Life Span and Human Development - Essay Example

Life Span Research Organization This paper summarizes the most significant issues regarding the physical, cognitive, emotional and social development of pre-school age children and adolescents in a side-by-side comparative analysis finding that both age groups are undergoing constant significant re-evaluation of their world in keeping with the momentous changes that are occurring in their inner and outer worlds. Introduction Human development involves continuous change beginning with conception and perhaps ending at death. Most human developmental processes evolve within predictable, well-defined guidelines. At certain foreseeable occasions in the developmental process, new and different abilities emerge that have no obvious originations from earlier developmental periods. These developmental plateaus represent a qualitative transformation in maturity. To assist the study of development, developmental tasks are characteristically divided into four primary domains: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. This discussion first defines these development domains then applies these definitions to those of pre-school and adolescent age. Physical development refers to the growth of the body structure including muscles, bones and organs as well as comprising all motor and sensory development. Motor activity is dependent on muscle strength and coordination. Motor actions such as standing, sitting, and running involve the large muscles whereas speech, vision and the use of hands and fingers engage the smaller muscles of the body. Sensory development includes the five senses, sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing. “The coordination and integration of perceptual input from these systems are controlled by the central nervous system” (Roditti, 2002, p. 11). Cognitive development describes activities such as thought, memory, reasoning, problem-solving and abstract thinking. The use of language necessitates symbolization and memory and is one of the most difficult of cognitive activities. The term language does not mean the spoken word, however. Speaking is a motor activity. Therefore, language and speech are operated by different areas of the brain. Comprehending and expressing language is a complex cognitive endeavor. Social development includes the child’s interactions with other people and involvement in social groups. The earliest social function is the attachment to mother leading to the “development of relationships with adults and peers, assumption of social roles, adoption of group values and norms, adoption of a moral system, and eventually assuming a productive role in society are all social tasks” (Roditti, 2002, p. 12). Emotional development refers to the maturing of personal behaviors and characteristics including developing a self identity and esteem along with the ability to enter into mutual emotional relationships. Pre-school Physical Development Sensory and motor domain development is most noticeable during the first year of life with physical growth beginning to slow at about one year of age. Parents may notice a decreased appetite at this time as they observe that their children seem to eat virtually nothing comparatively yet continue to grow and are healthy. As children begin to walk, their posture appears as if there may be cause for parental concern but the bow-legged child with their belly sticking out and inward curved back is quite normal for this age. Children are half grown already by the age of two. By doubling a 24 month-old’s height, a parent can accurately predict their child’s full height as an adult. By age three, the body becomes leaner as the child’s proportion of body fat decreases and muscles increase in tone. By this age, the vast majority of children are physically able to control their bodily functions. Most children follow a predictable pattern of physical growth. Visits to the doctor enable parents to monitor growth in relation to other children of similar age and also allows for comparisons of weight gain to height gain. During the preschool years, growth in height and weight is steady. The next major growth spurt occurs in early adolescence (Beers, 2003). Teen Physical Development One of the most significant developmental changes in adolescence is puberty. Adolescents encounter changes in their rate of physical development unequaled since they were infants including rapid gains in height and weight, hormonal levels and brain development. Boys can gain an average of 4.1 inches in height during a one-year growth spurt, girls, 3.5 inches. Typically, girls experience this growth spurt two years earlier than boys. Both experience weight gain, girls from body fat, boys from increased muscle development. During puberty, changing hormonal levels play a role in development for both genders including the growth of pubic hair; penis growth, voice changes and facial hair growth for boys. Girls begin the menstrual period. “One of the clearest markers of pubertal development for girls is menarche, the time when a girl begins her menstrual cycle” (Eveleth & Tanner, 1990). Both genders experience growth of underarm hair and increased production of sweat and oil and other gland activity which leads to acne. Contemporary studies indicate that the connections between neurons affecting emotional, physical and mental abilities are incomplete until late in adolescence. Teenager’s brains are not fully developed which explains why many adolescents are inconsistent in effectively controlling their emotions and judgments (Brownlee, 1999). These physical changes affect teens in many ways. Teens generally require more sleep than younger children or adults, on average, about 9 1/2 hours of sleep a night. Studies acknowledge that adolescents need additional quality sleep time to enable their bodies to perform the internal exertion required for the rapid growth gains they are experiencing. Teens may also encounter awkward physical movements as a result of the rapid growth gains. All parts of the anatomy don’t all grow at the same rate during this phase of development. Teens can appear gangly and uncoordinated as they try to cope with limbs that seem to have grown overnight (Brownlee, 1999). Teenage girls may become exceedingly sensitive about their physical appearance because of the rapid weight gains associated with puberty. Sixty percent of adolescent girls report that they are trying to lose weight. “A small percentage of adolescent girls (1-3 percent) become so obsessed with their weight that they develop severe eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Anorexia nervosa refers to starvation; bulimia refers to binge eating and vomiting” (Hayward et al, 1997). Adolescents develop at differing rates which leads many teens to be concerned as they may not be developing physically at the same rate as their peers. Adolescents have a universal need to ‘fit in’ thus being behind the developmental curve to peers is of utmost concern. Early maturation can have ill affects on both boys and girls as well. Research implies that although boys who have matured early tend to be more popular with peers and hold more leadership positions, adults often take for granted that early physically maturing boys are cognitively maturity matches. This assumption can lead to artificially high expectations about a young person’s ability to handle increased responsibility. Early maturing girls tend to suffer more from depression, eating disorders, and anxiety and because of their older-looking physical façade; early maturing girls are more likely than their peers to be coerced into relationships with older boys before they are emotionally prepared (Brownlee, 1999). Pre-School Cognitive In the preschool years, from age two to seven, children start to reason, build concepts, and lay the foundation for tangible operations. “Operations are initialized sets of actions that allow the child to do mentally what was done physically before” (Santrock, 1997, p. 203). Operations also include “the process of classification, seriation, or reversability that generates logical thinking and understanding” (Boden, 1980, p. 41). The two sub-stages of preoperational thought are symbolic function and intuitive thought. The first sub-stage, symbolic function, takes place between the ages of two and four. During this period, the child attains the aptitude to mentally represent something not physically within their sight (Santrock, 1997, p. 203). Because egocentrism and animism play a part in this stage of the child’s development, their mental symbols are not entirely real or logical. Egocentrism, one of the characteristics of pre-operational is described as, “the child’s inability to distinguish between ones own perspective and someone elses perspective” (Santrock, 1997, p. 204). An example of this is a child who has learned the right and left sides of their body who cannot duplicate this feat on a person facing them (Pulaski & Spencer, 1980, p. 44). Children in this age range do not understand why noise making activities could increase their mother’s annoyance when they’re having such a good time. Animism, the child’s belief that things are alive or have human characteristics because they move or grow, is another characteristic of pre-operational thought that adds to the young child’s symbolic depictions. The two to four year old believes this because they reason that life corresponds to movement and growth. The child may express this by drawing flowers or by saying that the ‘chair was mad’ at him and made him fall after tripping over it. The second sub-stage of preoperational thought involves four to seven year-old’s development of the intuitive thought process. Children in this phase want to ask questions constantly. Although they are inclined to be so certain of their knowledge and understanding, they are unaware of how they gained their information. A child at this age focuses on one characteristic of someone or something, and bases their decision or judgment on that one characteristic. This characteristic is called centration. For example, “if a 4 year old was given some blocks and asked to put the blocks into groups in which he or she thought they belonged. A child at this age may focus his or her attention on the color instead of the shape, whereas an older individual may focus on both” (Santrock, 1997, p. 206). Teen Cognitive Development Teens obviously possess better thinking skills than younger youth. These advances in thinking include reasoning skills and the ability to mentally conceptualize multiple options and possibilities. This includes a furthered logical thought process and the ability to reason hypothetically. It involves asking and answering the question, ‘what if?’ Teens also develop abstract thinking skills. Abstract thinking means thinking about concepts, things that cannot be seen, heard, or touched such as faith, trust, and spirituality. Adolescents display a heightened level of self-consciousness and are likely to believe that everyone else is as concerned with their thoughts and actions as they are. This leads teens to think that they have an ‘imaginary audience’ who is constantly watching them. They also believe that no one else could have ever experienced similar feelings and emotions as they do and may become overly dramatic in describing situations that are disconcerting to them such as ‘youll never understand,’ or ‘my life is ruined.’ Teens exhibit little fear of mortality causing them to gamble unnecessarily with their safety such as driving while intoxicated, speeding or engaging in unprotected sex. Teens tend to become activist-oriented which directly relates to their newfound ability to contemplate abstract concepts. Teens are quick to point out to friends and peers behaviors that are and are not acceptable, to mention inconsistencies between adults’ words and their actions and have difficulty appreciating an opposing opinion (Huebner, 2000). Pre School Social and Emotional Development A pre-school child’s social and emotional development is based on observations of behavior and temperament. Infants normally become more anxious about being separated from their parents at about nine months of age. Whether being put down at bedtime or dropped off at childcare, they may experience difficulties made noticeable by fits of temper. These separation tantrums may last for several months. For older pre-school aged children, a blanket or stuffed animal serves as a ‘transitional object’ that functions as a representation for the missing parent. From age 18 months to two years, children characteristically start to determine gender distinctiveness. During the preschool years, children also ascertain concepts of gender role, of how boys and girls typically act. Investigation of the genitals is expected at this age. This indicates that children are beginning to make a connection between gender and body image. A child begins to test parental limits merely to find out what would happen in the two to three age-range. Anyone that has known a two year-old has heard them loudly exclaim the word ‘no,’ and mean what they say as they strive for independence. Tantrums are typical among this age group. This release of emotion is simply children expressing their frustrations during a phase in their development when they cannot verbalize their feelings effectively. By not allowing the child to become overly tired or frustrated and by forecasting the child’s behavior, parents can reduce the number of tantrums. Children, of course, have differing and complex personalities. Some display difficulties controlling their urges and necessitate stricter behavioral limits and regularity in their activities. In this age group, between two and three years of age, children begin to be interactively involved with other children. Although they are possessive of toys, they may begin to share and even take turns in play. By declaring ownership over toys, the child helps establish the sense of self. The majority of children become interested in fantasy play and imaginary friends from three to five years of age. Fantasy play helps children develop socially as they resolve conflicts with parents or other children in ways that will help them expel frustrations while maintaining their self-esteem. Typical childhood fears appear at this time in social and emotional development i.e., ‘the monster in the closet.’ are universal and quite normal (Beers, 2003). Teen Socio-Emotional Development Four major recognized psychosocial issues that teens deal with during their adolescent years are establishing an identity, autonomy, intimacy and general need for achievement. Establishing an identity is one of the most significant aspirations of adolescents although this should not imply that teens think about the question ‘who am I’ on a conscious level. They instead, over the course of their adolescent development, begin to incorporate the opinions of influential others into their own concepts of values and opinions. Some equate autonomy with adolescent’s rebellious nature and assume that the term refers to becoming entirely independent from others. Rather than dissolving relationships, establishing autonomy for the teen is a technique to become independent within relationships. Teens who have developed autonomy have gained the ability to make and follow through with their own decisions, to live by their own philosophy and have become less emotionally reliant on parents. If autonomy is successfully accomplishment, the teen will become self-sufficient in society. Intimacy is typically cultured within the framework of same-sex friendships and then employed in romantic relationships. Friendships in teen and pre-teen development stages provide the first situation in which children practice their social skills with their equals. It is with friends that teens learn how to initiate, preserve, and conclude relationships, rehearse social skills and become intimate. The adolescent years are the first occasion in life that people are both physically mature enough to have sex and cognitively sophisticated enough to contemplate it. Thus, the teen years are the prime occasion for the development of sexuality. Research has indicated that more than half of high school-aged students are sexually active. The method by which teens are educated regarding sexuality will principally determine if they develop a healthy sexual identity. Because of their recent cognitive advances, adolescents start to understand the relationship between their present position and plans for future aspirations. They are figuring out what their achievement preferences are as compared to what they currently excel at and current areas of interest in which they are willing to strive for success. This aspect of development is essential as our society propagates attitudes of competition and success. The ways in which these social developmental changes affect teens is evident. They begin to spend more time with their friends than their families and it is within friendship that they practice and develop social skills. Though adolescents spend increasing amounts of time with their friends, they still are inclined to make decisions regarding values, education and long-term plans based on the ideals they learned at home. Teens may be inclined to keep a journal as a way of working through how they feel. The contemplation of one’s thoughts is an ingredient in the achievement of a personal identity. Teens may begin to lock their doors when they are in their rooms as a method of establishing privacy. This is nothing for a parent to be concerned about as long as teens continue to interact with the family. Teens have more interests and thus more questions regarding sexuality and may ask about adults’ values and beliefs by asking how the parent knew it was time to have sex or why they waited. Teens may try many activities and may become involved in multiple hobbies or clubs in an attempt to discover what they are good at. Teens’ interests also change quickly as today they are interested in art and tomorrow they are interested in sports. They may become secretive regarding where they are going and with whom and may not want to be seen associating with their parents in front of their friends and may ask their parents to drop them off a block from their friends’ houses or school. Teens may start to interrelate with parents and other adults more as equals and may ask questions regarding how a parent reacted to a certain situation when they were a teen (Huebner, 2000). Conclusion Both the pre-school aged child and the adolescent are experiencing dynamic changes to their physical, cognitive, social and emotional domains. Their perceptions of the world around them and of themselves are constantly being re-evaluated and built upon as they progress through differing stages of awareness and development. Regardles of whether they are just learning how to navigate the world of the human or how to navigate the world of the adult, they are entering a new phase of life with all new equipment and skills. Both pre-school and adolescence, then, are times in a child’s life when it is vitally important that they have the time and support necessary to focus their concentration on the business of maturing. Toward that end, it is of great help to parents to understand these stages and how to most effectively guide their children through them. References Beers, Mark H. (April 2003). The Merck Manual of Medical Information. New York: Pocket Books. Boden, Margaret A. (1980). Jean Piaget. New York: The Viking Press. Brownlee, B. (August 9, 1999). “Inside the Teen Brain.” U.S. News & World Report. Eveleth, P.B. & Tanner, J.M. (1990). Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. (2nd Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hayward, C.; Killen, J.; Wilson, D.; & Hammer, L. (1997). “Psychiatric Risk Associated with Early Puberty in Adolescent Girls.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Vol. 36, N. 2, pp. 255-62. Huebner, Angela. (March 2000). “Adolescent Growth and Development.” Family and Child Development. Virginia: Virginia Tech. Pulaski, Ph.D., & Spencer, Mary Ann. (1980). Understanding Piaget, An Introduction to Childrens Cognitive Development. New York: Harper and Row. Roditti, Martha. (June 2002). Human Development: Children, Youth and Adult Development and the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Human Development. Berkeley: University of California at Berkeley. Santrock, John W. (1997). Life-Span Development. (7th Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill College. Read More