn’t stop in childhood. Adolescents develop the ability to think logically about the abstract world (and may like to debate matters with adults as they exercise their new cognitive skills!). Moral reasoning develops further, as does practical intelligence—wisdom may develop with experience over time. Memory abilities and different forms of intelligence tend to change with age. Brain development and the brain’s ability to change and compensate for losses is significant to cognitive functions across the lifespan, too.

Psychosocial Domain

Development in this domain involves what’s going on both psychologically and socially. Early on, the focus is on infants and caregivers, as temperament and attachment are significant. As the social world expands and the child grows psychologically, different types of play and interactions with other children and teachers become important. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, self-esteem, and relationships. Peers become more important for adolescents, who are exploring new roles and forming their own identities. Dating, romance, cohabitation, marriage, having children, and finding work or a career are all parts of the transition into adulthood. Psychosocial development continues across adulthood with similar (and some different) developmental issues of family, friends, parenting, romance, divorce, remarriage, blended families, caregiving for elders, becoming grandparents and great grandparents, retirement, new careers, coping with losses, and death and dying.

As you may have already noticed, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development are often interrelated, as with the example of brain development. We will be examining human development in these three domains in detail throughout the modules in this course, as we learn about infancy/toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood development, as well as death and dying.

Who Studies Human Development and Why?

Many academic disciplines contribute to the study of development and this type of course is offered in some schools as psychology (particularly as developmental psychology); in other schools, it is taught under sociology, human development, or family studies. This multidisciplinary course is made up of contributions from researchers in the areas of health care, anthropology, nutrition, child development, biology, gerontology, psychology, and sociology, among others. Consequently, the stories provided are rich and well-rounded and the theories and findings can be part of a collaborative effort to understand human lives.

The main goals of those involved in studying human development are to describe and explain changes. Throughout this course, we will describe observations during development, then examine how theories provide explanations for why these changes occur. For example, you may observe two-year-old children to be particularly temperamental, and researchers offer theories to explain why that is. We’ll learn a lot more about theories, especially developmental theories, in the next module.

Key Issues in Human Development

Is the change smooth or uneven (continuous versus discontinuous)?
Is this pattern of change the same for everyone, or are there different patterns of change (one course of development versus many courses)?
How do genetics and environment interact to influence development (nature versus nurture)?

Is Development Continuous or Discontinuous?

Continuous development views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills (Figure 2). With this type of development, there is a gradual change. Consider, for example, a child’s physical growth: adding inches to their height year by year. In contrast, theorists who view development as discontinuous believe that development takes place in unique stages and that it occurs at specific times or ages. With this type of development, the change is more sudden, such as an infant’s ability to demonstrate awareness of object permanence (which is a cognitive skill that develops toward the end of infancy, according to Piaget’s cognitive theory—more on that theory in the next module).

Continuous and Discontinuous development are shown side by side using two separate pictures. The first picture is a triangle labeled “Continuous Development” which slopes upward from Infancy to Adulthood in a straight line. The second picture is 4 bars side by side labeled “Discontinuous Development” which get higher from Infancy to Adulthood. These bars resemble a staircase.

Figure 2 . The concept of continuous development can be visualized as a smooth slope of progression, whereas discontinuous development sees growth in more discrete stages.

Is There One Course of Development or Many?

Is development essentially the same, or universal, for all children (i.e., there is one course of development) or does development follow a different course for each child, depending on the child’s specific genetics and environment (i.e., there are many courses of development)? Do people across the world share more similarities or more differences in their development? How much do culture and genetics influence a child’s behavior?

Stage theories hold that the sequence of development is universal. For example, in cross-cultural studies of language development, children from around the world reach language milestones in a similar sequence (Gleitman & Newport, 1995). Infants in all cultures coo before they babble. They begin babbling at about the same age and utter their first word around 12 months old. Yet we live in diverse contexts that have a unique effect on each of us. For example, researchers once believed that motor development followed one course for all children regardless of culture. However, childcare practices vary by culture, and different practices have been found to accelerate or inhibit the achievement of developmental milestones such as sitting, crawling, and walking (Karasik, Adolph, Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 2010).

For instance, let’s look at the Aché society in Paraguay. They spend a significant amount of time foraging in forests. While foraging, Aché mothers carry their young children, rarely putting them down in order to protect them from getting hurt in the forest. Consequently, their children walk much later: They walk around 23–25 months old, in comparison to infants in Western cultures who begin to walk around 12 months old. However, as Aché children become older, they are allowed more freedom to move about, and by about age 9, their motor skills surpass those of U.S. children of the same age: Aché children are able to climb trees up to 25 feet tall and use machetes to chop their way through the forest (Kaplan & Dove, 1987). As you can see, our development is influenced by multiple contexts, so the timing of basic motor functions may vary across cultures. However, the functions are present in all societies.

Photograph A shows two children wearing inner tubes playing in the shallow water at the beach. Photograph B shows two children playing in the sand at a beach.

Figure 3. All children across the world love to play. Whether in (a) Florida or (b) South Africa, children enjoy exploring sand, sunshine, and the sea. (credit a: modification of work by “Visit St. Pete/Clearwater”/Flickr; credit b: modification of work by “stringer_bel”/Flickr)

How Do Nature and Nurture Influence Development?

Are we who we are because of nature (biology and genetics), or are we who we are because of nurture (our environment and culture)? This longstanding question is known in psychology as the nature versus nurture debate. It seeks to understand how our personalities and traits are the product of our genetic makeup and biological factors, and how they are shaped by our environment, including our parents, peers, and culture. For instance, why do biological children sometimes act like their parents—is it because of genetics or because of early childhood environment and what the child has learned from their parents? What about children who are adopted—are they more like their biological families or more like their adoptive families? And how can siblings from the same family be so different?

We are all born with specific genetic traits inherited from our parents, such as eye color, height, and certain personality traits. Beyond our basic genotype, however, there is a deep interaction between our genes and our environment. Our unique experiences in our environment influence whether and how particular traits are expressed, and at the same time, our genes influence how we interact with our environment (Diamond, 2009; Lobo, 2008). There is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture as they both shape who we become, but the debate continues as to the relative contributions of each.

Psyc 200 Lifespan Psychology. Authored by : Laura Overstreet. Located at : http://opencourselibrary.org/econ-201/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
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What is Lifespan Development. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://opentext.wsu.edu/ospsychrevisions/chapter/what-is-lifespan-development/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
Modification, adaptation, and original content. Authored by : Margaret Clark-Plaskie for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
Key issues in Human Development. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-psychology/chapter/what-is-lifespan-development/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright
Developmental Psychology. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_psychology . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Kids running. Authored by : Airman 1st Class Soo c. Kim. Provided by : U.S. Air Force photo. Located at : https://www.army.mil/article/135427/childhood_obesity_a_preventable_disease . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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Home / Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs / Online Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies / Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies Resources / Stages of Human Development: What It Is & Why It’s Important

What Is Human Development and Why Is It Important? What Is Human Development and Why Is It Important? What Is Human Development and Why Is It Important?

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Tables of Contents

Eight Stages of Human Development?
Theories of Human Development

Human Development vs. Developmental Psychology

What are the genetic factors that affect human growth and development, why do we study human growth and development.

Imagine two children born in the same town and the same year to families with similar socioeconomic statuses. One child grows up to be assertive and confident, while the other grows up to be timid and shy. The study of the stages of human development can help explain the reasons for these differences and much more.

What is human development, exactly? Human development is a branch of psychology with the goal of understanding people — how they develop, grow, and change throughout their lives. This discipline, which can help individuals better understand themselves and their relationships, is broad. As such, it can be used in various professional settings and career paths.

What Are the Eight Stages of Human Development?

If human development is the study of how people change throughout their lives, how and when does this development happen? Many scientists and psychologists have studied various aspects of human development, including ego psychologist Erik Erikson. He examined the impact of social experiences throughout an individual’s life and theorized that psychosocial development happens in eight sequential parts . What are the eight stages of human development?

Stage 1 — Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust

In the first stage of human development, infants learn to trust based on how well their caregivers meet their basic needs and respond when they cry. If an infant cries out to be fed, the parent can either meet this need by feeding and comforting the infant or not meet this need by ignoring the infant. When their needs are met, infants learn that relying on others is safe; when their needs go unmet, infants grow up to be less trusting.

Stage 2 — Toddlerhood: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

In addition to autonomy versus shame and doubt, another way to think of the second stage is independence versus dependence. Like in the first stage, toddlers go through this stage responding to their caregivers. If caregivers encourage them to be independent and explore the world on their own, toddlers will grow up with a sense of self-efficacy. If the caregivers hover excessively or encourage dependence, these toddlers grow up with less confidence in their abilities.

For example, if a toddler wants to walk without assistance in a safe area, the caregiver should encourage this autonomy by allowing the independent behavior. If the caregiver insists on holding the toddler’s hand even when it’s not necessary, this attention can lead to doubt later in life.

Stage 3 — Preschool Years: Initiative vs. Guilt

During the preschool years, children learn to assert themselves and speak up when they need something. Some children may state that they’re sad because a friend stole their toy. If this assertiveness is greeted with a positive reaction, they learn that taking initiative is helpful behavior. However, if they’re made to feel guilty or ashamed for their assertiveness, they may grow up to be timid and less likely to take the lead.

Stage 4 — Early School Years: Industry vs. Inferiority

When children begin school, they start to compare themselves with peers. If children feel they’re accomplished in relation to peers, they develop strong self-esteem. If, however, they notice that other children have met milestones that they haven’t, they may struggle with self-esteem. For example, a first grader may notice a consistently worse performance on spelling tests when compared with peers. If this becomes a pattern, it can lead to feelings of inferiority.

The key components of Erikson’s model of human development include stage one, infancy, trust versus mistrust; stage two, toddlerhood, autonomy versus shame and doubt; stage three, preschool years, initiative versus guilt; stage four, early school years, industry versus inferiority; stage five, adolescence, identity versus role confusion; stage six, young adulthood, intimacy versus isolation; stage seven, middle adulthood, generativity versus stagnation; and stage eight, late adulthood, integrity versus despair.

Stage 5 — Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion

The adolescent stage is where the term “identity crisis” originated, and for good reason. Adolescence is all about developing a sense of self. Adolescents who can clearly identify who they are grow up with stronger goals and self-knowledge than teenagers who struggle to break free of their parents’ or friends’ influences. Adolescents who still deeply depend on their parents for social interaction and guidance may experience more role confusion than teenagers who pursue their own interests.

Stage 6 — Young Adulthood: Intimacy vs. Isolation

In young adulthood, which begins roughly at age 20, people begin to solidify their lifelong bonds; many people enter committed relationships or marriages, while others form lifelong friendships. People who can create and maintain these relationships reap the emotional benefits, while those who struggle to maintain relationships may suffer from isolation. A young adult who develops strong friendships in college may feel more intimacy than one who struggles to form and maintain close friendships.

Stage 7 — Middle Adulthood: Generativity vs. Stagnation

In middle adulthood, people tend to struggle with their contributions to society. They may be busy raising children or pursuing careers. Those who feel that they’re contributing experience generativity, which is the sense of leaving a legacy. On the other hand, those who don’t feel that their work or lives matter may experience feelings of stagnation. For example, a middle-aged adult who’s raising a family and working in a career that presumably helps people may feel more fulfilled than an adult who’s working at a day job that feels meaningless.

Stage 8 — Late Adulthood: Integrity vs. Despair

As adults reach the end of life, they look back on their lives and reflect. Adults who feel fulfilled by their lives, either through a successful family or a meaningful career, reach ego integrity, in which they can face aging and dying with peace. If older adults don’t feel that they’ve lived a good life, they risk falling into despair.

Other Theories of Human Development

Although widely used, Erikson’s psychosocial development theory has been critiqued for focusing too much on childhood. Critics claim that his emphasis makes the model less representative of the growth that people experienced in adulthood. Erikson’s model of the stages of human development is only one theory addressing growth and change throughout life, as many other psychologists have researched their own theories of human development , including the following:

Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget developed the theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s theory is widely used in education programs to prepare teachers to instruct students in developmentally appropriate ways. The theory is based on four stages:

Sensorimotor — In the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years old), children learn object permanence, which is the understanding that people and objects still exist even when they’re out of view.
Preoperational — In the preoperational stage (2-7 years old), children develop symbolic thought, which is when they begin to progress from concrete to abstract thinking. Children in this stage often have imaginary friends.
Concrete operational — In the concrete operational stage (7-11 years old), children solidify their abstract thinking and begin to understand cause and effect and logical implications of actions.
Formal operational — In the formal operational stage (adolescence to adulthood), humans plan for the future, think hypothetically, and assume adult responsibilities.

Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg created a theory of human development based on moral development concepts. The theory comprises the following stages:

Preconventional — In the preconventional stage, people follow rules because they’re afraid of punishment and make choices only with their best interests in mind.
Conventional — In the conventional stage, people act to avoid society’s judgment and follow rules to maintain the systems and structures that are already in place.
Postconventional — In the postconventional stage, a genuine concern for the welfare of others and the greater good of society guides people.

Psychosexual Theory

Sigmund Freud popularized the psychosexual theory . The theory comprises five stages:

Oral — In the oral stage (birth to 1 year old), children learn to suck and swallow and may experience conflict with weaning.
Anal — In the anal stage (1-3 years old), children learn to withhold or expel feces and may experience conflict with potty training.
Phallic — In the phallic stage (3-6 years old), children discover that their genitals can give them pleasure.
Latency — In the latency stage (roughly 6 years old through puberty), they take a break from these physical stages and instead develop mentally and emotionally.
Genital — In the genital stage (puberty through adulthood), people learn to express themselves sexually.

Ideally, children move through each phase fluidly as their sexual libidos develop, but if they’re stuck in any of the phases, they may develop a fixation that hinders their development.

Behavioral Theory

The behavioral theory focuses solely on a person’s behaviors rather than the feelings that go alongside those behaviors. It suggests that behaviors are conditioned in an environment due to certain stimuli. Behavioral theorists believe that behavior determines feelings, so changing behaviors is important because this will in turn change feelings.

The attachment theory focuses on the deep relationships between people across their lifetime. An important attachment theory finding is that children must develop at least one strong bond in childhood to trust and develop relationships as adults. The attachment theory comprises four stages:

Asocial or pre-attachment (birth to 6 weeks old)
Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks old to 7 months old)
Specific or discriminate attachment (7-9 months old)
Multiple attachments (10 months old or later)

Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory builds upon the behavioral theory and postulates that people learn best by observing the behavior of others. They watch how others act, view the consequences, and then make decisions regarding their own behavior accordingly. The four stages in this theory are:

Reproduction

In the attention stage, people first notice the behavior of others. In the retention stage, they remember the behavior and the resulting consequences. In the reproduction stage, people develop the ability to imitate the behaviors they want to reproduce, and in the motivation stage, they perform these behaviors.

Sociocultural Theory

The sociocultural theory ties human development to the society or culture in which people live. It focuses on the contributions that society as a whole makes to individual human development. For example, children who are raised to play outdoors develop differently from children who are raised to play indoors.

An important part of this theory is the zone of proximal development, which is an area of knowledge and skills slightly more advanced than a child’s current level. The zone of proximal development helps teachers think about and plan instruction, so sociocultural theory plays a large role in preservice teacher training.

Resources: More Information on Theories of Human Development

BetterHelp, “Behavioral Theory, Behavioral Psychology, or Behaviorism? How Behavior and Personality Intersect ”
Encyclopedia Britannica, “Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development”
Healthline, “What Are Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development?”
PositivePsychology.com, “What Is Attachment Theory? Bowlby’s 4 Stages Explained”
Psychology Today , Social Learning Theory
SimplyPsychology, “Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory”
SimplyPsychology, Theories of Psychology
Verywell Mind, “The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development”

What are the differences between human development and developmental psychology? These terms are closely related. In fact, the study of developmental psychology is most people’s entry into human development.

Developmental psychology is defined as a scientific approach to explaining growth, change, and consistency throughout a lifetime. It uses various frameworks to understand how people develop and transform throughout their lives. The goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and optimize development to improve people’s lives. In the real world, developmental psychology is used in the study of physical, psychological, emotional, social, personality, and perceptual development.

The study of developmental psychology can lead to careers in several different fields. Developmental psychologists often work in colleges and universities and focus on research and teaching. Others work in healthcare facilities, clinics, assisted living facilities, hospitals, mental health clinics, or homeless shelters. In these applied settings, their focus is more on assessing, evaluating, and treating people. According to June 2020 data from PayScale, developmental psychologists earn an average annual salary of about $68,000 .

One more key element of human growth and development left to explore is genetics . Genetics influences the speed and way in which people develop, though other factors, such as parenting, education, experiences, and socioeconomic factors, are also at play. The multiple genetic factors that affect human growth and development include genetic interactions and sex chromosome abnormalities.

Genetic Interactions

Genes can act in an additive way or sometimes conflict with one another. For example, a child with one tall parent and one short parent may end up between the two of them, at average height. Other times, genes follow a dominant-recessive pattern. If one parent has brown hair and the other has red hair, the red hair gene is the dominant gene if their child has red hair.

Gene-Environment Interactions

Humans’ genetic information is always interacting with the environment, and sometimes this can impact development and growth. For example, if a child in utero is exposed to drugs, the child’s cognitive abilities may be impacted, thus changing the developmental process. In addition, even if a child’s genes would indicate a tall height, if that child experiences poor nutrition as children, it may impact their height.

Sex Chromosome Abnormalities

Sex chromosome abnormalities impact as many as 1 in 500 births. The following syndromes are examples of sex chromosome abnormalities that can impact development:

Klinefelter syndrome is the presence of an extra X chromosome in males, which can cause physical characteristics such as decreased muscle mass and reduced body hair and may cause learning disabilities.
Fragile X syndrome is caused by a mutation in the FMR1 gene that makes the X chromosome appear fragile . It can cause intellectual disability, developmental delays, or distinctive physical features such as a long face.
Turner syndrome happens when one of the X chromosomes is missing or partially missing. It only affects females and results in physical characteristics like short stature and webbed neck.

Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is another common example of how genetics can impact development. This chromosomal disorder may cause some individuals to experience physical or intellectual development differences. Down syndrome occurs at the 21st chromosomal site, in which people with Down syndrome have three chromosomes rather than two.

Those with Down syndrome often have different physical characteristics and may be prone to physical problems like heart defects and hearing problems. Most individuals with Down syndrome have intellectual impairment, but the degree of this impairment varies from person to person.

The top reasons for studying human development are to gain an understanding of your own life experience, help others understand what they’re going through, understand the relationship of society and individual growth, lead more effectively, and support the physical and mental health of others.

The study of human growth and development offers a wealth of value for personal and professional growth and understanding. Many reasons exist for why we study human growth and development.

Common benefits include the following:

To gain a better understanding of one’s own life experiences. This can help people personally reach an understanding of what childhood events shaped their adulthood.
To gain knowledge of how social context impacts development. This knowledge can be invaluable for professionals like teachers as they gain a deeper understanding of their students.
To help others understand and contextualize the ups and downs of life. This helps therapists and psychologists better aid their clients in self-discovery.
To understand how societal change can support growth and development. This understanding helps decision-makers in schools change the educational culture for the better.
To become a more effective research, teacher, or leader in many different industries. Understanding human development deeply and in context has many professional benefits that can lead to greater insight.
To support the physical and mental health of individuals throughout their life span. Professionals like doctors, nurses, and therapists must understand human growth and development to better support their clients.

Students may choose to study human growth and development because of its array of applications across many professional fields. For example, students who want to become elementary school teachers may take courses on the stages of human development to understand cognitive development and how children’s brains grow and change.

Human development is a wide-reaching and ever-changing discipline. A knowledge of human development can be invaluable to people personally as they continue to learn and grow throughout their lives and professionally as they learn to apply what they’ve learned to their careers.

Infographic Sources

Financial Express, “The Eight Stages of Human Development”

VeryWell Mind, “5 Reasons to Study Human Development”

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What is Development?

Human Development or Lifespan Development is the scientific study of the ways in which people change, as well as remain the same, from conception to death. You will discover that the field, known more broadly as developmental science , examines changes and stability across multiple domains of psychological and social functioning. These include physical and neurophysiological processes, cognition, language, emotion, personality, moral, and psychosocial development, including our relationships with others.

image of a grandchild and grandparent walking arm in arm in a park

Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence and more recently, aging and the entire life span. Previously, the message was once you are 25, your development is essentially completed. Our academic knowledge of the lifespan has changed, and although there is still less research on adulthood than on childhood, adulthood is gaining increasing attention. This is particularly true now that the large cohort known as the “baby boomers” are beginning to enter late adulthood. The assumption that early childhood experiences dictate our future is also being called into question. Instead, we have come to appreciate that growth and change continues throughout life and experience continues to have an impact on who we are and how we relate to others. We now recognize that adulthood is a dynamic period of life marked by continued cognitive, social, and psychological development.

You will also discover that developmental psychologists investigate key questions, such as whether children are qualitatively different from adults or simply lack the experience that adults draw upon. Other issues they consider include the question of whether development occurs through the gradual accumulation of knowledge or through qualitative shifts from one stage of thinking to another, or if children are born with innate knowledge or figure things out through experience, and whether development is driven by the social context or something inside each child. From these questions, you may already be thinking that developmental psychology is related to other applied fields. You are right. Developmental science informs many applied fields, including, educational psychology, developmental psychopathology, and intervention science. It also complements several other basic research fields in psychology including social psychology, cognitive psychology, and cross-cultural psychology. Lastly, it draws from the theories and research of several scientific fields including biology, sociology, health care, nutrition, and anthropology.

Learning Objectives: Lifespan Perspective

Explain the lifespan perspective and its assumptions about development
Differentiate periods of human development
Identify key assumptions and major meta-theories underlying lifespan development
Identify major historical and contemporary theories focusing on lifespan development

Lifespan Perspective

Paul Baltes identified several underlying principles of the lifespan perspective (Baltes, 1987; Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006).

Development is lifelong . Lifespan theorists believe that development is life-long, and change is apparent across the lifespan. No single age period is more crucial, characterizes, or dominates human development. Consequently, the term lifespan development will be used throughout the textbook.
Development is multidirectional and multidimensional. Lifespan researchers hold that different people follow different developmental pathways, and proceed along pathways at different rates. Even within the same person, different dimensions or domains of development can change in different ways.
Development includes both gains and losses . Lifespan theorists do not agree with the traditional view of development that childhood is a period characterized by developmental gains, whereas old age is a time of loss. Instead, the lifespan approach holds that at every age, we may show gains in some areas of development, while showing losses in other areas. Every change, whether it is finishing high school, getting married, or becoming a parent, entails both growth and loss.
Development is characterized by plasticity. Plasticity is about malleability , or our potential to change and to follow a wide range of developmental pathways. For instance, plasticity is illustrated in the brain’s ability to learn from experience and the many ways it can recover from injury.
Development is embedded in historical and cultural contexts. Lifespan researchers believe that d evelopment is influenced by the many social contexts in which it unfolds. How people develop will depend on their societal and cultural contexts, and on the historical period during which their development takes place.
Development is multiply determined. Lifespan theorists argue that development is caused by multiple factors, and is always shaped by both biological and environmental factors. In addition, the individual plays an active role in their own development.
Development is multidisciplinary. As mentioned at the start of the chapter, human development is such a vast topic of study that it requires the theories, research methods, and knowledge bases of many academic disciplines.

Contextualism as paradigm. Baltes (1987) identified three specific developmental systems of influence, all of which include biological and environmental forces.

Normative age-graded influences: An age-grade is a specific age group, such as toddler, adolescent, or senior . Humans experience particular age-graded social experiences (e.g., starting school) and biological changes (e.g., puberty).
Normative history-graded influences: The time period in which you are born (see Table 1.1) shapes your experiences. A cohort is a group of people who are born at roughly the same period in a particular society. These people travel through life often experiencing similar historical changes at similar ages. History-graded influences include both environmental determinants (e.g., historical changes in the job market) and biological determinants (e.g., historical changes in life expectancy).
Non-normative influences : People’s development is also shaped by specific influences that are not organized by age or historical time, such as immigration, accidents, or the death of a parent. These can be environmental (e.g., parental mental health issues) or biological (e.g., life threatening illness).

Table 1.1. Which generation (cohort) are you?

adapted from Lally & Valentine-French, 2019

Domains of development. We change across three general domains/dimensions; physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. The physical domain includes changes in height and weight, sensory capabilities, the nervous system, as well as the propensity for disease and illness . The cognitive domain encompasses the changes in intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem-solving, memory, and language. The psychosocial domain focuses on changes in emotion, self-perception and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends. All three domains influence each other. It is also important to note that a change in one domain may cascade and prompt changes in the other domains. For instance, an infant who has started to crawl or walk will encounter more objects and people, thus fostering developmental change in the child’s understanding of the physical and social world.

Contextual perspectives , like the lifespan approach, highlight societal contexts that influence our development. An important societal factor is our social standing, socioeconomic status, or social class. Socioeconomic status (SES) is a way to identify families and households based on their shared levels of education, income, and occupation. While there is certainly individual variation, members of a social class tend to share similar privileges, opportunities, lifestyles, patterns of consumption, parenting styles, stressors, religious preferences, and other aspects of daily life. All of us born into a class system are socially located, and we may move up or down depending on a combination of both socially and individually created limits and opportunities.

Families with higher socioeconomic status usually are in occupations (e.g., attorneys, physicians, executives) that not only pay better, but also grant them a certain degree of freedom and control over their job. Having a sense of autonomy or control is a key factor in experiencing job satisfaction, personal happiness, and ultimately health and well-being (Weitz, 2007). Those families with lower socioeconomic status are typically in occupations that are more routine, more heavily supervised, and require less formal education. These occupations are also more subject to job disruptions, including lay-offs and lower wages.

Poverty level is an income amount established by the federal government that is based on a set of thresholds that vary by family size (United States Census Bureau, 2016). If a family’s income is less than the government threshold, that family is considered in poverty. Those living at or near poverty level may find it extremely difficult to sustain a household with this amount of income. Poverty is associated with poorer health and a lower life expectancy due to poorer diet, less healthcare, greater stress, working in more dangerous occupations, higher infant mortality rates, poorer prenatal care, greater iron deficiencies, greater difficulty in school, and many other problems. Members of higher income status may fear losing that status, but the poor may have greater concerns over losing housing.

Today we are more aware of the variations in development and the impact that culture and the environment have on shaping our lives. Culture is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. It includes ideas about what is right and wrong, what to strive for, what to eat, how to speak, what is valued, as well as what kinds of emotions are called for in certain situations. Culture teaches us how to live in a society and allows us to advance because each new generation can benefit from the solutions found and passed down from previous generations. Culture is learned from parents, schools, houses of worship, media, friends and others throughout a lifetime. The kinds of traditions and values that evolve in a particular culture serve to help members function and value their own society. We tend to believe that our own culture’s practices and expectations are the right ones. This belief that our own culture is superior is called ethnocentrism and is a normal by-product of growing up in a culture. It becomes a roadblock, however, when it inhibits understanding of cultural practices from other societies. Cultural relativity is an appreciation for cultural differences and the understanding that cultural practices are best understood from the standpoint of that particular culture.

Culture is an extremely important context for human development and understanding development requires being able to identify which features of development are culturally based. This understanding is somewhat new and still being explored. Much of what developmental theorists have described in the past has been culturally bound and difficult to apply to various cultural contexts. The reader should keep this in mind and realize that there is still much that is unknown when comparing development across cultures.

Lifespan vs. Life expectancy: At this point you must be wondering what the difference between lifespan and life expectancy is, according to developmentalists. Lifespan , or longevity, refers to the maximum age any member of a species can reach under optimal conditions . For instance, the grey wolf can live up to 20 years in captivity, the bald eagle up to 50 years, and the Galapagos tortoise over 150 years (Smithsonian National Zoo, 2016). The longest recorded lifespan for a human was Jean Calment who died in 1994 at the age of 122 years, 5 months, and 14 days (Guinness World Records, 2016). Life expectancy is the average number of years a person born in a particular time period can typically expect to live (Vogt & Johnson, 2016).

Conceptions of Age

How old are you? Chances are you would answer that question based on the number of years since your birth, or what is called your chronological age . Ever felt older than your chronological age? Some days we might “feel” like we are older, especially if we are not feeling well, are tired, or are stressed out. We might notice that a peer seems more emotionally mature than we are, or that they are physically more capable. So years since birth is not the only way we can conceptualize age.

Biological age: Another way developmental researchers can think about the concept of age is to examine how quickly the body is aging , this is your biological age . Several factors determine the rate at which our body ages. Our nutrition, level of physical activity, sleeping habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, how we mentally handle stress, and the genetic history of our ancestors, to name but a few.

Psychological age: Our psychologically adaptive capacity compared to others of our chronological age is our psychological age . This includes our cognitive capacity along with our emotional beliefs about how old we are. An individual who has cognitive impairments might be 20 years of age, yet has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old. A 70- year-old might be travelling to new countries, taking courses at college, or starting a new business. Compared to others of our age group, we may be more or less active and excited to meet new challenges. Remember you are as young or old as you feel.

Social age: Our social age is based on the social norms of our culture and the expectations our culture has for people of our age group . Our culture often reminds us whether we are “on target” or “off target” for reaching certain social milestones, such as completing our education, moving away from home, having children, or retiring from work. However, there have been arguments that social age is becoming less relevant in the 21st century (Neugarten, 1979; 1996). If you look around at your fellow students at college you might notice more people who are older than traditional aged college students, those 18 to 25. Similarly, the age at which people are moving away from the home of their parents, starting their careers, getting married or having children, or even whether they get married or have children at all, is changing.

Those who study lifespan development recognize that chronological age does not completely capture a person’s age. Our age profile is much more complex than this. A person may be physically more competent than others in their age group, while being psychologically immature. So, how old are you?

Table 1.2 Age Periods of Development

Table 1.2 shows the developmental periods that will be explored in this book, starting with prenatal development and continuing thought late adulthood to death. Both childhood and adulthood are divided into multiple developmental periods. So, while both an 8-month old and an 8-year-old are considered children, they have very different motor abilities, social relationships, and cognitive skills. Their nutritional needs are different and their primary psychological concerns are also distinctive. The same is true of an 18-year-old and an 80-year-old, even though both are considered adults.

Prenatal Development : Conception occurs and development begins. All of the major structures of the body are forming, and the health of the mother is of primary concern. Understanding nutrition, teratogens , or environmental factors that can lead to birth defects , and labor and delivery are primary concerns.

Infancy and Toddlerhood : The first two years of life are ones of dramatic growth and change. A newborn, with a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision, is transformed into a walking, talking toddler within a relatively short period of time. Caregivers are also transformed from someone who manages feeding and sleep schedules to a constantly moving guide and safety inspector for a mobile, energetic child.

Early Childhood: This period is also referred to as the preschool years and consists of the years that follow toddlerhood and precede formal schooling. As a two to six-year-old, the child is busy learning language, gaining a sense of self and greater independence, and beginning to understand the workings of the physical world.

Middle and Late Childhood: The ages of six to the onset of puberty comprise middle and late childhood, and much of what children experience at this age is connected to their involvement in the early grades of school. Now the world becomes one of learning and testing new academic skills, and assessing one’s abilities and accomplishments by making comparisons between self and others.

Adolescence : Adolescence is a period of dramatic physical change marked by an overall growth spurt and sexual maturation, known as puberty . It is also a time of cognitive change as the adolescent begins to think of new possibilities and to consider abstract concepts such as love, fear, and freedom. At the same time, adolescents have a sense of invincibility that puts them at greater risk of accidents or contracting sexually transmitted infections that can have lifelong consequences.

Emerging Adulthood: The period of emerging adulthood is a transitional time between the end of adolescence and before individuals acquire all the benchmarks of adulthood. Continued identity exploration and preparation for full independence from parents are negotiated. Although at one’s physiological peak, emerging adults are most at risk for involvement in violent crimes and substance abuse.

Early Adulthood : The twenties and thirties are identified as early adulthood. Intimate relationships, establishing families (of all shapes and sizes), and work are primary concerns at this stage of life. For adults with children, developmental changes can become organized around the family life cycle.

Middle Adulthood : The forties through the mid-sixties are referred to as middle adulthood. This is a period in which aging becomes more noticeable and when many people are at their peak of productivity in love and work. At this age, some people are negotiating adolescent children and aging parents at the same time.

Late Adulthood : Late adulthood is sometimes subdivided into two categories: The young-old who are from 65-84 years and the oldest-old who are 85 years and older. One of the primary differences between these groups is that the young-old are still relatively healthy, productive, active, and the majority continue to live independently. With both age groups the risks of diseases such as arteriosclerosis, cancer, and cerebral vascular disease increase substantially.

Meta-theories of Human Development

The study of development is guided by the assumptions researchers hold about the nature of humans and their development. These assumptions are called meta-theories . “Meta” means “above” or “beyond,” like “meta-physics.” Other terms used to describe meta-theories are “world views,” “cosmologies,” “perspectives,” or “paradigms,” as in “paradigm shifts.” Explicit discussions of meta-theories are found most often in philosophy.

What are meta-theories of human development?

Meta-theories (or world views or paradigms) of human development are sets of assumptions people hold about the nature of humans and the meaning of development — what it looks like, how it happens, what causes it. These assumptions are important because everyone has them, including researchers, but they are often implicit, meaning we are not always consciously aware of them. In the study of development, such assumptions influence everything about how research is conducted: the questions we ask, the measures and methods that are used, and the interpretation of data. For example, if researchers assume that development ends at 18, they do not look for developmental changes after that age. Or, if researchers assume that aging is a process of decline, then they never look for characteristics that might improve as people get older.

All researchers have meta-theories, since assumptions are baked into the theories and methodologies they use. But researchers are often unaware of them, and so these assumptions are rarely acknowledged. It is important to note that meta-theories are not just cold cognitions. They are often deeply held convictions that researchers will fiercely defend. Typically researchers think that their assumptions are self-evident truths. They are often convinced that their assumptions are right and everyone else’s are wrong.

Researchers holding different meta-theories can have difficulty communicating with each other. Since they are asking different questions and using different truth criteria for research, they often argue past each other or misunderstand each other. One group of researchers will offer what they consider to be irrefutable proof of their ideas, which other researchers then dismiss as irrelevant. Discrepancies, inconsistencies, arguments, and furor often characterize an area of study in which researchers from multiple meta-theories are working.

What kinds of assumptions guide the study of human development?

We consider six key assumptions. You may have heard of many of them, since they are perennial issues in the study of development. They include:

Assumptions about human nature : whether people are born as blank slates ( tabula rasa ) or whether people are inherently good or inherently bad.
Assumptions about the causes of development : whether development is determined by nature (genes, biology) or determined by nurture (environment, learning).
Assumptions about the role of the individual in his or her own development: whether people are passive participants, reacting to external forces or whether they are active in choosing and shaping their own development.
Assumptions about stability vs. change : whether traits, characteristics, and experiences early in life have permanent effects or whether people are malleable and open to change throughout life.
Assumptions about continuity vs. discontinuity : whether development involves quantitative incremental change or qualitative shifts.
Assumptions about universality vs. context specificity : whether development follows a universal pathway or depends more on specific experiences and environmental contexts.

Nature of humans. What is the nature of humans? These assumptions refer to beliefs about the underlying qualities of our species– whether humans are born as blank slates ( tabula rasa ) or whether we all bring intrinsic human characteristics with us into the world. For example, these different assumptions are readily apparent in alternative conceptualizations of motivation—some theories assume that motives and motivation are all acquired, whereas others assume that all humans come with intrinsic motivations.

Nature and Nurture: Why are you the way you are? As you consider some of your features (height, weight, personality, being diabetic, etc.), ask yourself whether these features are a result of heredity or environmental factors, or both. Chances are, you can see the ways in which both heredity and environmental factors (such as lifestyle, diet, and so on) have contributed to these features. For decades, scholars have carried on the “nature/nurture” debate. For any particular feature, those on the side of nature would argue that heredity plays the most important role in bringing about that feature. Those on the side of nurture would argue that one’s environment is most significant in shaping the way we are. This debate continues in all aspects of human development, and most scholars agree that there is a constant interplay between the two forces. It is difficult to isolate the root of any single behavior as a result solely of nature or nurture.

Active versus Passive: How much do you play a role in your own developmental path? Are you at the whim of your genetic inheritance or the environment that surrounds you? Some theorists see humans as playing a much more active role in their own development. Piaget, for instance believed that children actively explore their world and construct new ways of thinking to explain the things they experience. In contrast, many behaviorists view humans as being more passive in the developmental process.

Stability versus Change: How similar are you to how you were as a child? Were you always as out-going or reserved as you are now? Some theorists argue that the personality traits of adults are rooted in the behavioral and emotional tendencies of the infant and young child. Others disagree, and believe that these initial tendencies are modified by social and cultural forces over time.

An image shows three stages in the continuous growth of a tree. A second image shows four distinct stages of development in the life cycle of a ladybug.

Continuity versus Discontinuity: Is human development best characterized as a slow, gradual process, or is it best viewed as one of more abrupt change? The answer to that question often depends on which developmental theorist you ask and what topic is being studied. The theories of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, and Kohlberg are called stage theories. Stage theories or discontinuous development assume that developmental change occurs in distinct stages that are qualitatively different from each other, and that unfold in a set, universal sequence . At each stage of development, children and adults have different qualities and characteristics. Thus, stage theorists assume development is discontinuous. Others, such as the behaviorists, Vygotsky, and information processing theorists, assume development is a more slow and gradual process known as continuous development . For instance, they would see the adult as not possessing new skills, but as using more advanced skills that were already present in some form in the child. Brain development and environmental experiences contribute to the acquisition of more developed skills.

Universal vs. context specific . A final assumption focuses on whether pathways of development are presumed to be (1) normative and universal, meaning that all people pass through them in the same sequence, or (2) differential and specific, meaning that a variety of different patterns and pathways of developmental change are possible depending on the individual and the context. Some theorists, like Piaget or Erickson, assume that everyone progresses through the same stages of cognitive development in the same order, or that everyone negotiates the same set of developmental tasks at about the same ages. Other theorists, who endorse lifespan or ecological systems approaches, believe that development can take on a wide variety of patterns and pathways, depending on the specific cultural, historical, and societal under which it unfolds.

What are the guiding meta-theories in human development?

These six basic assumptions are clustered into “packages” that go together. Clusters are organized around metaphors, which are at the root of meta-theories of humans and their development. We consider four meta-theories, each with its own metaphor: (1) humans as seeds , as depicted by Maturational meta-theories; (2) humans as machines , as depicted in Mechanistic meta-theories (3) humans as butterflies , as depicted in Organismic meta-theories; and (4) humans as participants in a tennis game, conversation, or dance , as depicted by Contextualist meta-theories. For an overview of these guiding meta-theories, see this chart [pdf] .

Maturational meta-theory : Maturational meta-theories can be understood using the plant as a metaphor. It is as if humans develop the same way as plants. The important thing to study is people’s “seeds,” that is, their genetic make-up. People are assumed to be passive, the product of their genes. The environment can provide support and nutrition (rain, sun, and soil), but can’t change a person’s nature (poppy seeds will always produce poppies). The role of the person is to be reactive—to their genes. The course of development will be continuous or discontinuous depending on the genetic program, although acorns always grow into oak trees.
Mechanistic meta-theory : Mechanistic meta-theories can be understood using the machine as a metaphor. It is as if humans change the same way as machines. People are assumed to be made up of pieces that can be studied apart from the rest of them. They are passive, with the energy coming from outside (like gasoline for a car). Development is continuous and people do not develop into something else (a car stays a car). The person can only react to the environment that is controlling them (like a car responding to the gas pedal or the brake). All causes for development come from the outside, from environmental forces.
Organismic meta-theory : Organismic meta-theories can be understood using the butterfly as a metaphor. It is as if humans develop the same way as butterflies. People are assumed to be made up of structured wholes. Their nature is to be curious, interested, and open to growth. They are active and develop through discontinuous qualitatively different stages (like the caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly). People construct their own next steps in development based on the affordances and opportunities provided by the environment. Development is caused by imbalances that lead to structural reorganizations. Development is progressive (gets better) and only goes in one direction (from caterpillar toward butterfly) and not the reverse.
Contextual meta-theory : Contextual meta-theories can be understood using the tennis game (or dance) as a metaphor. It is as if humans’ development is like a game of tennis or a dance. The important thing to study is the back and forth between the person and his or her context, both of which are assumed to be proactive and acting on their own agendas. Development can be continuous or discontinuous depending on how the game is played. Both person and environment are active partners in the system, which can lead to transformations in both.

What are examples of theories that fall within each meta-theory?

Nested within each higher-order meta-theory are sets of lower-level approaches or theories called “families” of perspectives or theories to denote that they share common properties, based on their similarity to the root metaphors and characteristics of the guiding meta-theories. This table contains several examples of “big” theories of development and provides an analysis of their defining features according to the meta-theoretical assumptions we have been discussing [pdf]. Based on this analysis, we indicate the higher-order family to which we think each big theory or approach belongs.

Although maturational meta-theories were prevalent in the beginning of the 20th century, their popularity has waxed and waned since then, and they have taken on many different forms. These include some formulations of behavioral genetics, sociobiology, evolutionary, ethological, neuroscience, temperament, and personality theories. Maturational assumptions are signaled by concepts such as “trait,” the search for “the aggression gene,” the discovery of the brain system, hormone, or neurotransmitter responsible for a specific condition, or any other terms that suggest development is solely the product of innate or immutable characteristics of individuals. Although they are not typically referred to as “maturational,” there are many kinds of theories that place all the active ingredients of behavior or development inside the head (or more specifically the social cognitions) of the person. Even if they are not direct descendants, these theories can be considered cousins of Maturational meta-theories because they are exclusively focused on the role of the individual.

The prototypic Mechanistic theories are behaviorist, operant, and classical conditioning learning theories, like social learning theory. This family of theories dominated psychology from the early to the mid-20th century, but Mechanistic theories are still alive and well in many areas, such as learning and motivation, and especially in many theories that have been adapted for use in educational systems. New kinds of machines serve as prototypes for mechanistic theories of memory, learning, and automatic functioning—focusing on the computer, the robot, and the automaton. Such assumptions have even pervaded our understanding of biological systems, as seen in metaphors like “the brain is a computer.” And although the “cognitive revolution” was supposed to have overthrown behaviorist assumptions, some cognitivistic theories treat humans as if they were information processing machines.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are also mechanistic assumptions embedded in certain progressive analyses of the effects of societal and social conditions, such as poverty, oppression, racism, and discrimination, which sometimes seem to imply that these external forces are the sole determinants of the development of stereotypes or implicit attitudes. In this case, because all people are presumed to passively internalize these societal prejudices, psychological phenomena are modeled after the metaphor of the “Xerox machine.” Just as in Maturational meta-theories, where humans could be seen as “hosts” to their genes, who were really running the show, in Mechanistic meta-theories, humans can be seen as “hosts” to their own behaviors, which are automatically reflexively produced based on previous social programming.

The prototypical Organismic theory is Piaget’s constructivist theory of cognitive and affective development, and the several neo-constructivist theories that were inspired by Piaget, for example, Kohlberg’s theory of the development of moral reasoning. Other theories living under the Organismic umbrella include Werner’s comparative psychology, focusing on the orthogenetic principle of differentiation and integration, and Erikson, who posited universal age-graded developmental tasks. Other theories that claim kinship with Organismic meta-theories (e.g., theories of intrinsic motivation) do not typically include notions of universal stages or tasks, but focus instead on Organismic assumptions about the nature of humans, specifically, that humans are innately active, curious, and interested, and inherently desire to explore, understand, and fit in with their social and physical environments. With the rise of radical contextualism and cultural relativism in psychology, theories of “universal” anything (e.g., psychological needs, stages, developmental tasks) have come increasingly under attack.

Some of the better-known members of the Contextualist family include Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model and the lifespan approach, both of which arose in reaction to dominant meta-theories of their day (experimental child psychology and Piagetian psychology, respectively), with their almost exclusive focus on the child as a developing individual. The “contextualist” moniker reflects these perspectives’ insistence that development unfolds within and is shaped by higher-order multi-level ecological or contextual forces outside the individual, such as microsystem settings, and societal, cultural, and historical contexts.

Does the field of psychology have meta-theories?

During different historical periods, specific meta-theories dominated the field of psychology. For example, during the 1940s and 1950s, behaviorism held sway. In the 1960s, Piaget’s theories were introduced to the United States and captured the field’s attention. Some fierce theoretical and empirical battles were fought between behaviorists and Piagetians.

When a specific meta-theory governs the field, it becomes very difficult for researchers from opposing meta-theories to work—they have trouble getting funding, they have trouble getting their research findings published, and they are marginalized by other researchers. For example, when the area of motivation was dominated by behaviorists (who believed that all behavior was motivated by rewards and punishments), it was very difficult for researchers to study and publish research on intrinsic motivation.

What is the dominant meta-theory in the field today?

“Cognitivism” is a guiding meta-theory in the field of psychology today. “Cognitivism” is the assumption that all the causal factors that shape human behavior and development are inside the mind or belief system of the person. You can hear the assumptions in the theories of the field: self-efficacy, self-esteem, attributions, perceived social support, values, sense of purpose, goal orientations, internal working model, identity, and so on.

The paradigm that is currently taking over the field of psychology is neuroscience . That is, the brain is in charge of behavior, and neurobiology is destiny. Some branches of neuroscience are predominantly Maturational , as seen in discussions of the brain systems responsible for certain actions, predilections, and characteristics. Other branches are more Contextual , for example, research on neuroplasticity, which examines the way that social contexts and interactions shape the developing brain.

News flash : In the field of psychology outside developmental, most researchers assume that people don’t develop. In personality, social, cognitive, and industrial-organizational psychology, researchers largely examine individual differences as indicators of people’s permanent characteristics.

Who else has meta-theories?

Everyone has meta-theories about human nature and development: parents, teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, business people, artists, politicians, and so on.

For example,

doctors assume that weight loss is all about diet and exercise (nurture), so no one can do research on physiological differences in metabolism (nature).
teachers have assumptions about whether students come with motivation (nature) or have to be motivated from the outside (nurture), and organize their classrooms accordingly.
parents often argue about the nature of children’s development, whether it’s just the child’s personality (maturational), or the child is going through a normal stage (organismic), or if they are rewarding the wrong behavior (mechanistic).

What is the meta-theory that guides our class and this book?

Our class endorses a life-span perspective on human development, a contextualist perspective that fought its way through the dominant perspectives in child psychology (e.g., development ends at age 18), starting in the 1980s to become one of the dominant meta-theories governing the field of developmental science today. Note that your instructors chose your book, so their meta-theory is influencing the meta-theoretical filter through which you are learning about development.

What is the correct meta-theory?

There is no single correct definition of development or meta-theory. Really. Even the lifespan approach has its drawbacks.

However, as research accumulates, many theories derived from certain meta-theories have been found to be incomplete—so far researchers have not found any significant aspect of development that is caused only by nature or only by nurture. Therefore, most researchers currently say they favor interactionist metatheories, like contextualist or systems meta-theories. However, it is important to look carefully at researchers’ actual work, because sometimes they say that they have one meta-theory, but their work seems to be guided by assumptions from a different meta-theory.

Do I have a meta-theory about development?

Yes, you do. And you can figure out what it is. Although it’s not easy, you can discern your own assumptions about development—by thinking about which assumptions make the most sense to you. You can also see which kinds of theories you prefer and what kinds of recommendations you would make about how to structure development, like how people should parent, teach, or make policies. The hardest part about discovering your own meta-theory is realizing that it is made up of assumptions you have (based on your experiences and messages from society)—that aren’t necessarily true. Our meta-theories sure seem true to each of us!

How do I get rid of my meta-theory?

It’s not really possible to get rid of all of our assumptions. It is our goal to be aware of our own assumptions or meta-theories, to realize that they are not the truth but are our current working models of how the world operates and people develop. The most important thing is to be explicit about our assumptions and to be cognizant of how they are guiding our actions. It is a goal of this class to help students figure out their own assumptions and to help them become (or remain) open to alternative viewpoints.

Adapted from : Ellen Skinner, Glen Richardson, Jennifer Pitzer, and Cynthia Taylor. Portland State University. July 2011.

Historical Theories of Development

Preformationist View : Well into the 18th century, children were merely thought of as little adults. Preformationism , or the belief that a tiny, fully formed human is implanted in the sperm or egg at conception and then grows in size until birth, was the predominant early theory. Children were believed to possess all their sensory capabilities, emotions, and mental aptitude at birth, and as they developed these abilities unfolded on a predetermined schedule (Thomas, 1979). The environment was thought to play no role in determining development .

John Locke (1632-1704): Locke, a British philosopher, refuted the idea of innate knowledge and instead proposed that children are largely shaped by their social environments, especially their education as adults teach them important knowledge. He believed that through education a child learns socialization, or what is needed to be an appropriate member of society. Locke advocated thinking of a child’s mind as a tabula rasa or blank slate , and whatever comes into the child’s mind comes from the environment. Locke emphasized that the environment is especially powerful in the child’s early life because he considered the mind the most pliable then. Locke indicated that the environment exerts its effects through associations between thoughts and feelings, behavioral repetition, imitation, and rewards and punishments (Crain, 2005). Locke’s ideas laid the groundwork for the behavioral perspective and subsequent learning theories of Pavlov, Skinner and Bandura.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Like Locke, Rousseau also believed that children were not just little adults. However, he did not believe they were blank slates, but instead developed according to a natural plan which unfolded in different stages (Crain, 2005). He did not believe in teaching them the correct way to think, but believed children should be allowed to think by themselves according to their own ways and an inner, biological timetable. This focus on biological maturation resulted in Rousseau being considered the father of developmental psychology. Followers of Rousseau’s developmental perspective include Gesell, Montessori, and Piaget.

Arnold Gesell (1880-1961): Gesell spent 50 years at the Yale Clinic of Child Development, and with his colleagues he studied the neuromotor development of children. Gesell believed that the child’s development was activated by genes and he called this process maturation (Crain, 2005). Further, he believed that development unfolded in fixed sequences, and he opposed efforts to teach children ahead of schedule as he believed they will engage in behaviors when their nervous systems had sufficiently matured.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Freud was a very influential figure in the area of development. Freud emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping our personality and behavior. In our natural state, we are biological beings and are driven primarily by instincts. During childhood, however, we begin to become social beings as we learn how to manage our instincts and transform them into socially acceptable behaviors. His assumptions were that personality formed during the first few years of life. The ways in which parents or other caregivers interacted with children were assumed to have a long-lasting impact on children’s emotional states. His beliefs formed the psychodynamic perspective and his theories of psychosexual development and psychopathology dominated the field of psychiatry until the growth of behaviorism in the 1950s.

However, Freud’s theory has been heavily criticized for several reasons. One is that it is very difficult to test scientifically (Crews, 1998). Freud suggested that much of what determines our actions were unknown to us, and as scientists we cannot measure these unconscious concepts. A second criticism is that Freud’s case studies were not validated and cannot be used as evidence for his theories. Many later theories, particularly behaviorism and humanism, came about as challenges to Freud’s views.

Contemporary Theories on Development

Erikson (1902-1994) and Psychosocial Theory: Now, let’s turn to a less controversial psychodynamic theorist, Erik Erikson. Erikson presents eight developmental stages that encompass the entire lifespan. For that reason, Erikson’s psychosocial theory forms the foundation for much of our discussion of psychosocial development.

Erikson (1950) proposed a model of lifespan development that provides a useful guideline for thinking about the changes we experience throughout life. Erikson broke with Freud’s emphasis on sexuality as the cornerstone of social-emotional development and instead suggested that social relationships fostered development. Erikson proposed that each period of life has a unique challenge or crisis that the person who reaches it must face, referred to as psychosocial crises . According to Erikson, successful development involves dealing with and resolving the goals and demands of each of these psychosocial crises in a positive way. These crises are usually called stages, although that is not the term Erikson used. If a person does not resolve a stage successfully, it may hinder their ability to deal with later stages. For example, the person who does not develop a sense of trust (Erikson’s first stage) may find it challenging as an adult to form a positive intimate relationship (Erikson’s sixth stage). Or an individual who does not develop a clear sense of purpose and identity (Erikson’s fifth stage) may become self-absorbed and stagnate rather than work toward the betterment of others (Erikson’s seventh stage).

However, most individuals are able to successfully complete the eight stages of his theory (See Table 1.3).

Table 1.3 Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

Erikson’s theory has been criticized for focusing so heavily on crises and assuming that the completion of one crisis is a prerequisite for the next crisis of development. His theory also focused on the social expectations that are found in certain cultures, but not in all. For instance, the idea that adolescence is a time of searching for identity might translate well in the middle-class culture of the United States, but not as well in cultures where the transition into adulthood coincides with puberty through rites of passage and where adult roles offer fewer choices.

Learning Theory: Also known as Behaviorism , is based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind, and therefore psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behavior itself. The most famous behaviorist was Burrhus Frederick (B. F.) Skinner (1904–1990), who expanded the principles of behaviorism and also brought them to the attention of the public at large. Skinner used the ideas of stimulus and response, along with the application of rewards or reinforcements, to train pigeons and other animals. In addition, he used the general principles of behaviorism to develop theories about how best to teach children and how to create societies that were peaceful and productive (Skinner, 1957, 1968, 1972).

The behaviorists made substantial contributions to psychology by identifying the principles of learning. Although the behaviorists were incorrect in their beliefs that it was not possible to measure thoughts and feelings, their ideas provided new insights that helped further our understanding regarding the nature-nurture debate as well as the question of free will. The ideas of behaviorism are fundamental to psychology and have been developed to help us better understand the role of prior experiences in a variety of areas of psychology.

Social Learning Theory , or learning by watching others , was developed by Albert Bandura (1977). His theory calls our attention to the ways in which many of our actions are not learned through conditioning, as suggested by Skinner . Young children frequently learn behaviors through imitation. Especially when children do not know what else to do, they learn by modeling or copying the behavior of others.

Bandura (1986) suggests that there is interplay between the environment and the individual. We are not just the product of our surroundings, rather we influence our surroundings. There is interplay between our personality and the way we interpret events and how they influence us. This concept is called reciprocal determinism . An example of this might be the interplay between parents and children. Parents not only influence their child’s environment, perhaps intentionally through the use of reinforcement, etc., but children influence parents as well. Parents may respond differently with their first child than with their fourth. Perhaps they try to be the perfect parents with their firstborn, but by the time their last child comes along they have very different expectations, both of themselves and their child. Our environment creates us and we create our environment.

Other social influences: TV or not TV? Bandura, Ross and Ross (1963) began a series of studies to look at the impact of television on the behavior of children. Bandura began by conducting an experiment in which he showed children a film of a woman hitting an inflatable clown or “bobo” doll. Then the children were allowed in the room, where they found the doll and during their play they began to hit it. The children also demonstrated novel ways of being aggressive toward the doll that were not demonstrated by those children who did not see the aggressive model. Bandura’s research raised concerns about the impact of violence on young children. Since then, considerable research has been conducted on the impact of violent media on children’s aggression including playing video games.

Cognitive Theory: The cognitive theories focus on how our mental processes or cognitions change over time . Three important theories are Jean Piaget’s, Lev Vygotsky’s, and Information-processing.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most influential cognitive theorists in development. He was inspired to explore children’s ability to think and reason by watching his own children’s development. He was one of the first to recognize and map out the ways in which children’s intelligence differs from that of adults (Piaget, 1929). He became interested in this area when he was asked to test the IQ of children and began to notice that there was a pattern in their wrong answers. He believed that children’s intellectual skills change over time and that maturation, rather than training, brings about that change. Children of differing ages interpret the world differently. Piaget theorized that children progressed through four stages of cognitive development (see Table 1.4).

Table 1.4 Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget has been criticized for overemphasizing the role that physical maturation plays in cognitive development and in underestimating the role that culture and experience plays. Looking across cultures reveals considerable variation in what children are able to do at various ages. Research has shown considerable overlap among the four stages and that development is more continuous.

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who wrote in the early 1900s, but whose work was not discovered by researchers in the United States until the 1960s and became more widely known in the 1980s (Crain, 2005). His sociocultural theory emphasizes the importance of culture and interaction in the development of cognitive abilities . Vygotsky differed with Piaget in that he believed that a person not only has a set of abilities, but also a set of potential abilities that can be realized if given the proper guidance from others. Vygotsky developed theories on teaching that have been adopted by educators today.

Information Processing is not the work of a single theorist, but based on the ideas and research of several cognitive scientists studying how individuals perceive, analyze, manipulate, use, and remember information . This approach assumes that humans gradually improve in their processing skills; that is, cognitive development is continuous rather than stage-like. The more complex mental skills of adults are built from the primitive abilities of children. We are born with the ability to notice stimuli, store, and retrieve information. Brain maturation enables advancements in our information processing system. At the same time, interactions with the environment also aid in our development of more effective strategies for processing information.

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) developed the Ecological Systems Theory , which provides a framework for understanding and studying the many influences on human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Bronfenbrenner recognized that human interaction is influenced by larger social forces and that an understanding of these forces is essential for understanding an individual. The individual is impacted by several systems including:

Microsystem includes the individual’s setting and those who have direct, significant contact with the person, such as parents or siblings . The input of those is modified by the cognitive and biological state of the individual as well. These influence the person’s actions, which in turn influence systems operating on him or her.
Mesosystem includes the larger organizational structures, such as school, the family, or religion. These institutions impact the microsystems just described. The philosophy of the school system, daily routine, assessment methods, and other characteristics can affect the child’s self-image, growth, sense of accomplishment, and schedule thereby impacting the child, physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
Exosystem includes the larger contexts of community . A community’s values, history, and economy can impact the organizational structures it houses. Mesosystems both influence and are influenced by the exosystem.
Macrosystem includes the cultural elements, such as global economic conditions, war, technological trends, values, philosophies, and a society’s responses to the global community.
Chronosystem is the historical context in which these experiences occur. This relates to the different generational time periods previously discussed, such as the baby boomers and millennials.

In sum, a child’s experiences are shaped by larger forces, such as the family, schools, religion, culture, and time period. Bronfenbrenner’s model helps us understand all of the different environments that impact each one of us simultaneously. Despite its comprehensiveness, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system’s theory is not easy to use. Taking into consideration all the different influences makes it difficult to research and determine the impact of all the different variables (Dixon, 2003). Consequently, psychologists have not fully adopted this approach, although they recognize the importance of the ecology of the individual. Figure 1.9 is a model of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory.

Figure 1.9. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Supplemental Materials

This article discusses the importance of critical reflection on the underlying assumptions of developmental psychology as a science.

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Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory . New York: General Learning Press.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A, Ross, D. &. Ross S. (1963). Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66 , 3-11.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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Crews, F. C. (1998). Unauthorized Freud: Doubters confront a legend . New York, NY: Viking Press.

Dixon, W. E. (2003). Twenty studies that revolutionized child psy chology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society . New York: Norton.

Guinness World Records. (2016). Oldest person (ever). Retrieved from http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/search?term=oldest+person+%28ever%29

Neugarten, B. L. (1979). Policy for the 1980s: Age or need entitlement? In J. P. Hubbard (Ed.), Aging: Agenda for the eighties, a national journal issues book (pp. 48-52). Washington, DC: Government Research Corporation.

Neugarten, D. A. (Ed.) (1996). The meanings of age . Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Piaget, J. (1929). The child’s conception of the world . NY: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich.

Smithsonian National Zoo. (2016). Retrieved from http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

Skinner, B. (1957). Verbal behavior . Acton, MA: Copley.

Skinner, B. (1968). The technology of teaching . New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Skinner, B. (1972). Beyond freedom and dignity . New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Thomas, R. M. (1979). Comparing theories of child development . Santa Barbara, CA: Wadsworth.

United States Census Bureau. (2016). Povert y. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/about/glossary.html

Vogt, W.P., & Johnson, R.B. (2016). The SAGE dictionary of statistics and methodology . Los Angeles, CA: Sage

Webb, S. J., Dawson, G., Bernier, R., & Panagiotides, H. (2006). ERP evidence of atypical face processing in young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36 , 884-890. doi: 10.1007/s10803-006-0126-x

Weitz, R. (2007). The sociology of health, illness, and health care: A critical approach, (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson.

OER Attribution: “Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective, Second Edition” by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0

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Essay On Human Development

Human development is a process individual becoming different and changes through time. The process of human development includes birth until death. According to Berger and Thompson (1994) human development is defined as a process of human moves from conception to death. Meanwhile, Papalia and Feldman (2012) defined human development as a lifelong process of changes and stability throughout the human life span from early stages of life until death. Generally, human development process consists of prenatal stage, childhood stage, adolescence stage, adulthood stage and death stage (refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1). The first stage of human development is prenatal which are baby develops from single cell after conception into embryo to foetus. …show more content…

Based on Xin-Nan (2014), physical development of adolescence includes rapid gains in their height and weight. Besides that, male puberty characteristics also have develops at this stage like increase in their penis and testicle size, appearance of their straight pubic hair, growth of armpits and facial hair, and have changes on their voice too. For female, firstly either the pubic hair appears or the breasts become large and her hips become wider than her shoulders. Meanwhile, in cognitive development stage, adolescence able to think about multiple options and possibilities that include more logical thought processes. Lastly, it is about emotional development among adolescence. Research has shown that during these periods, their emotional is unstable as they easily to involve in crime or substances abuse which can lead to depression (Shaari et al., …show more content…

People in middle age (45-65 years old) might experience external and internal physical changes. For instance, decline in efficiency of cardiovascular, respiratory systems for internal changes while for external changes they might have grey hair, facial wrinkles and loss of hair (Papalia & Feldman, 2012). Older adult may experience physical decline includes reducing in hearing and eyesight, skin become dry and may lead to wrinkles. Other than that, their strength, balancing, reaction time also decline and have a higher percentage in getting diabetes, stroke and heart

Good Practice In Caring For Older People

L1: Know about the Ageing Process. 1.1: Describe the physical, psychological, social and emotional changes that an individual may experience as a result of ageing. Aging is another stage in the human life. It is synonymous to other life stages like childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The process of aging affects all people differently and is highly dependent on genes (hereditary), attitudes and lifestyle (CPA, 2009).

Analyse The Impact Of Adolescent Development Essay

As they go through this stage young people will begin to solve problems more easily and have an appreciation of other people’s views and opinions. However as they are still inexperienced in life a young person may appear immature at times with regards to their ways of thinking and speech. During the Emotional Development stage, a young person will begin to spend less time with their parents and want to spend more time with their friends socialising instead. A young person may also feel conflicted at times, as they will want the affection from parents, however this is usually short lived as the young person will then also reject it when it is given.

Physical Development In Middle Adulthood

A physical development in middle adulthood is about all situations of the gradual changes under way in early adulthood. Hair grays and thins, new lines appear on the face, less youthful body shape is evident, these are same changes in the middle adulthood but how past the time our body and physical changes. The vision, hearing, skin and muscle, fat makeup make a change each one has different changes in each person, but no all persons has the same change or in the same age everybody has different reactions. The middle adulthood is a difficult situation for some people because last physical the most important things in their life, the vision can lost for the work, diseases. The haring also can be a changes can lost all the hearing or just partial,

Child Development Theories Essay

Development is a gradual and continuous process. The development of children is greatly influenced through interactions with the family, friends and culture. Children learn from seeing how they are treated, overhearing the interactions of the people around them and observing the things we do all throughout the day. Fully understanding how children grown and change over the course of childhood requires us to look into various child development theories such as psychosocial, cognitive, behaviourist and ecological theories, to name a few.

Compare And Contrast Bowlby And Ainsworth's Attachment Theory

During this stage, the child will develop from being

Developmental Theory In Real Life Essay

Introduction: In this assignment I will apply development theory to real life scenarios. Dr. Berger an author and professor at the City University of New York states, “A developmental theory is a systematic statement of general principals that provide a framework for understanding how and why people change as they grow older.” Therefore, I will be analyzing and applying real life scenarios to the life of my son Christopher Ramirez and explain how his development is associated with very specific theories or a theorist. This developmental theory will be applied to all four age ranges which are: the first two years (0-2), the play years (2-6), the school years (7-11), and the adolescence years (11-18).

Essay On Identity Development During Adolescence

Identity development during adolescence Adolescence is a developmental transition between childhood and adulthood and also a period of prominent change for teenagers when physical changes are happening at an accelerated rate. Adolescence is not just marked by physical changes but also cognitive, social, emotional and interpersonal changes as well. The development of a strong and stable sense of self known as identity development is widely considered to be one of the crucial tasks of adolescence. Identity development of an adolescent is influenced by external factors, such as their environment, culture, religion, school and the media.

The Importance Of Nature And Nurture On Child Development

Introduction Development refers to the pattern of continuity and change in human capabalities that occurs throughout the course of life (King, 2008). Children development is is a part of human development that refers to a biological, emotional, and psychological changes that take a place in human beings between birth to adult. To develop from the child to adult, there are two main focus which is nature and nurture that must come together. Nature refers to the gene or heredity, meanwhile nurture involve the environment around us.

Four Major Theories Of Human Development

These five stages includes: 1- Oral stage - From Birth to 1 year 2- Anal stage - 1 year to 3 year 3- Phallic stage - 3 year to 6 year 4- Latency stage - 6 year to 12 year

Essay On Developmental Milestones

Developmental Milestones Developmental Milestones are a set of functional skills which most of the children can perform at a certain age. Every milestone has a certain age limit. Some may achieve it early and some may do it a bit late as every child is unique. Premature babies achieve these milestones slightly late as compared to their healthier counterparts. You might also like: My top 6 learning toys for 0-12 month olds

Nature And Nurture Influence On Child Development Essay

Nature and Nurture Influences on Child Development Karla White ECE 205: Introduction to Child Development Instructor: Alesia Lane October 2, 2017 Nature and Nurture Influences on Child Development Describe the relationship between nature versus nurture. The nature vs. nature debate is the scientific, cultural, and philosophical debate about whether human culture, behavior, and personality are caused primarily by nature or nurture. Nature is often defined in this debate as genetic or hormone-based behaviors. Our genes determine the different traits that we have, such as eye color, hair, ear size, height and other traits.

Reflection Paper On Development Psychology

DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGY: REFLECTIVE ESSAY In life of an individual there are several developmental changes or events which occur as continuity of span of life. Some of life developmental stages include infantile, adolescence, maturity, and adulthood. These phases have biological, social, psychological and physiognomic reasons to which an individual completed the course of life. Psychological analysis upon the developmental stages include the focus on characterization, demarcation and the social interaction of individual’s life (Baltes & Schaie, 2013).

Personal Developmental Autobiography

For my Personal Developmental Autobiography, I choose to talk about my journey through the adolescence developmental stage. The Adolescence Developmental Stage is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to legal adulthood. During this stage so many things happen. Puberty has already happened or is about to happen. Being interested in the opposite sex and going on dates happen.

Sigmund Freud's Theories Of Personality Development

The child behaviour changes and develops in a morally suitable way and adopt the values from his/her parents; new skills and knowledge. Lastly, the Genital stage (12 years and up). This is the last stage of the personality development where puberty begins. During this stage, if all other stages have been successfully achieved, the teenager develops an appropriative sexual behaviour that may lead into a loving relationship, marriage or child birth.

Aging And Aging

Ageing is multidimensional change involving the physical, social as well as psychological aspects for an individual. Old age is generally an irreversible process, chronological, and a universal phenomenon and a challenge to everyone, who reaches it irrespective of sex, economic background, social background, race, ethnicity, profession, occupation, religion, skill or learning. Age can be also described as a progressive decline of the physical and mental function resulting in a simultaneous decline in both the capacity of body to maintain physiological balance as well as adaptability of the individuals to various stresses there by consequently increasing the chances of illness and mortality ( Marpady &et al, 2012) Neetu (2013) put aging by citing Becker (1959) as a complex process which includes anatomical, physiological, psychological and even social and economic changes. Randhawa (1987) stated aging by citing Becker (1959) in that ageing consists of two simultaneous components anabolic building up and catabolic breaking down. In the middle years there is an essential balance between expansion and decay, while growth predominates in youth; degenerative changes which start occurring very clearly in life pre-dominate in the late life span.

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Essay On Sustainable Development

500 words essay on sustainable development.

Sustainable development is basically an action plan which helps us to achieve sustainability in any activity which makes use of the resource. Moreover, it also demands immediate and intergenerational replication. Through essay on sustainable development, we will help you understand the concept and its advantages.

Through sustainable development, we formulate organising principles which help to sustain the limited resources essential to provide for the needs of our future generations. As a result, they will be able to lead a content life on the planet .

What is Sustainable Development?

The World Commission on Environment and Development popularized this concept in 1987. Their report defines the idea as a “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

In other words, they aimed to prevent the stripping the natural world of resources which the future generations will require. As we all know that usually, one particular need drives development. Consequently, the wider future impacts are not considered.

As a result, a lot of damage happens due to this type of approach. Thus, the longer we continue to pursue unsustainable development, the more severe will the consequences be. One of the most common is climate change which is being debated widely worldwide.

In fact, climate change is already wreaking havoc on our surroundings. So, the need of the hour is sustainable development. We must ask ourselves, must we leave a scorched planet with an ailing environment for our future generations?

In order to undo the mess created by us, we must follow sustainable development. This will help us promote a more social, environmental and economical thinking. Most importantly, it is not that difficult to attain this.

We must see that world as a system which connects space, and time. Basically, it helps you understand that water pollution in South Africa will ultimately impact water quality in India. Similarly, it is the case for other things as well.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Measures to Practice Sustainable Development

There are many measures to take up for practising sustainable development. To begin with, it is important to ensure clean and hygienic living and working conditions for the people.

Next, sponsoring research on environmental issues which pertains to regions. Further, ensuring safety against known and proven industrial hazards. It is also important to find economical methods to salvage dangerous industrial wastes.

Most importantly, we must encourage afforestation . Including environmental education as part of the school and college curriculum will also help. Similarly, it is essential to socialize and humanize all environmental issues.

Further, we must encourage uses of non-conventional sources of energy, especially solar energy. Looking for substitutes for proven dangerous materials on the basis of local resources and needs will help. Likewise, we must produce environment-friendly products.

It is also essential to popularize the use of organic fertilizers and other biotechniques. Finally, the key is environmental management which must be monitored and ensure accountability.

Conclusion of Essay on Sustainable Development

To sum it up, sustainable development continuously seeks to achieve social and economic progress in ways which will not exhaust the Earth’s finite natural resources. Thus, we must all develop ways to meet these needs so that our future generations can inherit a healthier and greener planet.

FAQ on Essay on Sustainable Development

Question 1: State two measures we can take for sustainable development.

Answer 1: The first measure we can take is by finding economical methods for salvaging hazardous industrial wastes. Next, we must encourage afforestation.

Question 2: What is the aim of sustainable development?

Answer 2 : The aim of sustainable development is to maximise human well-being or quality of life without having to risk the life support system.

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COUC 502 Human Growth and Development

Course Description

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog .

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*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.

This course is designed to encourage the student to understand and critique human development models and theories in light of a Christian worldview as well as to interact with some significant contemporary issues in human development as they relate to Scripture. Additionally, this course will provide the student with an understanding of the physical, mental, emotional, sociocultural, and spiritual aspects of human development while examining one’s own developmental issues.

Method of Instruction: This 8 week course is delivered in a digital asynchronous format, with Canvas® as the primary instructional delivery method. Students complete one module per week over the duration of the course.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations, course requirements checklist.

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations , the student will complete the related checklist found in Module 1: Week 1.

Advising Acknowledgement Quiz

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Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will create a thread between 400-500 words in response to questions (including at least 2 peer reviewed journal articles and at least 1 biblical principle). The student will then reply to an original post of a classmate. Each reply must be between 200-250 words. (CLO: A, B, C, D, F, H, I)

Benchmark Essay: Addiction & Adolescence Assignment

The student will write an essay between 500-600 words (excluding the title page and reference page), drawing information from the textbook and scholarly articles. Each essay must be strongly supported with 2–3 scholarly references in current APA format. These references must be less than 10 years old. The student will not write opinions but support answers to the questions with readings and outside scholarly resources.

Note: The assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

(CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H)

Note: The assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Benchmark Paper: Developmental Analysis Assignment

The purpose of this paper is for the student to demonstrate the ability to apply a working knowledge of the theories, terminology, and concepts of human growth and development. The student will discuss his/her own development over his/her lifetime and how it relates to the developmental concepts discussed throughout this course. The student will analyze his/her life as it relates to the key aspects of human growth and development.

The student will also incorporate empirical studies related to his/her chosen developmental aspect of his/her life. The course readings and presentations can be used as support. Depending on the student’s life and influences, there may be more attention placed during one period of time. The student is encouraged to glean information from his/her mother about her pregnancy to see if there were any notable issues during that time. The student is also to include his/her spiritual development with applicable research.

The body of the paper will be 8–10 pages (excluding the title page, abstract, and reference page). This assignment must be completed adhering strictly to current APA format. The student will include 8–10 peer-reviewed, relevant sources in the paper (at least 7 of the sources must be empirical articles). The sources must be less than 10 years old unless any of the citations are linked to an author whose work is seminal to the student’s topic.

Note: The assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Quizzes (8)

Each quiz covers the Reading & Study material from the Module: Week. Each quiz contains 20 multiple-choice and true/false questions, is limited to 1 hour, allows 2 attempts and the highest attempt will count towards the grade, and is worth 50 points.

(CLO: A, B, D, E, F)

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88 Human Development Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Discussion of Human Development. Human development refers to individuals' social, psychological, physical, and cognitive development throughout their lifespan, from prenatal development to late adulthood. Physical development includes growth in motor skills and brain, body, sense, and health development.
Essay on Human Development
500 Words Essay on Human Development Introduction. Human development is an intricate interplay of biological, psychological, and sociocultural processes that begin at conception and continue throughout the lifespan. It encompasses the growth and maturation of the human being, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes.
Human Growth and Development: [Essay Example], 481 words
Published: Jan 31, 2024. Table of contents. Human growth and development is a complex and multi-faceted process that encompasses physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and psychological changes across the lifespan. Understanding human growth and development is crucial for various fields such as education, healthcare, psychology, and sociology ...
Human Development Essay: Topics, Examples, & How-to Guide
15 min. A human development essay is a piece of writing that explores how a person or group of people can grow and thrive. Several disciplines study these processes and might require you to get ready with this kind of assignment: We will write a custom paper. for 11.00 9.35/page. based on your instructions.
108 Human Development Essay Topics
This paper examines early adulthood. The paper focuses on the human development theories, such as classical conditioning, Hierarchy of Needs Theory, and social learning theory. The ecological perspective studies humans from an environmental standpoint, which includes social, emotional, and biological influences.
The theories on human development: [Essay Example], 494 words
Thus, nowadays, Freud's theory on human development is labeled the psychosexual stages of development. According to Berger, the author of The Developing Person Through the Life Span, Freud believed "human beings passed through different stages in their life based on which part of their body gave them sexual gratification (Berger, 2014).".
Human Development, Essay Example
Essays.io ️ Human Development, Essay Example from students accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and other elite schools. ... The main controlling and directing school environment force is the teacher, his competent work and monitoring of the class. When taught routines and expectations by teacher's directions and feedback, children learn ethics ...
Human Development Essay Examples
The study of human development has been an intriguing subject for psychologists throughout history. Over the years, various psychological theories have emerged to explain the complex processes of growth and change in individuals from birth to old age. This essay will delve into the evolution... Human Development Psychological Theories.
Human Development Essay
Download this Document. Total Length: 1835 words ( 6 double-spaced pages) Total Sources: 5. Page 1 of 6. Human development refers to the psychological and biological growth of a human being throughout life. It starts from infancy all the way to adulthood. The scientific study of the development of a human being, psychologically, is referred to ...
Essay on Theories of Human Development
This theory posits that human personality consists of three interworking components: the id, the ego, and the superego, which unify as children go through the five stages of psychosexual development. The id focuses on desires and impulses. The ego focuses on reasoning while the superego helps to apply morals and values from society.
Defining Human Development
Figure 1. Human development encompasses the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes that occur throughout a lifetime. Human development refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of humans throughout the lifespan. What types of development are involved in each of these three domains, or areas, of life?
Stages of Human Development: What It Is & Why It's Important
The theory comprises five stages: Oral — In the oral stage (birth to 1 year old), children learn to suck and swallow and may experience conflict with weaning. Anal — In the anal stage (1-3 years old), children learn to withhold or expel feces and may experience conflict with potty training.
Human Growth and Development
Overview. It covers the fundamentals generally taught in a one-semester introductory course in developmental psychology or human development, including the infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging. Our goal as creators of this course is to prepare you to pass the College Board's CLEP examination and obtain college credit for free.
What is Human Development, and Why should you study it?
Human development is a branch of psychology that studies—and strives to optimize—the elements that help people live healthy and fulfilling lives. This field aims to understand the various changes individuals and their relationships go through as they continue to learn and grow. The more complex definition of human development in psychology ...
Human Growth and Development Essay by EduBirdie.com
Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. Cite this essay. Download. Humans go through the different steps throughout their life; they will change and develop. These development changes can be organized into 4 sections: physical, intellectual, emotional and social. Throughout my work I will be showing the differences ...
What is Development?
Human Development or Lifespan Development is the scientific study of the ways in which people change, as well as remain the same, from conception to death. You will discover that the field, known more broadly as developmental science, examines changes and stability across multiple domains of psychological and social functioning.
Essay On Human Development
1196 Words5 Pages. Human development is a process individual becoming different and changes through time. The process of human development includes birth until death. According to Berger and Thompson (1994) human development is defined as a process of human moves from conception to death. Meanwhile, Papalia and Feldman (2012) defined human ...
Psychology 103: Human Growth and Development
Ch 12. Studying for Psychology 103. Explore human growth and development in a 14-hour online course, offering transferable credits to over 2,000 colleges. Covers genetics, cognition, social relationships, and more.
Essay on Sustainable Development
FAQ on Essay on Sustainable Development. Question 1: State two measures we can take for sustainable development. Answer 1: The first measure we can take is by finding economical methods for salvaging hazardous industrial wastes. Next, we must encourage afforestation.
Human Growth and Development
Human Growth and Development - COUC 502 CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 02/19/2024 Apply Now Request Info Course Description This course explores individuals ...

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