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Humans, like other animal species, have a predictable life cycle that includes several stages of development, each with its own set of morphological, physiological, and behavioural characteristics. Prenatal life, childhood, adolescence, and maturity are the stages (including old age). Human development, often known as developmental psychology, is a branch of psychology that aims to describe and explain changes in human cognitive, emotional, and behavioural capacities and functioning over the course of a person’s life, from conception to old age.
Because of the quickness and extent of the psychological changes witnessed during those phases, as well as the fact that they culminate in the optimum mental functioning of early adulthood, much scientific research on human development has focused on the time from birth through early adolescence. Many researchers in the field have been motivated by the need to learn how the culminating mental powers of maturity were achieved during the preceding phases. As a result, the focus of this essay will be on human development throughout the first 12 years of life.
The evolution of human behaviour is discussed in this article.
Theories of human development
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory:
Sigmund Freud’s work is the foundation of psychoanalysis. Freud came to believe that childhood events and unconscious urges influenced conduct via his therapeutic work with patients suffering from mental illness.
Conflicts that occur during each of these stages, according to Freud, can have a lifetime impact on personality and conduct. One of the most well-known big theories of child development was proposed by Sigmund Freud.
Child development, according to Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual theory, happens in a succession of stages centred on various pleasure centres of the body. Throughout each stage, the child is confronted with conflicts that have a profound impact on his or her development.
His idea proposed that the libido’s energy was concentrated in distinct erogenous zones at different stages. Failure to advance through a stage might result in fixation in that stage, which Sigmund Freud felt could impact adult conduct.
Erik Erikson’s Theory
Erikson’s eight-stage theory of psychosocial development emphasises how people grow and change throughout their lives, with a focus on social interaction and conflicts that arise at certain phases.
While Erikson’s psychosocial development theory is similar to Freud’s in some aspects, it is vastly distinct in others. Erikson believed that social connection and experience were more important than sexual interest as a driving force in development.
From infancy to death, he defined this process in his eight-stage theory of human development. People are confronted with a developmental conflict at each stage, which has an impact on later functioning and progress.
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory, unlike many other developmental theories, focuses on development over the lifespan. Children and adults confront a developmental crisis at each stage, which acts as a crucial turning point.
Behavioural theories for child development
A new school of thought known as behaviourism rose to become a dominant force in psychology throughout the first half of the twentieth century. To become a more scientific discipline, behaviourists believed psychology needed to focus solely on observable and quantifiable actions.
All human behaviour can be defined in terms of environmental factors, according to the behavioural approach. Some behaviourists, like John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner believed that learning is solely based on association and reinforcement.
Only observable behaviours are addressed in these theories. Reward, punishment, stimulation, and reinforcement all play a role in development.
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two significant types of learning that arose from this developmental method. Learning is accomplished by classical conditioning, which entails pairing a naturally occurring stimulus with a previously neutral input. Reinforcement and punishment are used in operant conditioning to change behaviours.
Piaget’s Theory
The development of a person’s thought processes is the subject of cognitive theory. It also considers how these mental processes shape our perceptions of and interactions with the world.
One of the most influential theories of cognitive development was offered by Jean Piaget. His cognitive theory aims to define and explain the evolution of mental states and thought processes. It also considers how these mental processes shape our perceptions of and interactions with the world.
After that, Piaget established a cognitive development theory to explain the steps and sequence of a child’s intellectual growth.
Sensorimotor Stage: The period between birth and two years old when an infant’s awareness of the world is restricted to sensory perceptions and motor actions.
Pre-Operational Stage: A stage in which a kid learns to use language between the ages of 2 and 6. Children at this age do not grasp concrete reasoning, are unable to mentally manipulate knowledge, and are unable to consider the perspectives of others.
Between the ages of 7 and 11, children get a better comprehension of mental functions throughout the Concrete Operational Stage. Children begin to reason logically about concrete experiences but struggle to comprehend abstract or hypothetical concepts.
Formal Operational Stage: The period from the age of 12 to adulthood during which humans develop the ability to think abstractly. During this stage, skills including logical reasoning, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning emerge.
Conclusion
In order to understand how children grow, behave, and think, modern psychologists frequently draw on a variety of theories and views. These theories are only a handful of the many distinct approaches to child development.In truth, properly comprehending how children change and grow throughout childhood necessitates consideration of a wide range of elements that influence physical and psychological development. Genes, environment, and interactions between these two forces all play a role in how children develop physically and mentally.
