Human Growth and Development

Areas of Human Development Physical development: growth and development of the body's muscles, bones, energy systems, and the nervous system Cognitive development: individual's ability to interpret and process information; emotional development, development of a person's self- concept, or awareness of one's self

Cont... Motor or skills development: combination of cognitive and physical development, whereby humans develop the ability to perform a wide range of tasks Social development: development of relationships with peers, friends, relatives, adults, and others in the “outside world”

Age and Physical Development Chronological age: age measured in years, months and days Skeletal age: age as indicated by the physical maturity of the skeleton; the degree of ossification of bones Factors include: nutrition and diet, disease, and major bone injuries – can cause a person's skeletal age to lag behind their chronological age Developmental age: age as expressed by one's ability to perform certain tasks

Human Morphology During growth phases, people develop into one of three key body types Used to classify people's appearance and physical structure This categorization is called morphology

Body Types Endomorphic: tend to have more fatty tissue and thicker body parts Mesomorphic: often maturing early as children, tend to develop stocky, heavily muscled, and broader bodies Ectomorphic: generally later to reach maturity, people with this body type develop a thinner body, characterized by narrow hips and longer legs and arms

The Stages of Physical Human Growth and Development Human growth and development continues throughout a person's life Takes place at different rates during different stages Males and females develop at different rates Human growth and developments has been divided into 4 different stages

1. Infancy/Toddler (zero - 2/3 yrs) Most growth relative to other stages Body weight will increase by 300% Height or body length will increase by 50% Considerable muscular development and gains in their ability to perform basic tasks Grasp, crawl, pull themselves up, start walking

Childhood (4-10 yrs) From 4 to 6 years of age, children continue to maintain a fairly rapid rate of growth From 6 to 10 years, the body undergoes a stabilizing period in which there is a uniform relationship between bone and tissue growth and development This allows children to begin to establish an important base of motor skills Children in this stage tend to vary in height and weight

Puberty/Adolescence (11-18 yrs) Growth speeds up again during this stage Great range of changes, both physical and psychological Both genders grow into sexual maturity Changes occur in physical appearance and body function (production of semen/menstruation) These changes take on a social and behavioural context

Adulthood (18+) By this stage most of the body's growth has taken place Wide range of changes can take place as people get older Gains in weight Reduced capacity to take in and utilize oxygen Rise in blood pressure and resting heart rate Various deterioration in joints Affected by diet, exercise, stress, etc.

Cognitive Development The changes that take place in a person's ability to interpret and process information, as well as alterations in their emotional development Establishment of a person's self-concept or awareness of one's self

Jean Piaget (1896 -1980) Swiss psychologist Based on his study of thousands of young children he came up with Piaget's four stages of cognitive development Used to describe the ways in which cognitive development occurs in children Sensorimotor stage Pre-operational stage Concrete operational stage Formal operational stage

Sensorimotor Stage Infancy (0-2 yrs old) Characterized by an infant demonstrating intelligence by means of motor activity without the use of symbols They can crawl just they can't recognize symbols, letters, numbers, or read Knowledge is based purely on their own immediate experience

Pre-Operational Stage toddler/early childhood (2-7 yrs old) Children demonstrate intelligence through the use of symbols and pictorial representations of real-life objects They can recognize and reproduce Language abilities begin to develop considerably Significant growth in their memory and imagination “Egocentric” - largely incapable of understanding another person's point of view

Concrete Opperational Stage elementary/early adolescence (7-11 yrs old) Logical thinking develops Able to solve more concrete, hands-on problems Can start to classify objects Can understand logical sequences in reverse Begin to limit egocentric thought and start to develop a capacity for empathy with feelings for others

Formal Operational Stage adolescence/early adulthood (11-15 yrs old) Demonstrate intelligence through their ability to solve increasingly complicated abstract problems using logic Understanding of how symbols are used Often return to egocentric thinking patterns Begin thinking about social issues, their own identity and appearance