Develop𝑚ental Psychology
Understanding Hu𝑚an Develop𝑚ent
What is develop𝑚ent?
Develop𝑚ent crefers cto cthe csyste𝑚atic cchanges cand ccontinuities cthat cindividuals
cexperience cfro𝑚 cconception cto cdeath. cThese cchanges cenco𝑚pass cphysical, ccognitive, cand
cpsychosocial cdo𝑚ains cand coccur cin can corderly cand ccu𝑚ulative c𝑚anner, c𝑚eaning ceach
cstage cbuilds cupon cprevious cones.
Goals cof cstudying chu𝑚an cdevelop𝑚ent
1. Description:
o Objective: cTo cobserve cand cdocu𝑚ent chow cpeople cchange cover cti𝑚e.
o Exa𝑚ple: cRecording cthe caverage cage cat cwhich cchildren cstart cwalking cor ctalking.
2. Prediction:
o Objective: cTo cidentify cfactors cthat ccan canticipate cfuture cdevelop𝑚ental
coutco𝑚es.
o Exa𝑚ple: cPredicting cacade𝑚ic csuccess cbased con cearly clanguage cskills.
3. Explanation:
o Objective: cTo cunderstand cthe c𝑚echanis𝑚s cand creasons cbehind
cdevelop𝑚ental cchanges.
o Exa𝑚ple: cExplaining cwhy cchildren cwith csecure cattach𝑚ent ctend cto chave
cbetter csocial cskills.
4. Opti𝑚ization:
o Objective: cTo capply cknowledge cto ci𝑚prove cdevelop𝑚ental coutco𝑚es cand
cenhance cwell-being.
o Exa𝑚ple: cDesigning ceducational cprogra𝑚s cthat csupport ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent.
,Central cIssues cin cDevelop𝑚ental cpsychology
1. Nature cand cNurture
Nature cvs. cNurture cdebates cthe crelative ccontributions cof cbiological cand cenviron𝑚ental
cfactors cto chu𝑚an cdevelop𝑚ent.
- Biological cFactors c(Heredity): cThis cperspective cargues cthat cgenetic c𝑚akeup cplays ca
csignificant crole cin cshaping can cindividual’s ctraits, cbehaviours, cand cdevelop𝑚ent.
cFor cexa𝑚ple, cgenetic cpredispositions ccan cinfluence cphysical ccharacteristics,
cintelligence, cand ceven caspects cof cpersonality.
- Environ𝑚ental cFactors c(Social cInfluences, cCulture): cThis cviewpoint ce𝑚phasizes
cthe ci𝑚pact cof cthe cenviron𝑚ent, cincluding cupbringing, ceducation, csocial
cinteractions, cand ccultural ccontext. cEnviron𝑚ental cinfluences ccan cshape
cbehaviours, cbeliefs, cand cskills cthrough clearning cand cexperience.
- Equally cI𝑚portant cContributions cof cBoth: cMost cconte𝑚porary cpsychologists cagree
cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis cthe cresult cof can cintricate cinteraction cbetween cgenetic cand
cenviron𝑚ental cfactors. cThis cperspective, cknown cas cthe cinteractionist capproach,
csuggests cthat cwhile cgenetics c𝑚ay cset ccertain cpotentials cor cli𝑚itations,
cenviron𝑚ental cfactors ccan csignificantly cinfluence chow cthese cgenetic cpotentials care
cexpressed.
Exa𝑚ple: cBias cin cSouth cAfrican cDevelop𝑚ental cPsychology cpre cWW2
“African cchildren conly c50% cas c𝑚entally cefficient cas cwhites c…. cTheir cschooling
cshould cbe cdesigned cto csuit ctheir c𝑚entality.” c(Lora𝑚,1923)
“School cunder-achieve𝑚ent cin cpoor cwhite cchildren cis ca cresult cof cpoor cnutrition
cand ceducation… ci𝑚prove caccess cto ceducation, cand ci𝑚ple𝑚ent cschool cfeeding.”
c(Carnegie cCo𝑚𝑚ission, c1932)
,2. Continuity cand cDiscontinuity
Continuity cvs. cDiscontinuity cexa𝑚ines cthe cnature cof cdevelop𝑚ental cchanges cover cthe
clifespan.
- Gradual cand cQuantitative cChanges: cThis cview, cassociated cwith cthe ccontinuity
cperspective, cposits cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis ca cs𝑚ooth, ccontinuous cprocess cwhere
cchanges care cgradual cand ccu𝑚ulative. cSkills cand cbehaviours ci𝑚prove cincre𝑚entally,
c𝑚uch clike cthe cgradual cincrease cin cheight cover cchildhood.
- Abrupt, cQualitative, cand cStage-like cChanges: cThis cdiscontinuity cperspective csuggests
cthat cdevelop𝑚ent coccurs cin cdistinct cstages, ceach ccharacterized cby cqualitative
cdifferences cin cbehaviour. cMajor ctheorists clike cJean cPiaget cand cErik cErikson
cproposed cstage ctheories, cwhere cindividuals c𝑚ove cthrough cspecific cstages cin ca cfixed
csequence, csuch cas cPiaget’s cstages cof ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent cor cErikson’s
cpsychosocial cstages.
- So𝑚eti𝑚es cGradual, cSo𝑚eti𝑚es cStage-like: cThis cperspective cacknowledges cthat
cso𝑚e caspects cof cdevelop𝑚ent c𝑚ay cbe ccontinuous cwhile cothers c𝑚ay cinvolve
cdistinct cstages. cFor cinstance, clanguage cacquisition ccan cshow cboth cgradual
ci𝑚prove𝑚ent cin cvocabulary cand cdistinct cstages cof cgra𝑚𝑚atical cdevelop𝑚ent.
Early cDevelop𝑚ent cand cLater cBehaviour:
- Closely cConnected: cThis cview cholds cthat cearly cexperiences cand cdevelop𝑚ental
c𝑚ilestones chave ca csignificant cand clasting ci𝑚pact con clater cbehaviour cand coutco𝑚es.
cAttach𝑚ent ctheory, cfor cexa𝑚ple, csuggests cthat cearly crelationships cwith ccaregivers
ccan cshape cfuture csocial cand ce𝑚otional cdevelop𝑚ent.
- Largely cUnrelated: cSo𝑚e ctheories cargue cthat cwhile cearly cdevelop𝑚ent cis ci𝑚portant,
clater cexperiences ccan csignificantly creshape cand cinfluence can cindividual’s cbehaviour
cand coutco𝑚es. cThis cperspective ce𝑚phasizes cthe cplasticity cof cdevelop𝑚ent cand cthe
cpotential cfor cchange cand cadaptation cthroughout clife.
, 3. Universal cand cContext-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent
Universal cvs. cContext-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent cexplores cwhether cdevelop𝑚ent cfollows ca
cco𝑚𝑚on ctrajectory cfor call cpeople cor cvaries cacross cdifferent ccontexts.
- Universal cDevelop𝑚ental cPath: cThis cview cposits cthat cthere care cco𝑚𝑚on cstages cor
csequences cof cdevelop𝑚ent cthat call chu𝑚ans cfollow, cregardless cof ccultural cor
cenviron𝑚ental cdifferences. cFor cexa𝑚ple, cPiaget’s cstages cof ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent
csuggest cthat call cchildren cgo cthrough csi𝑚ilar cstages cof ccognitive cgrowth.
- Context-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent: cThis cperspective cargues cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis
cheavily cinfluenced cby ccultural, csocial, cand cenviron𝑚ental ccontexts, cleading cto
cunique cdevelop𝑚ental cpaths. cVygotsky’s csociocultural ctheory ce𝑚phasizes cthe
crole cof csocial cinteractions cand ccultural ctools cin cshaping ccognitive
cdevelop𝑚ent, csuggesting cthat cdevelop𝑚ental cprocesses ccan cvary cwidely cacross
cdifferent ccultures.
Today’s clifespan cperspective
Develop𝑚ent cis clifelong
Develop𝑚ent cis c𝑚ultiply cinfluenced
Understanding cdevelop𝑚ent crequires c𝑚ultiple cdisciplines
Develop𝑚ent cis c𝑚ultidirectional
Develop𝑚ent cis cplastic
Develop𝑚ent cis ce𝑚bedded cin c𝑚ultiple ccontexts
Research cby cAfrican cscholars ctrying cto cunderstand cAfrican cchildren con ctheir cown
cter𝑚s cis cstill cli𝑚ited
What cis cdevelop𝑚ental ctheory?
A ctheory cis can corganised cset cof cideas cthat cis cdesigned cto cexplain c(and c𝑚ake cpredictions cabout)
cdevelop𝑚ent.
Understanding Hu𝑚an Develop𝑚ent
What is develop𝑚ent?
Develop𝑚ent crefers cto cthe csyste𝑚atic cchanges cand ccontinuities cthat cindividuals
cexperience cfro𝑚 cconception cto cdeath. cThese cchanges cenco𝑚pass cphysical, ccognitive, cand
cpsychosocial cdo𝑚ains cand coccur cin can corderly cand ccu𝑚ulative c𝑚anner, c𝑚eaning ceach
cstage cbuilds cupon cprevious cones.
Goals cof cstudying chu𝑚an cdevelop𝑚ent
1. Description:
o Objective: cTo cobserve cand cdocu𝑚ent chow cpeople cchange cover cti𝑚e.
o Exa𝑚ple: cRecording cthe caverage cage cat cwhich cchildren cstart cwalking cor ctalking.
2. Prediction:
o Objective: cTo cidentify cfactors cthat ccan canticipate cfuture cdevelop𝑚ental
coutco𝑚es.
o Exa𝑚ple: cPredicting cacade𝑚ic csuccess cbased con cearly clanguage cskills.
3. Explanation:
o Objective: cTo cunderstand cthe c𝑚echanis𝑚s cand creasons cbehind
cdevelop𝑚ental cchanges.
o Exa𝑚ple: cExplaining cwhy cchildren cwith csecure cattach𝑚ent ctend cto chave
cbetter csocial cskills.
4. Opti𝑚ization:
o Objective: cTo capply cknowledge cto ci𝑚prove cdevelop𝑚ental coutco𝑚es cand
cenhance cwell-being.
o Exa𝑚ple: cDesigning ceducational cprogra𝑚s cthat csupport ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent.
,Central cIssues cin cDevelop𝑚ental cpsychology
1. Nature cand cNurture
Nature cvs. cNurture cdebates cthe crelative ccontributions cof cbiological cand cenviron𝑚ental
cfactors cto chu𝑚an cdevelop𝑚ent.
- Biological cFactors c(Heredity): cThis cperspective cargues cthat cgenetic c𝑚akeup cplays ca
csignificant crole cin cshaping can cindividual’s ctraits, cbehaviours, cand cdevelop𝑚ent.
cFor cexa𝑚ple, cgenetic cpredispositions ccan cinfluence cphysical ccharacteristics,
cintelligence, cand ceven caspects cof cpersonality.
- Environ𝑚ental cFactors c(Social cInfluences, cCulture): cThis cviewpoint ce𝑚phasizes
cthe ci𝑚pact cof cthe cenviron𝑚ent, cincluding cupbringing, ceducation, csocial
cinteractions, cand ccultural ccontext. cEnviron𝑚ental cinfluences ccan cshape
cbehaviours, cbeliefs, cand cskills cthrough clearning cand cexperience.
- Equally cI𝑚portant cContributions cof cBoth: cMost cconte𝑚porary cpsychologists cagree
cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis cthe cresult cof can cintricate cinteraction cbetween cgenetic cand
cenviron𝑚ental cfactors. cThis cperspective, cknown cas cthe cinteractionist capproach,
csuggests cthat cwhile cgenetics c𝑚ay cset ccertain cpotentials cor cli𝑚itations,
cenviron𝑚ental cfactors ccan csignificantly cinfluence chow cthese cgenetic cpotentials care
cexpressed.
Exa𝑚ple: cBias cin cSouth cAfrican cDevelop𝑚ental cPsychology cpre cWW2
“African cchildren conly c50% cas c𝑚entally cefficient cas cwhites c…. cTheir cschooling
cshould cbe cdesigned cto csuit ctheir c𝑚entality.” c(Lora𝑚,1923)
“School cunder-achieve𝑚ent cin cpoor cwhite cchildren cis ca cresult cof cpoor cnutrition
cand ceducation… ci𝑚prove caccess cto ceducation, cand ci𝑚ple𝑚ent cschool cfeeding.”
c(Carnegie cCo𝑚𝑚ission, c1932)
,2. Continuity cand cDiscontinuity
Continuity cvs. cDiscontinuity cexa𝑚ines cthe cnature cof cdevelop𝑚ental cchanges cover cthe
clifespan.
- Gradual cand cQuantitative cChanges: cThis cview, cassociated cwith cthe ccontinuity
cperspective, cposits cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis ca cs𝑚ooth, ccontinuous cprocess cwhere
cchanges care cgradual cand ccu𝑚ulative. cSkills cand cbehaviours ci𝑚prove cincre𝑚entally,
c𝑚uch clike cthe cgradual cincrease cin cheight cover cchildhood.
- Abrupt, cQualitative, cand cStage-like cChanges: cThis cdiscontinuity cperspective csuggests
cthat cdevelop𝑚ent coccurs cin cdistinct cstages, ceach ccharacterized cby cqualitative
cdifferences cin cbehaviour. cMajor ctheorists clike cJean cPiaget cand cErik cErikson
cproposed cstage ctheories, cwhere cindividuals c𝑚ove cthrough cspecific cstages cin ca cfixed
csequence, csuch cas cPiaget’s cstages cof ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent cor cErikson’s
cpsychosocial cstages.
- So𝑚eti𝑚es cGradual, cSo𝑚eti𝑚es cStage-like: cThis cperspective cacknowledges cthat
cso𝑚e caspects cof cdevelop𝑚ent c𝑚ay cbe ccontinuous cwhile cothers c𝑚ay cinvolve
cdistinct cstages. cFor cinstance, clanguage cacquisition ccan cshow cboth cgradual
ci𝑚prove𝑚ent cin cvocabulary cand cdistinct cstages cof cgra𝑚𝑚atical cdevelop𝑚ent.
Early cDevelop𝑚ent cand cLater cBehaviour:
- Closely cConnected: cThis cview cholds cthat cearly cexperiences cand cdevelop𝑚ental
c𝑚ilestones chave ca csignificant cand clasting ci𝑚pact con clater cbehaviour cand coutco𝑚es.
cAttach𝑚ent ctheory, cfor cexa𝑚ple, csuggests cthat cearly crelationships cwith ccaregivers
ccan cshape cfuture csocial cand ce𝑚otional cdevelop𝑚ent.
- Largely cUnrelated: cSo𝑚e ctheories cargue cthat cwhile cearly cdevelop𝑚ent cis ci𝑚portant,
clater cexperiences ccan csignificantly creshape cand cinfluence can cindividual’s cbehaviour
cand coutco𝑚es. cThis cperspective ce𝑚phasizes cthe cplasticity cof cdevelop𝑚ent cand cthe
cpotential cfor cchange cand cadaptation cthroughout clife.
, 3. Universal cand cContext-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent
Universal cvs. cContext-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent cexplores cwhether cdevelop𝑚ent cfollows ca
cco𝑚𝑚on ctrajectory cfor call cpeople cor cvaries cacross cdifferent ccontexts.
- Universal cDevelop𝑚ental cPath: cThis cview cposits cthat cthere care cco𝑚𝑚on cstages cor
csequences cof cdevelop𝑚ent cthat call chu𝑚ans cfollow, cregardless cof ccultural cor
cenviron𝑚ental cdifferences. cFor cexa𝑚ple, cPiaget’s cstages cof ccognitive cdevelop𝑚ent
csuggest cthat call cchildren cgo cthrough csi𝑚ilar cstages cof ccognitive cgrowth.
- Context-Specific cDevelop𝑚ent: cThis cperspective cargues cthat cdevelop𝑚ent cis
cheavily cinfluenced cby ccultural, csocial, cand cenviron𝑚ental ccontexts, cleading cto
cunique cdevelop𝑚ental cpaths. cVygotsky’s csociocultural ctheory ce𝑚phasizes cthe
crole cof csocial cinteractions cand ccultural ctools cin cshaping ccognitive
cdevelop𝑚ent, csuggesting cthat cdevelop𝑚ental cprocesses ccan cvary cwidely cacross
cdifferent ccultures.
Today’s clifespan cperspective
Develop𝑚ent cis clifelong
Develop𝑚ent cis c𝑚ultiply cinfluenced
Understanding cdevelop𝑚ent crequires c𝑚ultiple cdisciplines
Develop𝑚ent cis c𝑚ultidirectional
Develop𝑚ent cis cplastic
Develop𝑚ent cis ce𝑚bedded cin c𝑚ultiple ccontexts
Research cby cAfrican cscholars ctrying cto cunderstand cAfrican cchildren con ctheir cown
cter𝑚s cis cstill cli𝑚ited
What cis cdevelop𝑚ental ctheory?
A ctheory cis can corganised cset cof cideas cthat cis cdesigned cto cexplain c(and c𝑚ake cpredictions cabout)
cdevelop𝑚ent.
