HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 6. Human Development, Because Form 3's Chapter 4 Wasn't Educating Enough.

Alright, the human development we're learning is a part of developmental psychology. Not anything like secondary school's Chapter 4 from Form 3. So, what is developmental psychology? The definition is the scientific study of biological, cognitive, social, and personality development throughout the life span. Basically, it's the development of ourselves throughout our lives. Definitions makes everything harder.

There are seven stages of development, and they are:

-Prenatal (From conception, conceiving a child, to birth)

-Infancy (From birth to 2 years)

-Childhood (From 2 to 12 years)

-Adolescence (From 12 to 18 years)

-Young Adulthood (From 18 to 40 years)

-Middle Adulthood (From 40 to 65 years)

Great. Buckle your safety belts and get some coffee if it's late at night, because this is going to be a long ride. Otherwise, by all means sleep on your keyboard. Forget the coffee if so.

So, let’s start with prenatal development and infancy. Let's hope you remember those lessons in secondary school's science class, cause we're going back a few years. If you don't, then nothing can save you now. In prenatal development, there are three stages. There's Germinal, which begins with the formation of the zygote and ends after about 2 weeks, which is when the zygote will have attached itself to the uterine wall. There's Embryonic, which lasts for 2 weeks to 2 months, when the embryo will start to resemble a human being. And finally there's Fetal. This stage lasts for 2 months to birth, which the embryo will now be a fetus and start to have rapid growth of its body structure and organs.

There are things that influences the prenatal development. And by 'influence' I mean 'potentially murder the poor soul inside you'. These things would be teratogens. Teratogens are environmental agents (like drugs or viruses), diseases (like German measles) and physical conditions (like malnutrition) that impair prenatal development and lead to birth defects or even death. So any teratogens in your life while you're pregnant will lead you to a life of regret and guilt because you'll successfully make your child blind, or deaf, or born with cancer or something. Oh, or they might be dead inside you! Such an exciting prospect.

So, with the ‘before birth’ development done, let’s get on to the human development for the ‘after birth’. So, how do we think throughout our lives? Well, this ties in with Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development.

Unlike other theories, Piaget did not conduct any formal experiments. Instead, he gave loosely structured interviews in the form of problems for children to solve. He will then observe their actions carefully, and then question them on their solutions. He was particularly interested in the children’s errors, which would provide insight to the child’s thought process. He assumed that a child is always seeking knowledge and gains an understanding of the world through it.

Children learn, or rather everyone learns, by schemas. That leads to the question of, what is a schema? Well, according to Google, schema means a representation of a plan or theory in the form of an outline or model. In the Wikipedia, it means describing a pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them. Basically, it is cognitive adaptation. It organizes units of knowledge about objects, events and actions. I gave three definitions. Sure, they might be kinda copied.... But please tell me you get it.

Anyway, schema involves two processes. One of them is Assimilation, which is the interpretation of new experiences in terms of present schemas. To put it simply, it is turning new experiences into a schema. Then there's Accommodation, which is the modification of present schemas to fit with new experiences. In other words, to have a schema used on a new experience. Again, the picture below should help with all who needs it.

Now that's over, we're going to continue Piaget's theory. But alas, we have more stages. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. Because we don't learn enough. There's:

-Sensorimotor, from Birth to 2 years

-Preoperational, from 2 to 6 years

-Concrete operational, from 6 to 12 years

-Formal operational, from 12 years and beyond (12+ years)

We'll start with the sensorimotor stage. In this stage, the infant learns about the world through their sensory and motor interactions, including reflexes. The fancy words mean they learn by interacting with everything they have. However, they lack object permanence, which is the knowledge that an object exists independent of perceptual contact. Meaning if they’re not touching the object, or seeing them, they would think the object is gone.

Next, the preoperational stage. In this stage, the child’s thinking becomes more symbolic and language-based, but remains egocentric and lacks the mental operations that allow logical thinking. This is the stage where you either think your child is being adorable, or just downright annoying. Depends. Anyway, being egocentric, called egocentrism, is the inability to distinguish one’s own perceptions, thoughts and feelings from those of others, meaning they can’t perceive the world from another person’s perspective. However, they can pretend, imagine and engage in role-play.

Considering that, a child in the preoperational stage would not understand conservation, which is the knowledge that even though an objects shape may change, the quantitative value properties of the object (mass, volume, weight) won’t change. But why? A major reason why is because they lack an understanding of reversibility, which is the knowledge that reversing a transformation would bring back the conditions that existed before the transformation. It may also be because a child’s thinking reflects on centration, which is the tendency to focus on only one aspect of the problem at a time. Here's another picture to help understand better.

Now we go on to the concrete operational stage. In this stage, children gain a fuller understanding of conservation and other mental operations that allow them to think logically, but only about concrete events. Which means concrete operational children will only think about the reality of the situation, and not the ‘what if’ possibility. It's those times when you want to teach your little brother or sister of  6 years old moral lessons by using 'what if' situations, but then they act smart and go "That's impossible!" and laugh at your face like they drew on it. Kids. 

And finally we have the formal operational stage. At this stage the child will gain the capacity for hypothetical-deductive thought. So, it means the child can finally engage in those ‘what if’ situations, in systematic deduction and testing of hypotheses.

Of course, Piaget’s theory is not absolute. Sometimes Piaget’s key concepts, for example object permanence, may begin at earlier stages than Piaget proposed. It is also discovered that not all people reach formal operational thought. The theory itself may be biased, in favor of the Western culture, and there is no real theory of what occurs after the onset of adolescence. However, research has shown that cognitive development does proceed in the general sequence that Piaget proposed.

Now, let’s say goodbye to Piaget’s theory and onward to even more theories! Exciting, isn’t it? This time it’s Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Approach to Development.

Piaget has proposed that children’s development must come before their learning. Vygotsky proposed the opposite, stressing that their cognitive abilities develop through interactions with others and represent the shared knowledge of one’s culture. Related to this theory is the Zone of Proximal Development. The Zone of Proximal Development is the difference between what a child can do and what the child could potentially do. Basically, it’s the potential development rather than the actual development. In the Zone of Proximal Development is scaffolding, which the parent or teacher would adjust the level of help depending on the child’s level of performance, while directing the child’s learning progress towards the upper level of their zone of proximal development.

In this theory, Vygotsky proposed two kinds of intelligence. They is Crystallized Intelligence, which refers to accumulated knowledge, verbal skills, and numerical skills that increase with age. It is defined as the ability to use learned knowledge and experience. And there is Fluid Intelligence, which involves abilities such as abstract thinking, logical problem solving, and spatial reasoning that decreases with age. It is defined as the ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns.

Now let’s head on to moral development and social development. Unfortunately, it involves another theory. This time it’s Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning. Since we’ll probably never escape the confines of learning theories, Kohlberg’s theory is built on an earlier theory of moral reasoning proposed by Piaget, using a series of stories that involve moral dilemmas to assess a moral reasoning. That makes perfect sense, since anime and manga still have the potential to make us cry like babies.

Kohlberg discerned three levels of moral reasoning based on the responses to the stories and the reasoning behind the responses given. The first is the Preconventional Level. It is the emphasis of avoiding punishment and looking out for your own welfare and needs. This moral reasoning is self-oriented. In other words, you'll be a selfish jerk! If we could just write that in the exams, everything will be so much easier...

Next is the Conventional Level. This moral reasoning is based on the social rules and laws. This speaks for itself. And finally there is the Postconventional Level. This moral reasoning is based on self-chosen ethical principles. It follows our human rights over the social laws and the avoidance of self-condemnation than obeying the law that collides with our human rights. It kinda sounds like being selfish, but it's more of following our morals than following our desires.

Kohlberg proposed that we all start at the preconventional level as children, and as we develop, especially cognitively, we move up the ladder of moral reasoning. The sequence is uniform, although not everyone reaches the postconventional level. The shortcomings of Kohlberg’s theory are that it studied moral reasoning, not moral behavior. Also, because men were prioritized over women, this theory may not have adequately represented the morality of women. And the higher stages may be biased towards Western cultures.

Let’s move on to attachment and parenting styles. In this case here, attachment is the lifelong emotional bond between the infants and their mothers or other caregivers, formed during the first six months of life.

Relating to attachment is the experiment Harry Harlow did with baby monkeys. Harlow separated monkeys from their mothers at birth and put them in cages containing two inanimate surrogate mothers. One is made of wire and the other is made from terry cloth. Pretty cruel though, if you ask me. I mean, not only do you separate the baby monkeys from their actual mother, you decieved these baby monkeys with fake useless moms of steel and cloth! Shame on you, Harlow. 

Half of the monkeys received their nourishment from a milk dispenser in the wire mother, the other half received theirs from the terry cloth mother.

It was discovered that all the monkeys preferred the terry cloth mother regardless of which one provided nourishment. The monkeys being fed by the wire mother will only go back to be fed before returning to the terry cloth mother. Thus, not reinforced from nourishment, ‘contact comfort’ is a crucial element for attachment formation. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Regardless of if there's food or water, you'd want to live in a comfortable place. To feel unsafe all the time would probably lead to an early death.

Okay, coming back on track. The types of attachment are formed via ‘The Strange Situation’ devised by Mary Ainsworth. It involved an infant’s behavior being observed in an unfamiliar room with toys, while the infant’s mother or caregiver and a stranger move in and out of the room in a structured series of simulations. You can imagine the whirlwind of emotions coming from the baby already. In fact, watch it yourself! Because nothing beats a crying baby who just wants their mom back!

In all seriousness, there are four types of attachments.

There's Secure Attachment. This is indicated when an infant explores the situation freely in the presence of the mother/caregiver, displays distress when the mother/caregiver leaves, and responds enthusiastically when they return. This attachment will most likely be formed if the mother/caregiver are attentive to the infant’s needs.

There's Insecure-Avoidant Attachment. This is indicated by exploration with minimal interest in mother/caregiver, he infant showing little distress when they leave and avoiding them when they come back. This attachment will be formed if the mother/caregiver don’t pay much attention to the infant’s needs.

There's Insecure-Ambivalent Attachment. This is indicated by the infant wanting to be close to the mother/caregiver and not exploring the situation, becoming very distressed when they leave and clinging onto them and at the same time pushing them away when they return. This attachment will most likely form if the mother/caretaker fulfill the infant’s needs some of the time.

And there's Insecure-Disorganized Attachment. This is indicated by the infant’s confusion when the mother/caretaker leaves and returns. The infant will be disoriented, overwhelmed by the situation and does not demonstrate a consistent way of coping with it.

In attachment, the infant’s temperament is an important factor. Temperament is a person’s or animal’s nature that permanently affects their behavior. Secure attachments have been linked to higher levels of cognitive functioning and social competence in adulthood. Daycares does not appear to be detrimental to secure attachment formations.

If the picture above wasn't clear enough, we're on to parenting styles, by Diana Baumrind. There are four parenting styles. No.1, Authoritarian. The parents are demanding, expect unquestioned obedience, are not responsive to their children’s desires and communicate poorly with their children. You know those shows where a character's family is rich as heck, but the family's demanding of the character they don't allow them to do anything at all? Yeah. THOSE parents.

No.2, Authoritative. The parents are demanding but set rational limits for their children, and they communicate well with them. Like my parents!

No.3, Permissive. Parents make few demands and are overly responsive to their children’s desires, letting their children do pretty much as they please. Kids who have these parents have the greatest freaking childhood then.

And No.4, Uninvolved. Parents minimize both the time they spend the children and their emotional involvement with them, only catering to their basic needs. So parents that abuse their children, basically? You got it.

Out of all the parenting styles, the authoritative parenting style seems to have the most positive effect on cognitive and social development. So far I don't feel any more positive-er. I guess time will tell.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage Theory for Development is a seriously long name for a theory and it emphasized the impact of society and culture upon development. One or both of those statements are facts. It led to an increase in research on life-span development, but was criticized for lack of solid experimental data to support it.

Nonetheless, there are eight stages of development. Each stage has a major issue or crisis that had to be resolved. And each stage give us more things to memorize. I bet with each stage students begin to overload their brains, and it'll be only a matter of time before they overheat and self-destruct. Let's hope not.

The picture below actually explains more than I can type. Again. Pictures are so useful.

And that's the end of this chapter. Thank you for reading, and I hope this one helps with studies as well! Also, for those who actually decided to sleep on your keyboard in front of your monitor screen: Did you sleep well? Good! Cause I sure didn't! Don't know what time is it at your end, but it's 3AM for me and I feel like dropping dead on my bed and sleep like a baby. This whole paragraph is not meant to offend, so please do not maul me in my much needed sleep.