Cognitive and Emotional Development of a Child and Youth - Literature review Example

How Cognitive and Emotional Development Inform the Nature/Nurture Debate Name Institution Introduction In psychology, the nature versus nurture debate has mainly dwelt on the degree to which certain dimensions of behaviour are a result of genetic (inherited) or learned (acquired) attributes. According to Bisanz et al. (2017), nature consists of attributes or aspects of life that influence genetic inheritance or any associated biological factors. On the other hand, nurture is the attributes or aspects of life influenced by external factors after human conception. The nature-nurture debate has particularly gone on about the comparative contribution that both genetic and external factor play in defining human physical attributes and behaviour. According to Berk (2007), growth is characterised by an increase in the size of an individual’s body or certain sections of the body and organs due to multiplication of cells and their components in period beginning from conception to physical maturity. Scholarly works on developmental psychology have attempted to explore the nature and sources of growth and development in human’s cognitive, social, and language skills. They have also questioned whether a child’s growth progresses in a continuous or more stage-like manner (Berk, 2007). To explore this paradox, this essay argues that different stages of the growth and development process are influenced by each other as development begins from the head and proceeds downwards to the body, all forms of development occur in the same sequence yet may still happen at different rates, and lastly all body parts that undergo development are interlinked. Consistent with stage theories suggested by Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud, which argue that developmental processes progress through stages, determined by maturation, this paper explores how the diverse stages of the growth and development process influence themselves. At the same time, it discusses examples of social, emotional and cognitive development in children. Development begins from the head and proceeds downwards to the body. Based on the principle of cephalocaudal principle, development begins from the head. Technically, a child would first acquire control of the head, before proceeding to the arms and ultimately to the legs (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2012). Accordingly, infants acquire control of movements of the head and face during the initial two months after birth. Subsequent months would see the child begin lifting himself or herself up using the arms as it acquires cognitive and social skills (Berk, 2007). When a child attains the age of 6 to 12 months, an infant would begin acquiring leg control and would start crawling, standing, and even walking. In a practical life scenario, a baby is unable to independently hold his or her head up. In the consequent few months, a baby would manage to sit independently. Fundamentally, the reason for this is that gaining control of the central nervous system and the spine starts from the top of the baby’s head and spreads down to the base of the baby’s spine (Goodheart-Willcox, n.d.). Indeed, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory proposes that development happens all through one’s life span. It underscores the social and emotional dimensions of growth and contends that a child’s personality would develop while responding to its social environment. The theory suggests eight stages, where a social crisis happens in each stage unless solutions that satisfy a child socially and personally are provided as a condition to advance to the next stage. For instance, in stage 2, also known as the “Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt” stage, when a child is 18 months to 3 years old, the child uses its newly motor and mental skills, and therefore, tends to practice its developing locomotor skills in order to gain self-control (Goodheart-Willcox, n.d.). However, this control can be seen materialising in a baby when it starts holding the head without a need for support. Correspondingly, a baby that is newly born can wave its arms around indistinctly. However, when the baby attains the age of 9 months, it can pick up a piece of Lego using the thumb and finger. This shows that the nervous system tends to develop from the spinal cord and outwards and downwards to the hands and feet. All forms of development occur in the same sequence yet may still happen at different rates. This principle is also called the proximodistal principle. It contends that development tends to proceed from the centre of the body outward (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2012). This implies that development starts from the spinal cord and proceeds to the rest of body outwards. Therefore, a baby’s arms develop prior to the hands. Similarly, the fingers and toes develop after the hands and feet have developed (Ahmed & Richardson, 2013). This also shows that fingers and toes develop last. For instance, a baby starts by holding its head up and eventually learns to sit while supported, before it can ultimately stand by supporting itself on a chair or table and before it can in due course walk unaided. In other words, no baby can manage to walk before it has learned how to sit up, although it is completely normal for a baby to walk at the age of 10 months and the other to learn to do so at the age of 18 months or later. Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory attempts to explain the mental operations, including how children would think, build perceptions, understand, as well as learn about their immediate environment and the world. Piaget contended that knowledge is gained through active participation in real-life experiences (Curtis, 2015). For instance, when a child physically handles objects, the child gets to discover its relationships with the object. For instance, the sensorimotor stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory argues that when a child is aged two, he would use his senses to explore and learn. This is the reason for babies’ tendency to engage in physical acts like grasping, sucking, and hitting to gain knowledge of their environment (Goodheart-Willcox, n.d.). All body parts that undergo development are interlinked This principle contends that human development is contingent on maturation, which essentially denotes the cycle of biological changes that typically occur in a child (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2012). The sequential transformation provides children with new capabilities. However, consistent with the two earlier principles, maturation is dependent on transformations of the nervous system and the brain. Such transformations enable a child to improve in its thinking capacity and motor skills, which also affect how the child can build social relations (Berk, 2007). An enriched learning environment enables a child to develop its potential. Practically, a baby would not be able to finger feed unless it has learnt to sit up as well as to start picking things using its thumb and fingers. Consequently, a child’s speech development would delay when the child face hearing challenges as well as when no one speaks directly to the child. This also implies that a child that does not experience attention and love from others, including the parents, may experience problems in maturation. Ultimately, it can be reasoned from this backdrop that in order for a child to develop its full potential, it needs to be provided with plenty of love, guidance, attention and support from those that surround the child. When these needs are not provided, the child may experience difficulties in its development. Indeed, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory suggests that parents and teachers play a crucial role in the recognition of each stage when they provide social support and opportunity to the child to assist a child to prevail over crisis in each subsequent stage. For instance, at stage 4, which is also known as the “Industry Versus Inferiority” stage, children between the ages of 6 and 12 years are learning societal rules and norms and rely on their parents, teachers, and friends to motivate them, without which feelings of insecurity may come about (Goodheart-Willcox, n.d.). Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Theory also contends that a child learns through socio-cultural experiences, including by interacting with the peers and parents. When children interact with their parents, they learn about their beliefs, values, language and customs. Hence, parents should offer children sufficient opportunities for social interaction (Bodrova & Leong, 2015). Conclusion Different stages of the growth and development process are influenced by each other. This can be explained using three basic principles of human development: different stages of the growth and development process are influenced by each other as development begins from the head and proceeds downwards to the body, all forms of development occur in the same sequence yet may still happen at different rates, and lastly all body parts that undergo development are interlinked. Hence, a child would first acquire control of the head, before proceeding to the arms and ultimately to the legs as it develops cognitive and social skills. Development starts from the spinal cord and proceeds to the rest of body outwards, as it develops cognitive and social skills. A child’s development is also contingent on maturation, which essentially denotes the cycle of biological changes that typically occur in a child. Such maturation is dependent on transformations of the nervous system and the brain, which enable a child to improve in its thinking capacity and motor skills, which affect how the child can build social relations. References Ahmed, A. & Richardson, C. (2013). Child growth and development knowledge among senior nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(1), 82-87 Berk, L. (2007). Development through the lifespan. Boston: Pearson Bisanz, J, Ho, E, Kachan, M., Rasmussen, C & Sherman, J. (2017). Developmental Theory - Cognitive And Information Processing, Evolutionary Approach, Vygotskian Theory, viewed 8 Feb 2017, http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1913/Developmental-Theory.html#ixzz4Y6aVMA3Q Bodrova, E. & Leong, D. (2015). Vygotskian and Post-Vygotskian views on children’s play. American Journal of Play, 7(3), 371-388 Curtis, A. (2015). Defining adolescence. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, 7(2), 1-20 Goodheart-Willcox. (n.d.). Child development principles and theories. Retrieved from http://www.g-w.com/pdf/sampchap/9781590708132_ch04.pdf Plotnik, R. & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2012). Discovery series: Introduction to psychology. New York: Cengage Learning, Read More