Factors that Affect Growth and Development.

Emma Goulthorp Human Growth and Development

Factors that Affect Growth and Development

1.)

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Edward Thorndike first introduced operant conditioning although B.F Skinner developed and refined the idea. The idea is mainly concerned with shaping and modifying behaviour. Skinner also worked with animals and rewarded them with food if they did as required. The food reward acted as a positive reinforcement. When animals did not do as Skinner required he subjected them to unpleasant stimuli such as electric shocks.

The learning theory influenced how adults shape or modify a child’s behaviour. Be selectively reinforcing behaviour that is wanted, adults can change the way children behave. Operant conditioning is very powerful. It means that if you have a pleasant experience, you are more likely to repeat your behaviour.

Piaget (1896-1980)

Jean Piaget was a Swiss zoologist who is widely recognised as having influenced the way young children are taught. He became interested in the way children’s thought processes developed while working on intelligence tests. He noticed that children were routinely giving the same ‘wrong’ answers and became interested in why this happened. Over a period of years he studied children, including keeping a diary of his own children. He discovered that children’s answers were not random but followed by a logical pattern based on conclusions drawn from their own experiences. Piaget called their conclusions schemas. An example of a schema that is common among children, is to believe that everyone lives with a parent figure. For example, a young child might watch an adult break something and comment ‘his mummy will be cross with him!’

Piaget also felt that children as well as learning about their world by developing and adapting schemas, children also seemed to pass through four stages of conceptual development, which linked, to their biological development. He used several tests to show the different stages in the cognitive process.

Object permanence at first babies do not have a mental picture of the world. They learn through their senses. This means that if they cannot see an object, they believe that it no longer exists. At around the age of eight months, babies seem to develop the concept of object permanence.

Egocentrism Children under the age of six or seven tend to be ‘self-centred’ in the way they view the world. This does not mean that they are selfish, but that they do not have the concept to understand that – for example, what you can see depends on where you are sitting. Piaget showed this in a test where children were shown three model mountains. A doll was placed different positions and children were asked what they thought the doll could see. Their answers reflected what they were able to see.

Animism Children under they age of six or seven tend to imagine that objects and animals have the same thoughts and feelings as they have. For, example, if a child bumped himself on a table he may say ‘naughty table.’

Conservation Piaget had several test to see if children could understand that even if a material changed shape or form, its other properties would remain the same.

Piaget suggested hat most children under six would not be able to conserve but many psychologists have found that younger children are able to conserve.

In his work Piaget identified the child's four stages of mental growth. In the sensori-motor stage, occurring from birth to two years, the child is concerned with gaining motor control and learning about physical objects. In the preoperational stage, from ages 2 to 7, the child is preoccupied with verbal skills. At this point the child can name objects and reason intuitively. In the concrete operational stage, from ages 7 to 12, the child begins to deal with abstract concepts such as numbers and relationships. Finally, in the formal operational stage, ages 12 to 15, the child begins to reason logically and systematically.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

Erikson was a student of Freud and there are a lot of similarities between their theories. Erikson accepted Freud’s stages of psychosexual development and built on them, but also considered that the social environment e.g. parenting and friendships, also affect personality. One of the main differences is that Erikson felt that the stages of development were linked to cognitive and social development rather than led by physical needs. It is interesting to see that Erikson also believed that our personality kept on developing into adulthood.

Erikson considered that there were twelve stages in the development of ...

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Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

Erikson considered that there were twelve stages in the development of our personalities. He saw each child as a dilemma and believed that how we coped with the dilemma would affect our personality. His stages of personality development are life stages and are linked to social stages. He considered that at each stage, we face a dilemma or conflict and that, like Freud, the outcome of each stage would determine our personality.

Erikson emphasized developmental change throughout the human life span. In Erikson’s theory, eight stages of development unfold as we go through the life span. Each stage consists of a crisis that must be faced. According to Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point of increased vulnerability and enhanced potential. The more an individual resolves the crises successfully, the healthier development will be.

2.) If someone who was 15 years old the stage they would be approaching or progressing through the development stage of adolescence. Adolescence is the stage of maturation between childhood and adulthood. The term denotes the period from the beginning of puberty to maturity; it usually starts at about age 14 in males and age 12 in females. The transition to adulthood varies among cultures, but it is generally defined as the time when individuals begin to function independently of their parents.

Physical Development

The activity of the pituitary gland at this time results in the increased secretion of hormones, with widespread physiological effects. Growth hormone produces a rapid growth spurt, which brings the body close to its adult height and weight in about two years. The growth spurt occurs earlier among females than males, also indicating that females mature sexually earlier than males.

Intellectual Development

No dramatic changes take place in intellectual functions during adolescence. The ability to understand complex problems develops gradually. The French psychologist Jean Piaget determined that adolescence is the beginning of the stage of formal operational thought. Piaget assumed that this stage occurs among all people regardless of educational or related experiences.

Emotional Development

The American psychologist G. Stanley Hall asserted that “adolescence is a period of emotional stress, resulting from the rapid and extensive physiological changes occurring at pubescence” (Child Care and Education: Penny Tassoni). The German-born American psychologist Erik Erikson sees development as a psychosocial process going on through life.

The psychosocial task of adolescence is to develop from a dependent to an independent person, whose identity allows the person to relate to others in an adult fashion (intimacy). The occurrence of emotional problems varies among adolescents.

3.) Menopause is the permanent ending of menstruation in women. Menopause marks the end of a woman’s natural ability to bear children. Menopause is usually preceded by 10 to 15 years during which the ovaries gradually stop producing eggs and sex hormones, a period called the climacteric.

The experience of menopause differs among women, depending on differences in diet and nutrition, general health and health care, and even how women are taught to think about menopause. Not all women experience symptoms.

For a number of years before menopause women may notice longer menstrual periods, heavier menstrual flow, spotting, or irregularity. Hormone pills or low-dose birth control pills may be prescribed to control bleeding problems. Hot flashes or hot flushes range from a passing feeling of warmth in the face and upper body to extreme sweating and visible redness of the skin followed by chills. Heart palpitations and feelings of suffocation can also occur.

Psychological symptoms may include depression, mood swings, weepiness, and other emotional flare-ups, as well as memory lapses. Although declining levels of oestrogen may play a role in these symptoms, a number of other factors and stresses need to be considered as well. Excess alcohol, caffeine, or sugar may stress the adrenal glands and decrease the amount of adrenal androgens available for conversion to oestrogen, thereby lowering oestrogen and making menopausal symptoms worse. Smoking decreases oestrogen production by the ovaries, leading to earlier menopause and osteoporosis. Stressful life events that may contribute to the emotional symptoms at the time of menopause include children leaving home and caring for aging parents.

4.) Erikson believes that we go through eight life stages. The stages are:

Stage One, First Year of Life: Trust versus Mistrust. Babies have to decide whether the world and the people around them are safe and friendly or hostile.

If babies do not have their needs met, they may decide their world is a hostile one. This can mean they would find it harder to form relationships later on in life.

Stage Two, 1-3 Years: Autonomy versus shame and doubt. Children are learning to explore their environment and develop some control over their bodies and bowel movements. They may try to do this for the first time – e.g. dressing.

If children are not given encouragement to explore or are made to feel guilty about toilet accidents, they may feel doubt about themselves. This can mean they will be less independent when older.

Stage Three, 3-5 Years: Initiative versus guilt. Children are increasingly able to plan and carry out activities. They also need to learn about their gender role.

Children need to feel they are independent, although they need to learn what the boundaries on their behaviour are. Too much control of the child may result in a fearful, dependent child.

Stage Four, 6-12 Years: Industry versus Inferiority. In these years, children are comparing themselves to other children.

Children, who experience failure and notice that they are not as competent in some areas as their peers, may lose confidence. Children in this stage who meet only with success may become over-confident and lack humility and empathy.

Stage Five, Adolescence: Identity versus role confusion. Adolescents need to consider their identity – sexual identity and also what they wish to become in the future.

Ideally, at the end of this stage, adolescents have a firm idea of who they are and what they want to go on and do.

Stage Six, Young adulthood: Intimacy versus isolation. This age group may be considering whether to live alone or find a partner to settle down with.

Adults must decide whether to form a couple or stay single. If this conflict is not resolved, they may find themselves unable to commit to a relationship.

Stage Seven, Middle adulthood: Generativity versus stagnation. Adults in this stage are often having their own children or are making progress in their careers.

In this stage, adults are trying to make an impact on the future. Most people have children or try hard in their careers. If adults feel they have not left their mark on life, they may feel bitter and resentful.

Stage Eight, Late adulthood: Ego integrity versus despair. Adults in this stage are thinking more about their mortality.

In this stage, adults are trying to come to terms with themselves and the way they have lived their lives. They may feel satisfied and accepting themselves or they may feel depressed and bitter.

5.) Freud’s five stages of life.

6.) Freud is the theorist who writes about id, ego, superego and dream analysis. There are three parts that make up our personality: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is the instinctive part of our personality that represents our desires and needs of the body. The id does not consider how meeting our desires and wants will affect others and so is often though as the selfish component. Freud thought babies were all id – as they are unable to consider other people’s needs.

The ego has a planning role as it works out how to meet the id’s needs and desires in the best way. The ego emerges later as children begin to consider the consequence of their actions and also start being able to plan the best way of meeting the powerful id’s demands. In some situations the ego may sometimes make the id wait for its demands to be met e.g. a child may learn that if they snatch a cake from a tray, they may have it taken away from them, but by waiting to be offered they will eventually get it.

The third part of the unconscious mind is the superego, which develops later in childhood and is that part of our personality that gives us our conscience. It tries to control the ego. It comprises of two main elements: the conscience and the ego-ideal.

The conscience will punish the ego if it misbehaves i.e. does something that the superego considers wrong.
The ego-ideal will reward the ego if it shows good behaviour, i.e., pride, and self-esteem. This is the source of our confidence and pride.

The superego is the part of us that knows right from wrong.

Dream Analysis

Another development in Freud’s theory stemmed from his observations was on dreaming. In dreams, he noted the same unstructured experiences of thoughts and images coming into the mind that “nevertheless seemed to be representative of some underlying unconscious process” (Diploma Child Care and Education: Penny Tassoni). He defined resistance as the unconscious defense against awareness of repressed experiences in order to avoid the resulting anxiety. He traced the operation of unconscious processes, using the “ ‘free associations’ (the theory that the mind learns by combining simple, irreducible elements through association.) of the patient to guide him in the interpretation of dreams and slips of speech (parapraxes or “Freudian slips”—which Freud claimed were revelations of unconscious wishes)” (Microsoft Encarta 1999:Sigmund Freud).

7.) Three environmental factors, which can and do affect growth and development are:

Poverty
Alcohol
Smoking

Environmental factors are very important in a child’s and adult’s development. For instance, health visitors report that since the cot death scare, most mothers place their babies on their backs to sleep. Hence, many babies are not used to lying on their fronts in a pone position and are not content when placed so. These babies are tending to crawl slightly later.

Poverty

Poverty can have serious effects on the growth and development on the body. Tens of thousands of poor people throughout the world die every year from starvation and malnutrition. Infant mortality rates are higher and life expectancy lower among the poor. In developing countries, the poorest people cannot obtain adequate calories to develop or maintain their appropriate body weight. Poor children often suffer the most, commonly from a deficiency known as protein-energy malnutrition. In these cases, children lack protein in their diets, especially from an insufficient amount of mother’s milk. Protein-energy malnutrition leads to a variety of problems, including gastrointestinal disorders, stunted growth, poor mental development, and high rates of infection. Prolonged malnutrition can lead to starvation, a condition in which the body’s tissues and organs deteriorate. Long-term starvation almost always results in death.

Alcohol

Alcohol has direct toxic as well as sedative effects on the body, and failure to take care of nutritional and other physical needs during prolonged periods of excessive drinking may further complicate matters. Advanced cases often require hospitalisation. The effects on major organ systems are cumulative and include a wide range of digestive-system disorders such as ulcers, inflammation of the pancreas, and cirrhosis of the liver. Larger quantities inhibit or depress higher thought processes, reducing inhibition, anxiety, and guilt. As a person becomes intoxicated, speech may become loud and slurred. Impaired judgment may lead to incautious behaviour, and physical reflexes and muscular co-ordination may become affected. If drinking continues, complete loss of physical control follows, ending in a possibility of death.

Smoking

Smokers are at increased risk for cancer of the lungs, larynx, oral cavity, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas. Smoking causes an increased risk of dying from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are also at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome. There is also an increased risk of babies having low birth weight, spontaneous abortions, and stillbirths. Furthermore, certain complications of pregnancy, some of which may be life threatening (such as raised blood pressure), are also associated with smoking.

8.) All aspects of development are continuous throughout life i.e. physical, intellectual, social and emotional development. The lifespan can be categorized into: