What is development?

Development refers to changes in the physical structures and cognitive, social and
psychological processes that take place within an individual, and which lead the individual
from one stage to another

Development: Is refers as cognitive, social and psychological changes in an individual

Developmental stage
When I became an adolescent there was a developmental stage
When development takes place as a stage

Development is Multidimensional

1. Physical development - body parts, motor, sensory and body systems, health.

2. Cognitive development - change in the intellectual process (thinking, learning, judging,

problem-solving and communication).

3. Emotional development - trust, love, security, affection, the concept of self, feelings of
autonomy.

4. Social development - formation of relationships with peers, family members, marriages,

parenthood, vocational roles and employment.

Development Continues Throughout Lifespan

Ericson development as a process from conception to death
Freud - Development is a process lasts only up to adulthood
In terms of change and adaptation - development continues throughout life span

Factors that influence human development

1. Nature: what I enquire from my family(heredity)
2. Nurture: what I enquire because of environment

Nature theory
People behave as they do according to genetic predisposition

Nurture theory
People thing and behave in certain way because they are taught to do so due to
environment.

Read something about chromosomes and gens

 What is Chromosomes?
It is made up of DNA
Normal chromosomes contains 46
XX male and XY female
They are not visible

What is DNA?
(deoxyribonucleic) is a bimolecular that holds the blueprint for how living organisms are
built.
DND is an organism which lives in us

What is Meiotic Division?

It is a cell division

What is Genetics
Refers to all that I have got from my parents

Phenotype gens which can be seen

Genotype: the gens which cannot be seen

Sickle Cell Anemia

It is a genetic disorders
This cells are abnormal

The impart of nature and nurture in a person

Psychological Theories

A Theory: is recollection of information in a systematic way

1. Psychological Theories: it explain human thought and behaviour

2. Behaviour Theories: is acquired through conditioning

3. Cognitive Theories: is motivation problem solving and decision-making, thinking

4. Humanist Theories: goodness of human beings

Personality theories: thoughts, feelings and behaviour that makes a person unique

5. Social psychology Theories: group people in terms of behavior, pro-social behaviour,

social influence.

Developmental Theories: guiding principles and concepts that describe and explain
human development, focus on the formation of a specific quality
 Questions:

Why is it important to study Gens, Chromosomes and DNA?

It helps to understand our personality traits. To be able to know that what we get from our
parents contribute to who we are.
It helps us also to appreciate who we are.

Type of Theories
a. Grand/major: are those comprehensive ideas propose by major thinkers such as Sigmund
Freud, Eric Erickson, Joa Pijet,

b. Mini Theories: these are small by very specific theories about a particular issue of human
development: they explain narrow behaviours e.g. self-esteem, socialization

c. Emergent Theories: is the combination of mini theories

Developmental Theories
Which provide a frame work for thinking about human growth, development and learning.
They provide a set of guiding principles and concepts that describe and explain human
development.

Freud lived around 1856-1939

d. Psychoanalytic Theory/psychodynamic theory: Freud is the founder of Psychoanalytic

Theory/psychodynamic theory. Development occurs as an influence as internal drives and
emotions.
Freud help people understand how affect human behaivour. He though unconscious mind
had some energy called libido. He argued that personality structure can be divide into 3
different parts:
1. Id: for pleasure, drives and needs
2. Ego: it provides a balance b/w the Id and superego. Ego also help to control the Id. And
check reality principles
3. Superego: it judges our senses, wrongs and rights

Defense Mechanism
The ego pushes us to have defense mechanism especially our wrong doing or to reduce our
anxiety.

Without defense mechanism, Freud believed that the person with conflicting personality
components would be under so much stress that they develop mental illness or kill the
themselves.

Freud's Three Levels of Mind

1. Conscious mind: everything that we are aware of
2. Preconscious mind: part of the mind that represents ordinary memory
3. Unconscious mind: reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our
conscious awareness; unacceptable or unpleasant feelings; continues to influence our
behaviour.
It is a repression of feelings
Freud compared the mind to Iceberg

Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development

Shows how personality develops during childhood

 Oral - 0-18 months - Erroneous Zone- mouth - Consequences of fixation - oral fixation -
passive dependence/excessive smoking or drinking

 Anal - 18-36 - months - Erroneous Zone - bowl and blander elimination - Consequences -
reckless, careless, defiant, disorganized

 Phallic - 3-6 - Erroneous Zone - genitals - Consequences - Oedipus complex - for boys
Electra complex - for the girls

 Latency - 6 years/ puberty - Erroneous Zone - Dormant sexual feelings - Consequences

- extreme sexual unfulfilled

 Genital puberty & beyond - Erroneous Zone - Sexual interests mature - Consequences -
impotence, unsatisfactory relationships, Frigidity for women/ feeling sexual pain

Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

A German born in American psychoanalyst developed the psychosocial theory of
development. He considers the impact of external factors, parents and society on
personality development from childhood to adulthood.

According to Erikson every person must pass through a series of eight interrelated stages:

1. 1st yrs of life - Trust/Mistrust

2. 2yrs - Autonomy/Doubt

3. 3 - 5th yrs - Initiative/Guilt

4. 6 - puberty - Industry/inferiority

5. Adolescence - Identity/Confusion

6. Adulthood/Early adulthood - Intimacy/Isolation

7. Middle age/35 & above - Generativity/Stagnation

8. Aging yrs - Integrity/Despair

Jean
Swiss psychologist - for him when we are born we are born with cognitive structures.
He observed his children
Children looks, observes and see what is around and interacting with the world.

Functional Invariants
 Cognitive Structures: Basic tools of cognitive development
 Psychological Mechanisms of adaptation and organization
 Adaptation consists of assimilation and accommodation
 Assimilation - assimilate something/in corporate/take it in i.e. cooperate objects, concepts
into mental structure
 Change as a result of assimilation i.e. accommodation
 We change what we take in and we change by it

Four stages
9. Sensorimotor stage: from birth to 2 yrs- using their senses to manipulate an object
acquiring sensory knowledge.
They use their 5 senses: touching, smell, taste, hearing

10. Preoperational stage: 2-7 yrs - kids play hide and seek game - helping the child to create
or build simple concepts.

11. Concrete operation stage: 7-11 yrs - in this stage, the child has developed abstract
concepts, and thinking logically.

12. Formal operational stage: adolescence - adulthood

Ability to reason, to think logically, to understand better and have abstract ideals.

Developmental Stages:
African Perspective

Developmental Stages: Among Africans seem to be defined according to age and

capabilities of an individual at a given period ie. Readiness to take up a task

Rituals and Festivals

A ritual is a form of carrying out a religious action or ceremony - embodies a belief or
beliefs

There are many rituals and ceremonies in African Religion

 Stages of development in African point of view
1. Birth and infancy:
 when a child is born in Africa, people are happy
 Women give birth at home assisted by the mid-wife
 In Africa, men are suppose to be absent when a woman is giving birth.
 Giving birth can occur in different ways: standing, lying, sitting down
 Sex of the baby through screams
 Placenta is given a due respect

Infancy Period:

2. Initiation period:
 It may be up to 2 yrs before the child is weaned and generally there are no rituals
 Period of physical, emotional and psychological changes
 Movement from childhood to adolescence
 Initiation ceremonies; circumcision for boys and clitoridectomy (viewed as abusive of
human rights)
 Painful operation and one is considered as a child without it no matter old

Meaning of initiation
A bond is created by shedding blood - bond between the person the land, departed persons
and society

3. Marriage and Family Life:

 The obligation to bear children = every normal person must get married
 Building of the family = supreme purpose is to bear children