Developmental Theories in Childhood and Adolescence - Case Study Example

Developmental theories in childhood and adolescence Introduction “Since its Nature’s law to change, constancy alone is strange”, proclaimed JohnWilmot in A Dialogue between Strephon and Daphne (1691), and it is these transient laws of nature which we observe as a child is born; he learns to walk and talk; passes through the period of “stress and storm” (Hall, 1904), that is, adolescence; reaches adulthood; finally grows old to one day, die. Thus, according to the inevitable laws of nature, every new born child must grow and develop gradually, to finally reach adulthood. It is this development which often covers one’s entire life span that the psychologists and scientists have explored and contrived various theories on, while explaining the various changes that take place during these years. These theories fall under one category, known as ‘developmental theories’, and named so, as they cover the various changes pertaining to cognitive, physical, emotional, physiological, and biological developments, in a human being. This article will explore the developmental theories, pertaining to childhood and adolescence, since these formative years are the most important in the life cycle of a human being, when he develops and learns the most (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007). This article will explore to find out as to how these theories explain the changes that we see in a child and an adolescent. It will also discuss the interaction of various cognitive, physical, and emotional developments, which help to bring about an overall growth and well being of a child. It will also study to find out as to why the comprehension of normal child and adolescent development is important, in assisting children to reach their maximum potential.  Discussion Human development can be represented in two ways, these are: chronologically, where the entire human life span is divided into various ages and stages, and here age forms the classifying or organizing factor; topically, where each development is taken separately and followed through the entire course right from the origin till it reaches the stage of maturity. Scientifically, human development can be broadly classified as qualitative development and quantitative development. Quantitative change refers to “change in number or amount, such as growth in height, weight, vocabulary, aggressive behaviour, or frequency of communication, [while] qualitative change is a change in kind, structure, or organisation” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2005, 9). Developmental behavior tends to show different levels of stabilities depending on the characteristics and personality of a person, and these personality traits though largely modifiable through external influences, tend to persevere in moderation, especially in cases of children. Developmental sciences are thus, pertaining to studying the human characteristics, exploring as to why some of these traits endure an entire lifetime while some of them change easily; and if deemed necessary, also to modify some of these traits so as to make developmental progress better. A study of human nature and behavior, it gives us many theories that purport to answer many of the seemingly inexplicable personality traits and characteristics that we observe in the people surrounding us. Relationship between cognitive development, psychosocial/emotional development, and physical development: Child development is a natural course that covers the entire growth phase during childhood, starting from infancy and continuing till he attains maturity, that is, from birth till around 20 years of age. This developmental process is particularly related to three aspects of that child’s self or consciousness, and constitute of cognitive development, psychosocial/emotional development, and physical development of that particular child. All three are closely related and interdependent, and together form an important part in the human life process, especially during the childhood. Physical growth pertains to the growth and development of physical attributes like the brain, the body, the overall health, the motor skills and the sensory capabilities. These developments are most prominent during childhood, “children grow rapidly between age 3 and 6, but less quickly than in infancy and toddlerhood. At about age 3, children begin to take on the slender athletic appearance of childhood”(Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007, 251). This process of physical growing continues, albeit slowly, into adolescence, and stops only till that child attains adulthood. Cognitive development refers to the changes in the mental faculties of a child that includes: memory, process of thinking, learning how to speak, reasoning skills, developing the power to concentrate and pay attention. Cognitive and physical developments are very closely associated, as for example, a child’s capability to speak will depend on the physical growth of his brain and mouth. Psychosocial development is the change and stability in a child’s personality, his emotional capabilities, and in his relationship with his family and friends. This is also closely interrelated with the physical and cognitive developments, which is evident when one fails to score well in an examination owing to nervousness and fear. Failed social relationships, often lead to negative cognitive developments, and the child may develop some negative personality traits, causing harm to himself and to those other around him. Importance of observing the child and adolescent developments, and comprehending the various developmental theories: These developments, as we see from our daily experiences, vary from child to child, and it is not very uncommon to see a child learning to walk, speak, or read faster, than another child of the same age. In some cases we may have also observed that a child may face difficulties while learning to read or write or cope with other cognitive and motor developments. In such cases often help is required from specialists to explain the development deficiencies and if possible to modify them. It is here that we find that the various developmental theories come into prevalence, as they explain, predict, and also assist in modifying, the behavior of a child or an adolescent. It is important that we understand the various development theories, as these concepts give us an insight in to the behavioral differences and traits in various children, which in turn help us to assist them in achieving their maximum potential. The development theories help us to understand the very basis of human nature, and helps us to predict how one would react to a given stimuli. These theories also explain the various sex differentiations and varying gender roles that we see around us and give us an insight in the role of the cultural environment in shaping one’s personality. They also help us to optimize the developing conditions, so that we can provide the best possible environment for our children helping them to grow and develop, even better. These theories also help us to understand the various developmental problems faced by children. So instead of simply dismissing and isolating such children as ‘mentally retarded’, these theories today have taken us to a position where we are able to help them to learn well, and cope with life as any other normal children. Development theories: There are five basic perspectives on which different childhood and adolescence development theories have been conceptualized: Psychoanalytic perspective that consist of Freud’s psychosexual theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory; Learning perspective, theories by Pavlov, Watson and Skinner; Cognitive perspective like Piaget’s cognitive stage theory and information processing theory; Socio-biological or evolutionary perspective consisting of Ainsworth’s and Bowlby’s attachment theory; and Contextual perspective as to Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007, 28). Here we will discuss three developmental theories, in order to comprehend the necessity of studying the development of a normal child or an adolescent so as to be able to assist these children in reaching their maximum potential. Freud’s psychosexual theory: According to this theory “development is a conflictual process [and] and as biological creatures we have basic sexual and aggressive instincts that must be served; yet society dictates that many of these drives must be restrained” (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009, 42). It is during the formative years (that is during childhood), the manner in which the parents channelize these aggressive and sexual urges, creates the foundation for the personality that the child will develop as an adult. “Freud proposed that human beings come to balance instinctual demands with social sanctions…when an imbalance between individual demands and societal pressures occur, the individual becomes anxious and the ego must deal with this discomfort. To deal with this anxiety an individual uses defensive mechanisms” (Gullotta, Adams & Ramos, 2005, 4). Very often we notice this imbalance in a ‘rebellious’ adolescent, where the lack of balance creates a feeling anxiety within the mind of the teenager, and results in regular conflicts with his parents and society, at large. Freud had divided the human personality into 3 parts, the id, ego and superego. The id is present at birth, and the infancy stage is completely guided by the id, which is often evident in the behavior of an infant that creates a tantrum and fusses, if its needs like hunger and change of wet clothes are not satisfied immediately. The next stage is the ego which is perceived when the child starts to learn, to reason and to remember. Ego is the rational conscious part, and it is evident in slightly older children, as they learn to gratify their needs by socially approved means. A slightly older child who is hungry will perhaps seek food from parents by uttering the word biscuit or chocolate. As they grow children develop ways to suppress their id, and as they start rationalizing they begin seeking other means to satisfy their desires. The last component is the super ego which is the conscience, and according to Freud, it develops between the ages 3-6 years, when the child starts internalizing his parent’s moral and ethical values (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009, 43). Thus, “In a mature healthy personality, a dynamic balance operates: the id communicates basic needs, the ego restrains the impulsive id...the superego decides whether the ego’s problem-solving strategies are morally acceptable” (ibid). Freud had further divided the childhood period into 5 psychosexual stages: oral stage, which is from birth to around 1 year, and here the mouth forms the erogenous zone. If suppressed or gratified too much, this urge may develop in a fixation, like nail biting or smoking; the anal stage, which is formed at 1-3 years and the bowel and bladder elimination gives pleasure at this age. If the child faces too much of stringent toilet training he may develop a fixation for cleanliness, or may become excessively messy at a later age; next is the phallic stage from 3 to 6 years of age, which sees the Oedipus complex in boys when they are sexually attracted towards their mother, and girls develop Electra complex where they are sexually attracted towards their father; this is followed by the latency period from 6 years till puberty, which is a sexually calm stage where the children learn to socialise, and develop various other society related skills; the last stage is the genital stage (adulthood), where the repressed sexual urges can now be fulfilled through various socially approved methods. Erikson’s psychosocial theory: Erikson’s theory is more or less similar to that of Freudian theory, with some deviations. This theory divides the process of development into 8 stages covering the life span of man. “Each stage involves... a crisis in personality- major psychosocial theme...particularly important at that time and will remain an issue...throughout the rest of life” (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2005, 33). Each issue, that comes, varying according to age of the child, must be effectively dealt with, so that the child ultimately develops a healthy ego. Erikson believed that with each positive tendency that one develops, it is essential that he learns certain negative ones too. As for example, a child is naturally trustful towards everyone; but he must also be taught the negative attribute of mistrusting certain people, for the sake of his own safety and well being. However at the end, one must take care to see that a child develops the positive virtue as the predominant one, without losing knowledge of the negative one for self protection. At the last stage, Erikson tells us that one must come to terms with his life as has been lived, or he will succumb in despair (the stage of wisdom). So we find that Ericson’s theory places importance on social and cultural influences in the development of a child (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2005, 29). The cognitive theory of Jean Piaget: Cognitive development of a child is based on his perspective of viewing the world, and here Piaget conceptualized that “children try to use assimilation to absorb new events into existing schemes, and when assimilation does not allow the child to make sense of novel events, children try to modify existing schemes through accommodation” (Rathus, 2007, 188). Piaget divides the developing process into 4 stages. The first stage is the sensory motor stages (birth till 2 years) where the infant learns to organize various activities based on his motor and sensory skills. The second stage (2 to 7 years) is the pre-operational stage where the child starts representing people, places and incidents, with symbols. It is followed by concrete stage (7- 11 years) where the child starts to think logically and can solve sums using logical reasoning, but abstract thinking is yet to be learnt. The last stage is the formal operation (11 to adulthood), where the child can think abstractly and can comprehend hypothetical situations (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2007, 33). From the above discourse it is clear that Freud placed a great deal of emphasis on sexual urges that help to develop the personality of the child; on the other hand Erikson places more emphasis on social and cultural influences. Piaget in his theory speaks of the nature of knowledge and how a child through his sole mental interpretation acquires this knowledge, while developing the various mental processes. Another area of difference is that Freud makes the child inactive, where his personality is completely molded by his parents; while both Erikson and Piaget makes the child an active and curious learner cum explorer. However in Erikson, the child learns from various social and cultural interactions with the people around him, while Piaget theorizes that the child learns by his sole effort only. Freud classifies the developmental stages, based on the variety of sexual urges, present in children of different ages. Erikson bases his classification on various psychosocial needs, relevant to a child of a particular age, which helps the child to develop his personality as he learns from the environment around him. Piaget bases his classification on the development of the mental processes in a child, and each stage is based on a new area of development that takes place in the thinking mechanism of that child. However one area of similarity that we see in all the three social scientists is that, they lay maximum stress on the childhood (infancy till adolescence) period of a human being, thus proposing that this is the stage where one develops the maximum, and learns the most. Freud and Erikson theories are very similar, since Erikson believed in Freud’s basic hypothesis; however he later diverted a little, to form his own theory. Piaget’s theory is completely different from the other two, as it is seen from the perspective of cognitive learning, and not from a psychoanalytic viewpoint. Conclusion As Valsiner says, “In the progression from childhood into adulthood, the period of active biological growth spurt- puberty- indicates a developmental period” (Valsiner, 2000, 271). This developmental period, starting from infancy till completion of adolescence, is the most important phase in a person’s life, when as a child, he is exploring new things around him and learning from his daily experiences. It is essential that the parents and teachers at this time lead and guide this active and extremely curious learner into the right path, so that later the child develops a balanced and healthy personality, who is also capable of fighting the various challenges that is an inevitable apart of one’s life. References Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2005). Human development. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2007). A Childs World: Infancy Through Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill. Gulotta, T., Adams, G., & Ramos, J. (2005). Handbook of adolescent behavioral problems: evidence- based approaches to prevention and treatment. NY: Springer. 4. Hall, G. S. (1904). Adolescence: Its psychology and its relation to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion, and education (Vols. I & II). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Rathus, S. (2007). Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 188. Shaffer, D., & Kipp, K. (2009). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, 42 & 43. Valsiner, J. (2000). Culture and Human Development: An Introduction. London: Sage. 271. Read More