Class 11 Psychology Notes

L-4 Human Development

Development refers to the pattern of progress, orderly and predictive changes predictable changes that
begin at conception and continues throughout life.
It is influenced by the interrelation of biological cognitive and social emotional processes the factors
influencing development lie in the interaction of heredity and environment

• BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES is development due to genes inherited from parents, such as in

height and weight, brain, heart, and lungs development, etc. all point towards its role.

• COGNITIVE PROCESSES in development relate to mental activities associated with the

processes of knowing, and experiencing, such as thought, perception, attention, problem solving,
etc.

• SOCIO-EMOTIONAL PROCESSES that influence development refer to changes in an individual’s

interactions with other people, changes in emotions, and in [Link] child’s hug to parent
sibling s teasing gesture an adolescent’s sorrow on loosing match.
Lifespan perspective (LSP) on development
1. Development is a lifelong process: i.e. it takes place across all age groups starting from
conception to old age. It includes both gains and losses, which interact in dynamic (change in one
aspect goes with changes in others) ways throughout the life-span.
2. The biological and cognitive and socio-emotional processes of Human Development are
interwoven in the development of a person throughout the lifespan:
3. Development is multidirectional: Some dimensions or components of a given dimension of
development may increase eg experience makes one wiser, while others show decrement like
with age one looses speed or stamina.
4. Development is highly plastic (can be modified or improved): i.e. within person, modifiability is
found in psychological development, though plasticity varies among individuals. This means skills
and abilities can be improved or developed throughout the life-span.
5. Development is influenced by historical conditions: For example, the experiences of 20-year olds
who lived through the freedom struggle in India would be very different from the experiences of 20
year olds of today. The career orientation of school students today is very different from those
students who were in schools 50 years ago.
6. Development is studied by many disciplines: like psychology, anthropology, sociology, and
neuro-sciences study human development, each trying to provide answers to development
throughout the life-span.
 7. An individual responds and acts on various context: which include what was inherited, the
physical environment, social, historical, and cultural contexts.
Growth Development Maturation Evolution

refers to an increase in is a process by which refers to the changes refers to specific species
the size of body parts of an individual growth that follow in orderly changes natural selection
the organisms as a whole changes throughout sequence and a largely as a Revolutionary
it can be measured the life cycle the term dictated by genetic process that favours
quantified development applied blueprints which individuals or a species
to the changes that produce commonalities that are best adapted to
have a direction and and a growth and survive and reproduce
whole definite development these changes are
relationship with passed from one
development what generation to the next
precede and internal within a species ,they are
determine what will very slow
come after
for example growth in a temporary change E,g children are able to e.g emergence of human
height weight etc caused by brief illness sit without support by 7th beings from apes took 14
will not be considered month million years
a part of development stand by 8 th

not be considered part walk by 1 year

of development

GROWTH DEVELOPMENT
1. Development refers to overall changes in the whole of the organism.
Growth refers to increase in physical aspects of the
organisation,

2. Development is functional.
2. Growth is structural.

3. Growth is quantitative 3. Development is qualitative.

4. Growth is cellular. 4. Development is organizational
5. Development is a life long process.
5. Growth stops when the organisation reaches the stage of
maturity.

6. Growth involves body change 6. Development involves changes from origin to maturity.
7. Growth influences the process of development, but not 7. Development occurs without growth
always.

FACTORS INFLUENCING DEVELOPMENT

• Genotype: it is actual genetic material or a person’s genetic heritage

• The genetic code which predisposes a child to develop in a particular way. Genes provide a
distinct blueprint and timetable for the development of an individual
• Phenotype is the way an individual’s genotype is expressed in observable and measurable
characteristics. Phenotypes include physical traits, such as height, weight, eye and skin colour,
and many of the psychological characteristics such as intelligence, creativity, and personality.
• These observable characteristics of an individual are the result of the interaction between the
person’s inherited traits and the environment.
• Environmental influence( Environment plays a major role in development of child )
• if parents are good readers, they will provide the same environment to the child
• a child’s own genotype impacts development of the child like being cooperative, and attentive
• Parents send children to school to develop their personality.
• besides this the child themselves choose their environment based on their preferences

Context of development
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory
The social cultural context of development is to be found in the following systems micro system exhaust
system macro system
Microsystem refers to the immediate environment in which an individual lives.
The microsystem is the system closest to the person and the one in which they have direct contact. Some examples
would be home, school, daycare, or work. A microsystem typically includes family, peers, or caregivers. Relationships in a
microsystem are bi-directional. In other words, your reactions to the people in your microsystem will affect how they treat
you in return. This is the most influential level of the ecological systems theory.
Let's look at the microsystem Aman lives in. The first part of his microsystem is his home environment. This includes his
interactions with his parents and little sister. Alex's school is also part of his microsystem. His regular school interactions
are with his kindergarten teacher and the other children in his class.

Mesosystem refers to the relations between these contexts.

The mesosystem consists of the interactions between the different parts of a person's microsystem. The mesosystem is
where a person's individual microsystem does not function independently, but are interconnected and assert influence
upon one another. These interactions have an indirect impact on the individual.
One aspect of Aman's mesosystem would be the relationship between his parents and his teacher. His parents take an
active role in his school, such as attending parent/teacher conferences and volunteering in his classroom. This has a
positive impact on his development because the different elements of his microsystem are working together. Alex's
development could be affected in a negative way if the different elements of his microsystem were working against one
another.
Exosystem refers to the event in society in which the child does not take part directly but they influence
him or her significantly
It refers to a setting that does not involve the person as an active participant but still effects them this includes decisions
that have bearing on the person in which they have no participation in the decision making process and example would be
a child being affected by a parent receiving a promotion at work are losing their job are one part of Aman’s exosystem
would be his father's workplace if father is in army and fathers job can take him away from the family and him, the child
might not see his father for months this situation will impact Aman and he can become anxious when his father is away so
his anxiety has an effect on its development and other areas even though he has no interaction with his father’s work or in
the decision making process.

Macrosystem refers to the culture in which an individual lives

The macrosystem this layer may be considered the outermost layer in the child’s environment. While not being a specific
framework, this layer is comprised of cultural values, customs, and laws (Berk, 2000). The effects of larger principles
defined by the macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. For example, if it is
the belief of the culture that parents should be solely responsible for raising their children, that culture is less likely to
provide resources to help parents. This, in turn, affects the structures in which the parents function. The parents’ ability or
inability to carry out that responsibility toward their child within the context of the child’s microsystem is likewise affected.
For example, being born to a poor family makes a person work harder every day and vice versa

Chronosystem refers to the event that occurs in the life of an individual

The Chronosystem – this system encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a child’s environments. Elements
within this system can be either external, such as the timing of a parent’s death, or internal, such as the physiological
changes that occur with the aging of a child. As children get older, they may react differently to environmental changes and
may be more able to determine more how that change will influence them. One classic example of this is how divorce, as a
major life transition, may affect not only the couple's relationship but also their children's behavior. According to a majority
of research, children are negatively affected on the first year after the divorce. The next years after it would reveal that the
interaction within the family becomes more stable and agreeable.

In a nutshell, Bronfenbrenner’s view is that a child’s development is significantly affected by the complex
world that envelops her/him – whether it is the minutes of the conversations s/he has with her/his
playmates, or the social and economic life circumstances into which s/he is born.
Durganand Sinha (1977) has presented an ecological model for understanding the development of
children in Indian context. Ecology of the child could be viewed in terms of two concentric layers.
The “upper and the more visible layers” consist of home, school, peer groups, and so on.
The most important ecological factors influencing development of the child in the visible upper layer
constitute the:
(i) home, its conditions in terms of overcrowding, space available to each member, toys, technological
devices used, etc.,
(ii) nature and quality of schooling, facilities to which the child is exposed, and
(iii) nature of interactions and activities undertaken with peer groups from childhood onward.

These factors do not operate independently but constantly interact with one another. Since these are also
embedded in a larger and a more pervasive setting, the “surrounding layers” of the child’s ecology
constantly influence the “upper layer” factors.
However, their influences are not always clearly visible.
The elements of the surrounding layer of ecology constitute the:
(i) General geographical environment. It includes space and facilities for play and other activities
available outside the home including general congestion of the locality and density of population,
(ii) Institutional setting provided by caste, class, and other factors, and
(iii) General amenities available to the child like drinking water, electricity, means of entertainment and so
on.
The visible and the surrounding layer factors interact with one another and may have different
consequences for development in different people. Karan and Krishna eg of Mahabharata

Developmental tasks
A task which arises at
or
about a certain period of life of the individual’s
leading to successful achievements of which lead to happiness and success.
Some tasks arise mainly as a result of physical maturation such as learning to walk.
Others develop primarily from the cultural pressure of society such as learning to read: and still others
grow out of personal values to read.
Still others grow out of personal values and aspirations of the individual suggest using and preparing for
a vacation

Purpose of developmental task

They serve three very useful purposes
[Link] are guidelines that enable the individuals to know what Society expects of them are given
ages .Parents for example can be guided in teaching the young children different skills by the knowledge
that society expected children to master the skills that certain ages and that their adjustments will be
greatly influenced by how successful they do so.

2. Developmental task to motivate individuals to do what social groups expects them to do at certain ages
during their lives

3. Finally developmental task show individuals what lies ahead and what they will be expected to do
when they reach their next stage of development

Socio cultural factors and their impact on the development

Environmental factors are those which act upon the organism from outside and influence its structure and
behaviour
After birth the Infant is exposed to a complex external environment with variety of physical and chemical
energy is as well as the social forces which arise from contact with other human beings
The environment differs and also so the effect on different individuals within the same environment also
differ .They developed different interests, attitudes and they identify themselves to different groups
religious political and recreational

Man’s genotypes serve as potential source for the development of his behaviour. Realisation of these
potentialities however depends upon the interaction of genotypes with environmental factors

Even a child with the average potential intelligence but a fertile co- environment would do better in life if
the environment is congenial, the development is positive while it takes a negative turn if the environment
is unpleasant
Role of Environment in the development of a child

Environment of the child plays a major role in the development of the child because it includes the
surroundings in which the child develops various cognitive and motor skills
It also influences the physical development of the child according to the limit set by the genetic
characteristics
The socio economic and cultural environment has a major role in development of child progress example
a child who is sent to school is able to develop characteristics of confidence and self Reliance more
easily than a child who does not receive education does environment plays a vital role in the child
development.

The stages of development

Prenatal stage Infancy Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Old age

Prenatal stage
It refers to the period from conception to birth last for about 40 weeks
The prenatal development is influenced by genetic blueprint which guide a child’s development.
Environmental factors like Teratogens The agents from environment that cause deviations/disturbances
in normal development leading to serious abnormalities or death.
Common teratogens include smoking, drinking, drugs (marijuana, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, tobacco etc if
taken by mother during pregnancy may have harmful effect on foetus and increase the frequency of
congenital abnormalities) infections, radiation (can cause permanent change in genes)
and environmental pollutants and toxic wastes like carbon monoxide, mercury and lead are a source of
danger to unborn child .

and maternal characteristics which include mother’s age, nutrition, and emotional state

Infancy
Stages of development of an infant
Motor development Sensory development Cognitive development Socio- emotional dev

Motor development the movements in newborns are regulated by reflexes, which are building blocks of
the motor development.
Basic physical (motor) skills include grasping and reaching for objects, sitting, crawling, walking and
running,vocalisation includes babbling.

REFLEXES are genetically carried survival mechanism and are building block for the subsequent motor
development
i. automatic, built in reaction to stimuli
ii. reflexes are adaptive mechanisms some reflexes (blinking, coughing) persist throughout life time,
while others disappear as the brain functioning mature
 Major reflexes In the Newborns
Reflex Description Developmental course
Rooting Turning the head and opening Disappears between 3 and 6
the mouth when touched on the months
cheek

If there is a loud noise ,the baby Disappears in 6 to 7 months

will there is a loud noise will
throw her/his arms outward
(although reaction to loud noises
is while arching her/his back,
Moro and permanent) then bring the
arms together as if grasping
something
When a finger or some other Disappears in 3 to 4 months; the
object is pressed against the replaced by voluntary grasping
baby’s palm, baby’s fingers
close around it

Grasp
When the bottom of the baby’s Disappears in 8 to 12 months
foot is stroked, the toes fan out
and then curl

Babinski
Motor development runs parallel with the development in the brain

Sensory development of an infant

(The newborns are not as helpless as we think)
• The newborns can hear can distinguish their mothers voice from that of others after few hours
after birth, during first week, they can detect what direction is the sound coming from.

• Both taste and smell capacities are also present in the newborn.

• But are colour deficient they can only distinguish between red and white colours newborns vision
is estimated to be lower than the adult vision by six month it improves and by the first year vision
is almost same as an adult that is (20/20) full colour vision develops by 3 months of age

• Activities of a new born: breathes, sucks, swallows, discharges body waste

 Newborns respond to touch and they can even feel pain.
 Infants can hear immediately after birth.
 The child in the first 2 years experiences the world through senses and interactions with objects
through looking ,hearing , touching mouthing and grasping
Cognitive development of an infant
The newborns lack object permanence and their process of thinking develops after 8 months.

• The newborn lives in the present. What is out of sight is out of mind.

• Children at this stage do not go beyond their immediate sensory experience.

They lack OBJECT PERMANENCE — the awareness that the objects continue to exist when not
perceived.
or
Object permanence It is a significant foundation of memory as infants begin to realise the existence of
objects even when they are not seen or touched.
 Socio- emotional development of an infant
Babies from birth are social creatures.
An infant starts preferring familiar faces and responds to parent’s presence by cooing and gurgling.
They become more mobile by 6 to 8 months of age and start showing a preference for their mother’s company

(Infant develop close emotional bond with their parents, known as attachment.)

The close emotional bond of affection that develop between infants and their parents (caregivers) is called attachment

In a classic study by Harlow and Harlow (1962)

Baby monkeys were separated from their mothers approximately 8 hours after birth. The baby monkeys were placed in
experimental chambers and reared for 6 months by surrogate (substitute) “mothers”, one made of wire and the other of
cloth.

Regardless of whether they were fed by the wire or the cloth mother the baby monkeys showed a preference for the cloth
mother

This study clearly demonstrates that providing nourishment or feeding was not crucial for attachment and contact-comfort
is important. Young children having a strong attachment to a favourite toy or blanket. There is nothing unusual in this. As
children grow and become surer of themselves, they abandon these objects.

According to Erik Erikson (1968), the first year of life is the key time for the development of attachment
 Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust
Infants depend on caregivers, usually parents, for basic needs such as food. Infants learn to trust others based upon
how well caregivers meet their needs.

 Trust: When caregivers respond promptly to an infant’s cries, the baby can learn to rely on others. As
caregivers fill an infant’s needs, the baby can develop a sense of trust and security.
A sense of trust is built on a feeling of physical comfort which builds an expectation of the world as a secure and
good place. An infant’s sense of trust is developed by responsive and sensitive parenting. If the parents are
sensitive, affectionate, and accepting, it provides the infant a strong base to explore the environment. Such infants
are likely to develop a secure attachment.
 Mistrust: If caregivers neglect an infant’s needs, or if care is sporadic, an infant may grow insecure. They
may learn they cannot rely on others and thus feel unsafe.
if parents are insensitive and show dissatisfaction and find fault with the child, it can lead to creating feelings of self-
doubt in the child and insecurely attached infants feel anxious when separated and cry due to fear and get upset

Attachment bonds formed in childhood years have long term effects

Attachment bonds formed in childhood years have long term effects because these are notably
developed between the parent and the children
For example, a child growing up in a secure family with sensitive, responsive and affectionate parents is
able to trust them. The child is also able to share important decisions with them like the choice of career
and marriage.
On the other hand, a child whose parents are not responsive to his/her emotional needs would not be
able to communicate with them as freely. This pattern may continue throughout his/her life.
Furthermore, problems of juvenile delinquency are often related to the lack of attachment of an individual
towards his/her parents.

Thus, a family which provides love and support to gives rise to a pleasing personality in the child,
whereas a family that does not inculcate these ideals lead to an aggressive and disturbed personality of
the child.
A close interactive relationship with warm and affectionate adults is a child’s first step towards
healthy development.
 Childhood
Physical development Cognitive development Socio- emotional dev Moral development

Physical development of a child:

 Initially infants reach for objects by turning their entire body, gradually they extend their arms to
reach for things.
 These changes are the result of a maturing nervous system and not because of any limitation since
even visually impaired children show the same sequence.
 As children grow older, they look slimmer as the trunk part of their bodies lengthens and body fat
decreases.
 The brain and the head grow more rapidly than any other part of the body.
 The growth and development of the brain are important as they help in the maturation of children’s
abilities, such as eye-hand coordination, holding a pencil, and attempts made at writing.
• Children gain control over the upper part of the body and torso. The brain is developed in the size
of skeleton, muscles and organs also increase gradually.

• Cephalocaudal trend model The prenatal growth from conception until 5 months in which the
greatest growth occurs from the top at the head with physical growth in size, weight and feature
differentiation gradually working from top to bottom.
From the cephalic or head region to the caudal or tail region.
 Or or
Head tail

• Children gain control over the upper part of the body before the lower part.

• This is why you would notice that the infant’s head is proportionately larger than her/his body
during early infancy or see an infant crawling, s/he will use the arms first and then shift to using
the legs.

Proximodistal trend the gain of control by children in their torso than other extreme parts

Motor Development

 Gross motor skills during the early childhood years involve the use of arms and legs, and moving
around with confidence and more purposefully in the environment.
 During these years the child’s preference for left or right hand also develops.
Cognitive development
 The child’s ability to acquire the concept of object permanence enables her/him to use
mental symbols to represent objects.
 The child at this stage lacks the ability that allows her/him to do mentally what was done physically
before.
 The ability of the child to engage in symbolic thought helps to expand her/his mental world.
• Early childhood is characterized by preoperational thought egocentrism i.e they see the world
only in terms of their own selves and are not able to appreciate others point of view only and
centration.

• Piaget called this the stage of intuitive thought.

• This is the stage of concrete operational thought, which is made up of operations — mental
actions that allows the child to do mentally what was done physically before.
• Intuitive thought is replaced by logical thought.
• Concrete operations are also mental actions that are reversible.
• Concrete operations allow the child to focus on different characteristics and not focus on one
aspect of the object.
• This helps the child to appreciate that there are different ways of looking at things, which also
results in the decline of her/his egocentrism.
• Thinking becomes more flexible, and children can think of alternatives when solving problems or
mentally retrace their steps if necessary
• preoperational child level of ability to see relationships between the different properties of an
object she or he cannot do abstract thinking that is she or he still cannot manipulate ideas in the
absence of objects The growing cognitive abilities of children facilitate the acquisition of language.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

 Stage Age Characteristics
Sensorimotor 0-2 Infant explores the world by coordinating sensory
yearsexperiences with physical actions.
Preoperational stage has 2 features 2-7 Symbolic thought develops; object permanence is
Egocentrism (self focus) Keeping oneself at the centre years established; the child cannot coordinate different physical
of everything and not being able to understand other attributes of an object.
people's perspective or ideas.(because of egocentrism
children also engage in
Animism The belief of treating inanimate objects with e.g child says “Road hurt me”
life like qualities.)

Centration It implies to the attention of focus on only e.g a child may insist on drinking from a big/tall narrow
one particular feature to understand and event or an glass than short broad one even though amount is same in
object. both.

Intuitive Thought: They keep asking question 4-7 Why sky is blue? How do trees grow?
years Eg of an incident
"There is a boy. His mother gave him a chocolate and told
This is also related to Piaget's theory of cognitive him to put the chocolate in a blue box before he goes for
development. From 2 to 7 years of age, they are going playing. When the boy goes for playing his mother secretly
through pre-operational stage, where the thinking is puts the chocolate in green box. So in which box does the
egocentric and the child faces difficulty in boy look for chocolate when he comes back? "
understanding the viewpoint of others.
The kid replied:"green box"

Why?
I asked my 4 year old sister the same and she also
replied :green box.
Why?
Ans
Children develop the theory of mind at the age of 5
yrs..before that they lack perspective taking. They view the
world from their own mindset and self centric point of view.
They can't different between their and other's perspective.
That's why if we tell a child any story if which we are
revealing that the mother has put the candy in other jar,
the child can't understand the other child's perspective that
he might not be knowing as he was not present when
 mother changed the candy!
Concrete operational 7-11 The child can reason logically about concrete events and
years classify objects into different sets. Is able to perform
reversible mental operations on representations of objects.
Formal operational 11-15 The adolescent can apply logic more abstractly;
years hypothetical thinking develops.

Socio- emotional development

• The child becomes aware of his or her surrounding through the process of socialization and later
he and she can differentiate between each other’s characteristics.
 • An important dimensions of children's social emotional development are the
• self
• Gender and moral development
• The child due to socialization has developed a sense of who she or he is and whom he she wants
to identify with.
• The developing sense of Independence makes children do their own things.
For example giving freedom and opportunities for playing like music cycling running, skating and
answering children's question will create a sense of support for the initiative taken and a lack of
support will reflect in opposite ( sense of guilt and mistrust and lack of confidence)
• According to Erikson the way parents respond to the self-initiated activities lead to developing a
sense of initiative or sense of guilt in their own way
• Self understanding in early childhood is limited to defining once through physical characteristics
• Defining oneself through psychological characteristics child self description also includes social
aspects of self of child
• Self-understanding also includes social comparison
• Once the children enter the school this school social world expands beyond their families
• They spend greater amount of time with their age meets appears and the increase time that has
children spend with their peers shapes their development.
Moral development it helps a child to differentiate between right and wrong.
According to Lawrence Kohlberg they pass through various stages of moral development which are age
related
According to him children approach thinking about right and wrong differently at different age
The way children come
i. to distinguish right from wrong
ii. to feel guilty
iii. to put themselves in other people's position
iv. and to help others when they are in trouble
are all components of moral development
Kohlberg interviews the children in which they were presented with stories in which characters face moral
dilemmas children were asked what the characters in the dilemma should do and why
These are internalized in order to be virtuous send to win approval from others
Children view rules absolute guidelines which should be followed
Moral thinking at this stage is relatively inflexible as they grow the gradually developer personal moral
code
at the end of the childhood a more gradual growth rate enables the child to develop the skills of
coordination and balance
Language developed in the child can reason logically
Socially the child has become more involved in social system such as family peer groups

Below, is a chart describing Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development theory.

Adolescence
The term adolescent arise from the Latin word “adolscere” meaning “to grow into maturity” this term
also includes mental, emotional and social maturity as well as physical maturity.
It is a transitional period in a person's life between childhood and adulthood
Adolescence is commonly defined as a stage of life that begins at the onset of puberty when sexual
maturity or the ability to reproduce is attained.
It has been regarded as a period of rapid change both biologically and psychological.
The physical changes that take place during this time are Universal
The social and the psychological dimensions of the adolescent’s experience is depend on the cultural
context
The adolescent years are viewed as problematical or confusing
The adolescents will have very different experiences from someone who is in a culture where adolescent
years are viewed as beginning of an adult behaviour and therefore undertaking responsible tasks.
Most societies have it at least a brief period of adolescence it is not universal across cultures

Physical development
Puberty or sexual maturity marks the end of the childhood signifies the beginning of the adolescence
which is characterized by dramatic physical changes in both growth rate and sexual characteristics
The hormones released during puberty result in development of primary and secondary sexual
characteristics.
Puberty changes in boys are marked by acceleration in growth of facial hair in change in voice
Physical development during adolescence is also accompanied by number of psychological changes
Around puberty adolescence shows an increase in interest in members of the opposite sex in sexual
matters and a new address of sexual feeling develops
This increased attention to sexuality is caused by the factors such as individuals Awareness of the
biological changes taking place and the emphasis place on sexuality by peers parents and society
Many adolescents lack adequate knowledge or have misconceptions about sex and sexuality
Adolescents tend to become secretive about sexual concerns which make exchange of Information and
Communication difficult
The concern of adolescence sexuality has become intense in recent times because of the risk of the
AIDS and other (STD) sexually transmitted diseases
The development of sexual identity defines a sexual orientation and guide sexual behaviour
It becomes an important developmental task for adolescents
Adolescents need to develop a realistic image of the physical appearance which is acceptable to them.
Puberty also involves cognitive and social changes along with the physical changes

Cognitive development changes

Adolescents developing ability to reason give them a new level of cognition and social awareness
Piaget believe that formal operational thought appears between the age of 11 and 15
During this stage their thinking expands beyond concrete experiences and as in this stage of life which
begins at the onset of puberty when sexual maturity your ability to reproduce is attained and they begin to
think more in abstract terms and reason about them.
Adolescents begin to think about the ideal characteristics for themselves and other than compare
themselves and others with this ideal standard
Adolescent thinking becomes more systematic in solving problems they think of possible courses of
action why is something is happening the way it is and systematically seek solutions.
Piaget called this type of logical thinking hypothetical deductive reasoning
Logical thought also influence the development of moral reasoning but Social rules are not considered as
absolute standards and moral thinking shows some flexibility
The adolescent recognise alternative moral courses, explore options, and then decide on a personal
moral code.
to retain their sense of uniqueness they maybe story filled with them around them to create a world that is
away from reality
Adolescence is a transition period.
It is a period of rapid change both biological and psychological. Though the physical changes that take
place during this stage are universal the social and psychological dimensions of adolescence experience
is depend on cultural context
It is also a time for search of Identity they begin to crave for identity and no longer satisfied to be like
their peers in every respect as they were earlier e.g now they want to establish themselves as individuals
by the use of status symbol in the form of car clothes and other readily observable material possessions.
Adolescence is the threshold of adulthood they are anxious to shed the stereotypes of teenagers and
to create the impression that they are adults example dressing and acting like adults, they start engaging
in smoking drinking drugs and in sex.
Egocentrism (self focus) children see the world only in terms of their own selves and are not able to
appreciate others point of view. The egocentrism of early childhood is specially pronounced in the first
year or two before children begin to play with the children the age of parallel play.
Boys tend to be more egocentric than girls partly because they sense that they are often parental
favorites and partly because they are given more privileges. While all children tend to be egocentric
there are certain ones whose environment encourage great egocentrism that is found in the average child
of the same age
Adolescence develop a special kind of egocentrism according to DAVID ELKIND they develop two
components of egocentrism
they are imaginary audience
and personal fable
Imaginary audience adolescence believe that other’s are as occupied with them as they are about
themselves .They imagine that people are always noticing them and observing each and every behaviour

of theirs.
Personal fable it is adolescent’s sense of uniqueness. It makes them think that no one understand them
or their feelings To retain their sense of uniqueness they may weave stories filled with fantasy around
them to create a world that is away from reality.

Establishment of Identity
Forming an identity
Adolescence is the stage with the primary task is to establish an identity is separated from the parents
Identity refers to knowing who am I? What are or should be their commitments and beliefs? In the
establishment of Identity children me develop conflict with their parents and may develop “identity
confusion”
Such adolescence may at one time complain of being treated like a baby where as on other occasion s
treated like Grown Ups
This identity crisis involves searching for conformity and sameness in one self and trying to get a clear
sense of who am I? Where am I going in life?

Formation of identity during adolescence is influenced by several factors

Cultural background
Family
Socioeconomic status all these prevail upon adolescents search for place in society
Family relationships become less important and adolescent spends more time outside the home and
develop strong need for peers support and acceptance
(How adolescents form their identity)
In the process of achieving an identity the can experience conflict with parents and within themselves.
Those who can cope develop new sense of self other go through a identity crisis.
Increase interactions with peers provide them with the opportunity for refining the social skills and trying
out different social behaviours.
During adolescence a detachment process enables individual to develop a personalized set of beliefs
that uniquely his/her own
Peers and parents are dual forces having major influences on adolescence
Vocational commitment is another factor influencing adolescent identity formation
Career counseling in schools offers information regarding appraisal of students for there is causes and
jobs and provide guidance in making a decision about career choices
Adolescence is a period of storm and stress it is a period of uncertainty occasional loneliness self-
doubt, anxiety, confirming to peer pressures and concern about themselves and their future.

Some major concern and Challenges

According to Erikson,
The main challenge of adolescence is to make some progress towards a sense of Identity.

Delinquency refers to a variety of behaviour ranging from social unacceptable behaviour, legal offences,
to criminal acts
Adolescence with delinquency and behaviour problem tend to have a negative self identity decrease trust
and a low level of achievement
Delinquency is often associated with low parent’s rapport inappropriate discipline and family discord
delinquent children do not remain delinquent forever

Michael Phelps

The Crime: Arrested for underage drinking and at 19.

How He Turned Out Okay: He’s won 22 Olympic Medals, which is “okay” by any standard. But then last October, he was
arrested for a second time for driving while intoxicated.
“I recognize that this is not my first lapse in judgment,” he tweeted to his 1.6 million followers. “I am extremely disappointed
with myself.” After a six-month suspension, the Olympian got back in the pool, poised for a comeback.

Dwayne Johnson

The Crime: “By the time I was 16, I had been arrested eight or nine times for a variety of things,” Johnson told the U.K.
newspaper Metro.

How He Turned Out Okay: He managed to turn his pro-wrestling career into a successful movie career, and now gives
back by visiting prisons, encouraging inmates to take control of their lives.

In his cover profile in the June 2015 issue of Men’s Health, Johnson reflects on his difficult upbringing, and how it
motivated him to try harder. “I remember thinking, ‘I will do whatever I can to make sure this never happens again,’” he told
us.

How to remove delinquency?

[Link] changing adolescent’s in their peer group.

[Link]
One of the immediate benefits of recreational activities is that they fill unsupervised after-school hours.
The Department of Education has reported that youths are most likely to commit crimes between 2 p.m.
and 8 p.m., with crime rates peaking at 3 p.m. Recreation programs allow youths to connect with other
adults and children in the community. Such positive friendships may assist children in later years.
[Link] INVOLVEMENT
Girl scouts, boy scouts, church youth groups, and volunteer groups all involve youth within a community.
Involvement in community groups provide youth with an opportunity to interact in a safe social
environment.
[Link] PREVENTION PROGRAM
The Bullying Prevention Program is put into place in elementary and junior high school settings. An
anonymous student questionnaire fills teachers and administrators in as to who is doing the bullying,
which kids are most frequently victimized, and where bullying occurs on campus.
[Link] of information and guidance regarding vocational training, employment opportunities and
career development;
[Link] more aware of their social responsibilities

[Link] feeling of self worth.

[Link] positive behaviour of role models

[Link] negative attitudes

[Link] poor self concept help in reduction of delinquent behaviour

Substance abuse

Adolescent years are especially vulnerable to smoking alcohol and drug abuse
This can interfere with the development of coping skills and responsible decision making
The reason for smoking and drugs used could be peer pressure and adolescents need to be accepted by
the group, or desire to act more like adults, or feel a need to escape the pressure of school work and
social activities
The addictive powers of nicotine make it difficult to stop smoking
It has been found the adolescents who are more vulnerable to this have a low self-esteem and low
Expectations for achievement
Peer pressure and the need to be with their Peer groups make the adolescent either go along with their
demands to experiment with drugs alcohol smoking or be ridiculed.
The United Nations international drug Control Programme (UNDCP) has chosen the programs as an
example to be adopted by the other Non governmental organisations in the region
How substance abuse affect our development?

Interferes with the development of coping skills and responsible decision making
Its impact makes children impulsive ,aggressive anxious depressive and eate low self esteem and low
expectation for achievement
Drew Barrymore
She made headlines in 1989 by going to rehab at just 13 and announcing she was an addict. From a famous, and famously
troubled, acting family, she was 6 when the movie E.T. launched her career. She says she started drinking when she was 9, and
quickly moved on to marijuana and cocaine. She spent her teenage years trying to overcome her notoriety and has since enjoyed
success as an actress and producer.

Daniel Radcliffe
The star of the Harry Potter franchise is another young actor for whom sudden wealth and fame
brought personal problems. He says he drank a lot during filming of the last three Potter films, and
finally realized it was something he couldn’t control. He says he quit after the last film wrapped and
continues to work on his recovery.

Eating disorders

Adolescence obsession with the self living in a fancy world and their comparison lead to certain
conditions where they become obsessed with their own bodies.
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involve binge and purge eating pattern and relentless
pursuit of thinness through starvation .It is quite common to see adolescence eliminate certain foods from
their diet or to eat slimming foods only. The media also projects thinness as most desirable image and
copying such fashionable image of thinness leads to anorexia nervosa

Lady Gaga had both problems Diana (bulimia)

Richa Chadda (Bulimia)

Bulimia is another form of eating disorder in which the individual follows a binge purge eating pattern. The
bulimic goes on an eating binge and then purges by self induced vomiting or using a laxative at times
alternating it with fasting. It is mainly a female disorders more common in urban areas.

Factors influencing formation of identity during adolescence

Cultural background family societal values ethnic background and socioeconomic status all prevail
upon the adolescence search for a place in society
Increase interactions with your peers provide them with the opportunity for refining the social skills and
trying out different social behaviour
Peers and parents are dual forces having major influence on adolescence .Generally parents and peer
serve complementary functions and fulfill different needs of adolescence.
Vocational commitment is another factor influencing adolescent’s identity formation.
Inner assurance To achieve a sense of Identity children must have an inner assurance that they get this
feeling of Assurance they are secure.
 example career counseling in school offers information regarding appraisal of the students for the
formation of search of Identity example in some cultures freedom is given to the young people to choose
an occupation where is insert in other cultures options of making the choice is not given to the children

Theory of Cognitive Development- Jean Piaget

Formal operational thought appears between the age of 11 and 15 along with the hypothetical deductive
reasoning .Adolescents also develop egocentrism comprising imaginary audience and personal fable.
Delinquency, substance abuse and eating disorders like anorexia bulimia are some other major
challenges faced by adolescents.

Adulthood
An adult is referred to as a responsible, mature, self supporting person, who is able to integrate well in
the society
There is a variation in developing these attributes with suggest that there is a shift in timing when an
individual becomes an adult or resumes adult role.
Developmental task for adults
Developing and evaluating a career become the important task of adulthood

Career and work

Earning a living, Choosing and developing a career is an important task for an adult for people in the
20’s/30’s
Entering work life is a challenging event in anyone's life
Their apprehensions regarding different adjustments proving one’s competence performance dealing with
competition and coping with Expectations both of the employers and oneself
There is a beginning of new roles and responsibility with the start of the career

Marriage parenthood and family

An adult marries, has children and creates a family of his or her own
The Adjustment that young adults have to make when entering a marriage relate to knowing the other
person if not known earlier coping with each other’s likes, dislikes. tastes and choices.
Getting married becoming a parent can be a difficult than a stressful transition and young adults even
though it is usually company by the feeling of love for the baby .
Adults experience that parenting is affected by different situations such as number of children in the
family the availability of social support and, happiness or unhappiness of the married couple.
Death of a spouse Those left behind after the death of their partner suffer deep grief, cope with
loneliness, depression, financial loss and are also at risk of many health related problems.

Divorce creates a family structure in which a single parent either the mother or father has to take up the
responsibility of the children..
 n.
Women are increasing the seeking employment outside the home does creating another type of family in
which both parents work
The stresses when both parents are working are quite the same as a single parent namely and in the
office etc
The stresses associated with parenting, it provides a unique opportunity for growth and satisfaction and is
perceived as a way of establishing concern and guiding the next generation.
Changes in the body
Physical change during middle ages are caused by maturation anal changes in the body
Though individuals may vary in the rate at which these changes occur almost all middle aged people
notice gradual deterioration in some aspects of physical functioning such as decline in vision sensitivity to
glare.
Hearing loss and changes and physical experiences (example wrinkles, grey hair, thinning of hair, weight
gain)
Cognitive abilities
(Do cognitive abilities change during adulthood?)

It is believed that some cognitive abilities decline with age while others do not.
Decline in memory is more in Tasks involving long term memory than short term memory.
A middle aged person can remember the telephone number immediately after she or he has heard but
may not remember it efficiently after few days.
Memory tends to show great decline while Wisdom may improve with age.
Remember that individual differences exist in intelligence at every age and as not all children are
exceptional neither do all adult show wisdom.
Old age

Old age and issues related to it.

Old people have to deal with situations of retirement, widowhood or illness or decline in health.
Loss of energy and financial assets are also challenges of old age
Old age also depends on socio-economic conditions availability of healthcare, attitude of people
expectations of society unavailable supports system retirement from active vocational life is quite
significant.
older adults also need to adjust to change isn't family structure and new roles that have to be learnt
children usually are busy in their careers and family and may setup independent homes.
older adults may depend on the Children for financial supported and to overcome the loneliness
this might trigger of feelings of hopelessness depression in some
the elderly tend to look towards others to lean on and to care for them
It is important to give elderly a sense of security and belonging a feeling that people care for them
and to remember that we all have to grow old one day
The death of a spouse /or fear of death is usually seen as the most difficult loss
those left Behind after the death of the partners suffer deep brief cope with loneliness depression
financial loss and also at risk of many health related problems
Important terms and definitions of the chapter
Adolescence the developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood signifying the
ability to reproduce. Adolescence is also characterized by a period of rapid change.
Animism The belief of treating inanimate objects with life like qualities.
Centration It implies to the attention of focus on only one particular feature to understand and event or
an object.

• Cephalocaudal trend model The prenatal growth from conception until 5 months in which the
greatest growth occurs from the top at the head with physical growth in size, weight and feature
differentiation gradually working from top to bottom.

• From the cephalic or head region to the caudal or tail region.

Or or
Head tail

• Children gain control over the upper part of the body before the lower part.

• This is why you would notice that the infant’s head is proportionately larger than her/his body
during early infancy or see an infant crawling, s/he will use the arms first and then shift to using
the legs.
 Concrete operational stage The Piagetian stage last from 7 to 11 years approximately the thoughts in
this stage are made up of operations that allow a child to do task mentally which were done physically
before.
Deductive thought Reaching a conclusion or a specific hypothesis from general ideas in a research.
Development It refers to the pattern of progressive orderly and predictive changes that begin at
conception and continuous throughout life
Egocentrism Keeping oneself at the centre of everything and not being able to understand other
people's perspective or ideas.
Evolution The theory given by Charles Darwin in which the organisms change their function and
structures over time according to the demand of nature.
Gender Differentiation between male and female in social terms.
Identity The image of oneself with the realisation of one's own values behaviour and commitments.
Menarche It is the first menstrual cycle in a female human being.
Motor Development the development of muscular reflexes in order to perform physical activities.
Object permanence It is a significant foundation of memory as infants begin to realise the existence of
objects even when they are not seen or touched.
Operations The mental actions that are performed by a child which were done before physically.
Phenotype The noticeable features that is genotype, through which individuals are recognised.
Preoperational stage The stage in which the child children cannot perform logical operations. It is thus
marked by certain deficiencies at such as centration irreversibility and egocentrism.
Primary sex characteristics These are directly related to reproduction that is necessary for it.
Proximodistal trend the gain of control by children in their torso than other extreme parts.
Puberty A stage characterized with the attainment of sexual ability and reproduction.
Secondary sex characteristics Physical features associated with achievement of sexual maturity.
Self The individual’s awareness about oneself or one's own identity.
Sensorimotor stage The first stage in which children understand the world by coordination of sensory
and motor actions and recognise the permanence of objects.
Teratogens The agents from environment that cause disturbances in normal development leading to
serious abnormalities or death.