Chapter 4: Early
Childhood:
Personality and
Social Development
Developmental Psychology A Study Notes
Session 4
Louw, D. A. & Louw, A. E. (2022). Child and adolescent development (3rd
ed. Ch. 4. pp. 248-312). Psychology Publications.
4.1 Physical Development
Early childhood, also called the preschool period, spans approximately ages two to six.
Early childhood continues the development that began during infancy.
Considerable development occurs in all areas, requiring many new skills.
This chapter focuses on preschoolers' physical, cognitive, personality, and social
development.
The chapter opens with two epigraphs (p. 207).
The first is a poem adapted from Dorothy Law Nolte, illustrating how a child's home
environment shapes emerging character traits, for example that criticism tends to teach
condemnation while encouragement tends to teach confidence.
This poem is not reproduced verbatim here as it is a copyrighted literary work; see the
original source page for the full text.
The second is a quotation from philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 to 1778),
describing childhood as a period of constant activity and play rather than idleness.
4.1.1 General Physical Development
The rapid physical growth of infancy slows down during early childhood.
Body parts begin to develop proportionally during this stage.
By the end of early childhood, body proportions resemble those of young adults.
The following aspects of physical development are discussed with reference to Berk (2019),
Santrock (2019), and Tyler (2020); note that individual and group differences can occur due to
factors such as genetics and malnutrition.
Height and weight
During the first 30 months, height increases by 80% and weight increases by 300%.
By age four, children have doubled their birth length.
, Average mass increases by approximately 2 kg per year during early childhood.
Average height increases by approximately 5 cm to 8 cm per year during early childhood.
Physical proportions
Loss of "baby fat" combined with increasing muscle and bone growth causes preschoolers to
lose their chubby appearance.
They begin to resemble a young child rather than a baby.
Muscle and bone growth
Changes in body proportion and appearance are largely caused by muscle and bone growth.
This growth is promoted by daily activities such as running, jumping, and handling
objects.
Further ossification (hardening of cartilage) strengthens the bones.
Teeth
By the end of the preschool years, children begin to lose their primary ("baby") teeth.
These are then replaced by permanent teeth.
Brain development
Brain development is one of the most important aspects of physical development in early
childhood.
At age three, the brain has already reached 75% of its total adult weight.
At age five, the brain has reached approximately 90% of its adult weight.
The frontal lobe areas devoted to planning and organising behaviour develop rapidly.
Heightened development in the left cerebral hemisphere supports children's expanding
language skills.
New connections form among different brain structures, enhancing balance, motor control,
alertness, and consciousness.
Brain plasticity, also called neuroplasticity, remains high because the brain is still
developing.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's biological, chemical, and physical capacity to reorganise its
structure and function in response to learning, experience, and memory formation.
Learning and new experiences strengthen frequently used neural pathways.
Pathways that are used infrequently weaken and eventually die, a process called
synaptic pruning.
Plasticity also allows one brain area to take over the function of another area that has been
damaged.
Damage may result from causes such as malnutrition or head injuries.
Perceptual development
Vision becomes an increasingly important source of information during this stage.
Preschoolers show rapid improvement in their ability to distinguish detail in their
environment.
Figure-ground perception improves rapidly between ages four and six.
, Figure-ground is the ability to distinguish clearly between the object of attention and the
rest of the perceptual field.
Children younger than five often confuse letters with similar perceptual features, such as b
and d, or m and w.
Most children can distinguish between such letters by age six.
Age four is generally the youngest age at which children consistently label colours correctly.
Children as old as six or seven may still make mistakes naming the primary colours (red,
blue, and green).
Young children tend to be farsighted, since the eyeball is not fully developed until puberty.
Visual and focusing abilities continue improving throughout the preschool years.
By age two or three, most children can hear soft sounds as well as adults do, a phenomenon
known as auditory acuity.
Preschool children can also discriminate between speech sounds quite well.
By age five, the ability to discriminate between sounds of different intensities is almost as
developed as in adults.
Motor development
Motor skills of preschoolers improve considerably during early childhood, particularly in the
following areas.
Gross motor skills
By age three, children can run and jump very well and enjoy repeating these activities often.
Three-year-olds are regarded as having a higher activity level than at any other stage of
life.
Four-year-old children can throw and catch objects such as a ball and can ride a tricycle.
By age five, children can ride a bicycle and do gymnastics.
These developments reflect stronger muscles, better physical coordination, and improved
balance.
Fine motor skills
At age three, children still experience problems fastening buttons and shoelaces.
At age four, most children can draw lines, circles, and pictures.
Most five-year-olds can cut out figures with scissors, fasten buttons and zips, and eat with a
knife, fork, and spoon.
Improved coordination and dexterity allow children to play simple musical instruments,
draw more accurately, and begin writing.
Bilateral coordination
Bilateral coordination refers to the coordination of the left and right halves of the body.
This improves considerably during early childhood, for example when a child holds a pencil in
one hand and the paper with the other while colouring.
Children begin to show a preference for using one hand rather than the other.
By age five, hand preference is usually fixed.
Physical development influences cognitive, personality, and social development (The Urban Child
, Institute, 2021).
Building block towers helps children understand cognitive concepts such as balance,
proportion, relationships, and shape.
Motor development enhances self-evaluation, for example through jumping, running, and
skipping, which lead to an understanding of what the body can do.
Using the body in different types of play and physical activity enhances peer interaction,
which aids social and personality development.
4.1.2 Influences on Physical Development
Several factors can influence children's physical development.
4.1.2.1 Heredity and hormones
Heredity's effect on physical growth is evident throughout childhood.
Children's physical size and rate of growth relate to those of their parents.
Hormones also play an important role in growth (Tanner, 2019).
Hormones are chemical substances that circulate in the bloodstream and control the
actions of certain cells or organs.
The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, releases two hormones that induce
growth.
Growth hormone (GH) is necessary for the development of all body tissues.
Children who lack GH are characterised by slow growth and short stature, but their brain
and cognitive development are not affected.
When treated with GH injections at an early age, GH-deficient children grow at a faster
rate than if untreated.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxin.
Thyroxin is necessary for normal development of the brain's nerve cells and for GH to
have its full effect on body size.
Infants born with a thyroxin deficiency must receive treatment immediately, or they will be
mentally impaired.
Older children who develop a thyroxin deficiency also grow at a below-average rate, but
their central nervous system is not affected because brain development is already
complete by then.
With early treatment, such children could catch up in body growth and eventually reach
normal size.
4.1.2.2 Nutrition
Adequate nutrition is essential for optimal physical and psychological growth, and a lack of
nutrition could result in severe impairment.
Child malnutrition is described as a form of "slow violence" that progressively damages a
child's developing body, brain, mental health, education, and employment prospects (Lake,
2021).
Malnutrition and undernutrition
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person's nutrient intake that
Childhood:
Personality and
Social Development
Developmental Psychology A Study Notes
Session 4
Louw, D. A. & Louw, A. E. (2022). Child and adolescent development (3rd
ed. Ch. 4. pp. 248-312). Psychology Publications.
4.1 Physical Development
Early childhood, also called the preschool period, spans approximately ages two to six.
Early childhood continues the development that began during infancy.
Considerable development occurs in all areas, requiring many new skills.
This chapter focuses on preschoolers' physical, cognitive, personality, and social
development.
The chapter opens with two epigraphs (p. 207).
The first is a poem adapted from Dorothy Law Nolte, illustrating how a child's home
environment shapes emerging character traits, for example that criticism tends to teach
condemnation while encouragement tends to teach confidence.
This poem is not reproduced verbatim here as it is a copyrighted literary work; see the
original source page for the full text.
The second is a quotation from philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 to 1778),
describing childhood as a period of constant activity and play rather than idleness.
4.1.1 General Physical Development
The rapid physical growth of infancy slows down during early childhood.
Body parts begin to develop proportionally during this stage.
By the end of early childhood, body proportions resemble those of young adults.
The following aspects of physical development are discussed with reference to Berk (2019),
Santrock (2019), and Tyler (2020); note that individual and group differences can occur due to
factors such as genetics and malnutrition.
Height and weight
During the first 30 months, height increases by 80% and weight increases by 300%.
By age four, children have doubled their birth length.
, Average mass increases by approximately 2 kg per year during early childhood.
Average height increases by approximately 5 cm to 8 cm per year during early childhood.
Physical proportions
Loss of "baby fat" combined with increasing muscle and bone growth causes preschoolers to
lose their chubby appearance.
They begin to resemble a young child rather than a baby.
Muscle and bone growth
Changes in body proportion and appearance are largely caused by muscle and bone growth.
This growth is promoted by daily activities such as running, jumping, and handling
objects.
Further ossification (hardening of cartilage) strengthens the bones.
Teeth
By the end of the preschool years, children begin to lose their primary ("baby") teeth.
These are then replaced by permanent teeth.
Brain development
Brain development is one of the most important aspects of physical development in early
childhood.
At age three, the brain has already reached 75% of its total adult weight.
At age five, the brain has reached approximately 90% of its adult weight.
The frontal lobe areas devoted to planning and organising behaviour develop rapidly.
Heightened development in the left cerebral hemisphere supports children's expanding
language skills.
New connections form among different brain structures, enhancing balance, motor control,
alertness, and consciousness.
Brain plasticity, also called neuroplasticity, remains high because the brain is still
developing.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's biological, chemical, and physical capacity to reorganise its
structure and function in response to learning, experience, and memory formation.
Learning and new experiences strengthen frequently used neural pathways.
Pathways that are used infrequently weaken and eventually die, a process called
synaptic pruning.
Plasticity also allows one brain area to take over the function of another area that has been
damaged.
Damage may result from causes such as malnutrition or head injuries.
Perceptual development
Vision becomes an increasingly important source of information during this stage.
Preschoolers show rapid improvement in their ability to distinguish detail in their
environment.
Figure-ground perception improves rapidly between ages four and six.
, Figure-ground is the ability to distinguish clearly between the object of attention and the
rest of the perceptual field.
Children younger than five often confuse letters with similar perceptual features, such as b
and d, or m and w.
Most children can distinguish between such letters by age six.
Age four is generally the youngest age at which children consistently label colours correctly.
Children as old as six or seven may still make mistakes naming the primary colours (red,
blue, and green).
Young children tend to be farsighted, since the eyeball is not fully developed until puberty.
Visual and focusing abilities continue improving throughout the preschool years.
By age two or three, most children can hear soft sounds as well as adults do, a phenomenon
known as auditory acuity.
Preschool children can also discriminate between speech sounds quite well.
By age five, the ability to discriminate between sounds of different intensities is almost as
developed as in adults.
Motor development
Motor skills of preschoolers improve considerably during early childhood, particularly in the
following areas.
Gross motor skills
By age three, children can run and jump very well and enjoy repeating these activities often.
Three-year-olds are regarded as having a higher activity level than at any other stage of
life.
Four-year-old children can throw and catch objects such as a ball and can ride a tricycle.
By age five, children can ride a bicycle and do gymnastics.
These developments reflect stronger muscles, better physical coordination, and improved
balance.
Fine motor skills
At age three, children still experience problems fastening buttons and shoelaces.
At age four, most children can draw lines, circles, and pictures.
Most five-year-olds can cut out figures with scissors, fasten buttons and zips, and eat with a
knife, fork, and spoon.
Improved coordination and dexterity allow children to play simple musical instruments,
draw more accurately, and begin writing.
Bilateral coordination
Bilateral coordination refers to the coordination of the left and right halves of the body.
This improves considerably during early childhood, for example when a child holds a pencil in
one hand and the paper with the other while colouring.
Children begin to show a preference for using one hand rather than the other.
By age five, hand preference is usually fixed.
Physical development influences cognitive, personality, and social development (The Urban Child
, Institute, 2021).
Building block towers helps children understand cognitive concepts such as balance,
proportion, relationships, and shape.
Motor development enhances self-evaluation, for example through jumping, running, and
skipping, which lead to an understanding of what the body can do.
Using the body in different types of play and physical activity enhances peer interaction,
which aids social and personality development.
4.1.2 Influences on Physical Development
Several factors can influence children's physical development.
4.1.2.1 Heredity and hormones
Heredity's effect on physical growth is evident throughout childhood.
Children's physical size and rate of growth relate to those of their parents.
Hormones also play an important role in growth (Tanner, 2019).
Hormones are chemical substances that circulate in the bloodstream and control the
actions of certain cells or organs.
The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, releases two hormones that induce
growth.
Growth hormone (GH) is necessary for the development of all body tissues.
Children who lack GH are characterised by slow growth and short stature, but their brain
and cognitive development are not affected.
When treated with GH injections at an early age, GH-deficient children grow at a faster
rate than if untreated.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxin.
Thyroxin is necessary for normal development of the brain's nerve cells and for GH to
have its full effect on body size.
Infants born with a thyroxin deficiency must receive treatment immediately, or they will be
mentally impaired.
Older children who develop a thyroxin deficiency also grow at a below-average rate, but
their central nervous system is not affected because brain development is already
complete by then.
With early treatment, such children could catch up in body growth and eventually reach
normal size.
4.1.2.2 Nutrition
Adequate nutrition is essential for optimal physical and psychological growth, and a lack of
nutrition could result in severe impairment.
Child malnutrition is described as a form of "slow violence" that progressively damages a
child's developing body, brain, mental health, education, and employment prospects (Lake,
2021).
Malnutrition and undernutrition
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person's nutrient intake that
