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PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
developmental continuities ways in which we remain
stable overtime or continue to reflect our past
growth quantitative changes that take place within the
organism as he progresses in chronological age
learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior that results
from one’s experiences
process through which our experiences produce relatively
permanent changes in our feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors
maturation
biological unfolding according to species-typical biological
inheritance
changes in behavior : can be traced directly to physical
growth
result from the aging process rather than from learning,
injury, illness, or some other life experience.
normative development developmental changes that
characterize most or all members of a species; typical
patterns of development
idiographic development individual variations in the rate,
extent, or direction of development.
NATURE AND NURTURE
Nature: HEREDITARY
Genetic inheritance/ biological influences
Transmitted across generations
Nurture: ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Love and care received from parents/caregivers;
Socioeconomic Status; Education
HOLISTIC PROCESS
physical growth and development: bodily changes and the
sequencing of motor skills
cognitive aspects of development: perception, language,
learning, and thinking
psychosocial aspects of development: emotions,
personality, and the growth of interpersonal relationships
a unified view of the developmental process that
emphasizes the important interrelationships among the
physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of human
development
PLASTICITY a capacity for change in response to positive
or negative life experiences
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a developmental state that has the potential to
be shaped by experience
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL CONTEXT each culture, subculture,
and social class transmits a particular pattern of beliefs,
values, customs, and skills
the content of cultural socialization has a strong influence
on the attributes and competencies that individuals
display
Principle 1
The development of an organism is the result of the
interaction between heredity (nature) and environment
(nurture)
Focus
The process of heredity and environment are
interdependent and complimentary. Neither appears to be
dominant.
Height while largely determined by heredity is also
affected to an extent by nutrition
Application – Classroom Situation
Teachers to take note or consider the family background
of the child as well as the environment where he/she was
born or grew up to better understand him/her especially
his/her behavior
Principle 2
Growth is sequential
Focus
Growth follows an orderly sequence which in general is the
same for all individuals
All aspect of development be it in language, motor, social
occur sequentially
Application – Classroom Situation
Teachers need to know which particular stage of growth
the child is so he/she would know what to expect and also
what to do to prepare the child for the next stage of
development
Principle 3
Each stage of development has characteristic traits
Focus
Characteristic traits vary at each stage of development
Traits become more complex as the child gets older
Application – Classroom Situation
Knowledge of characteristic traits at different stages can
be of considerable value for teachers in choosing the
appropriate activities as well as the methods of teaching.
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Principle 4 PRENATAL INFLUENCES

Maturation or readiness should precede certain types of Prenatal period: three stages
learning
prenatal period extends from conception to birth and lasts
Focus about 266 days (9 months)
Definite degrees of maturity are prerequisites to various GERMINAL STAGE
kinds of learning
conception or fertilization
Application – Classroom Situation
fertilized ovum is called “zygote”
Teacher should consider the maturity level of the child in
asking him/her to do something. Forcing a child who is not EMBRYONIC STAGE
mature or ready may lead to personality disturbance
second stage of the prenatal period and spans the 2-8
Principle 5 weeks that follow conception
The body tends to maintain a state of equilibrium called FETAL STAGE
homeostasis
begins two months after conception and lasts until birth
Focus
fetus develops vital organs, such as lungs, and physical
There is a wisdom of the body. Strives to preserve a characteristics that are distinctly human
constant internal environment despite changing conditions,
whether internal or external NEWBORNS’ABILITIES
Application – Classroom Situation SENSORY DEVELOPMENT
Teacher to be a keen observer so he/she can do something newborns recognize a person’s eyes
when signs of uneasiness or boredom on the part of the
students is shown or exhibited, while he/she is teaching or 3-6 months
observing the students do something
infant can visually distinguish his or her mother’s face from
Principle 6 strangers
Development rates vary 3-4 years
Focus visual abilities are equal to those of an adult
The speed of development is not even HEARING
Each part of the body has its own particular rate of growth one-month olds have very keen hearing
Children tend to inherit the physique of their parents can discriminate small sound vibrations
Application – Classroom Situation 6 months: ability to make all sounds necessary to learn
language
Teacher to understand that girls mature earlier than boys.
Growth rate maybe retarded by illness and certain types of TOUCH
deprivation such as prolonged poor nutrition.
have well developed sense of touch
Principle 7
turn head: lightly touched on the cheek
Growth is patterned
touch also elicits other reflexes such as grasping and
Focus sucking
There are no tow identical growth patterns SMELL AND TASTE
Each child has his/her own characteristic traits infants at 1-day-old: discriminate a few odors such as
citrus and floral
Application – Classroom Situation
six-week-old: smell the difference between their mother
Children should never be compared unless their rate and and a stranger
pattern of growth have been taken into account.
inborn preference for both sweet and salt and an inborn
INFANCY & CHILDHOOD dislike of bitter-tasting things
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MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
the stages of motor skills that all infants pass through as
they acquire the muscular control necessary for making
coordinated movements
PROXIMODISTAL PRINCIPLE
states that parts closer to the center of the infant’s body
develop before parts farther away
CEPHALOCAUDAL PRINCIPLE
states that parts of the body closer to the head develop
before parts closer to the feet
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
the influence and interaction of genetic factors, brain
changes, cognitive factors, coping abilities, and cultural
factors in the development of emotional behaviors,
expressions, thoughts and feelings
TEMPERAMENT
*relatively stable and long lasting individual differences in
mood and emotional behavior, which emerge early in
childhood
*largely influenced by genetic factors
*a person’s characteristic modes of responding
emotionally and behaviorally to environmental events,
including such attributes as activity level, irritability,
fearfulness, and sociability.
Fearful distress: wariness, distress, and withdrawal in new
situations or in response to novel stimuli
Irritable distress: fussiness, crying, and showing distress
when desires are frustrated (sometimes called
frustration/anger)
Positive affect: frequency of smiling, laughing, willingness
to approach others and to cooperate with them (called
sociability by some researchers)
Activity level: amount of gross motor activity (e.g., kicking,
crawling)
Attention span/persistence: length of time child orients to
and focuses on objects or events of interest
Rhythmicity: regularity/predictability of bodily functions
such as eating, sleeping, and bowel functioning
ATTACHMENT
a close, fundamental emotional bond that develops
between the infant and his or her parents or caregiver
SEPARATION ANXIETY
an infant’s distress whenever the infant’s parents leave
KINDS OF ATTACHMENTS
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Secure attachment
characteristic – use their parent as a safe home base from
which they can wander off and explore their environments
Insecure attachment
Characteristic: avoid or show ambivalence or resistance
toward their parent or caregiver
refers to how a person perceives, thinks, and gains an
understanding of his or her world through the interaction
and influence of genetic and learned factors
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
JEAN PIAGET
greatest impact on developmental psychology with
cognitive development
Scheme an organized pattern of thought or action that a
child constructs to make sense of some aspect of his or her
experience; Piaget sometimes uses the term cognitive
structures as a synonym for schemes.
Assimilation process by which a child uses old methods or
experiences to deal with new situations
Disequilibriums imbalances or contradictions between
one’s thought processes and environmental events
Equilibrium refers balanced, harmonious relationship
between one’s cognitive structures and the environment.
Accommodation process by which a child changes old
methods to deal with or adjust to new situations
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Refer to four different stages
Sensorimotor stage
Preoperational stage
Concrete operations
Formal operations
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
birth to age 2
infants interact with and learn about their environments
by relating their sensory experiences to their motor
experiences
OBJECT PERMANENCE
refers to the understanding that objects or events continue
to exist even if they can no longer be heard, touched or
seen
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
about age 2 to 7 years
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children learn to use symbols, such as words or mental
images, to solve simple problems and to think or talk about
things that are not present
Conservation
refers to the fact that even though the shape of some
object or substance is changed, the total amount remains
the same
Egocentric thinking
refers to seeing and thinking of the world only from your
own viewpoint and having difficulty appreciating someone
else’s viewpoint
CONCRETE STAGE
about age 7 to 11 years
children can perform a number of logical mental
operations on concrete objects (physically present)
Classification
ability to classify items by color and size for example
children still have difficulty figuring out relationships
among objects that are not present or imaginary situations
FORMAL
OPERATIONS STAGE
about age 12 to adulthood
adolescents and adults develop the ability to think about
an solve abstract problems in a logical manner
adolescents develop thinking and reasoning typical of
adults
ability to think in a logical, systematic, and abstract way is
one of the major characteristics of the formal operations
stage
VYGOTSKY: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Rather than depicting children as independent explorers
who make critical discoveries on their own, cognitive
growth as a socially mediated activity—one in which
children gradually acquire new ways of thinking and
behaving through cooperative dialogues with more
knowledgeable members of society
also rejected the notion that all children progress through
the same stages of cognitive growth. He argued that the
new skills children master through their interactions with
more competent people are often specific to their culture
rather than universal cognitive structures.
Social interaction is the way in which children develop
increasingly more complex thinking. Children gain
knowledge and skills through “shared experiences”
between themselves and adults or older peers
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The child acquires new skills and information with the
ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT, the level at which a
child finds a task too difficult to complete alone, but which
he can accomplish with the assistance and support of an
adult or older peer.
Early childhood educators need to promote discovery,
explaining and providing suggestions to suit each child’s
zone of proximal development
LEARNING
A change in behavior resulting from the interaction of the
organism with its environment
Changes brought about by development is not learning (ex.
Ability to stand)
Involves relatively permanent change in behavior or
knowledge which is the result of experience or practice
A process of acquiring, remembering, applying skills,
knowledge, attitudes and other models of response
PRINCIPLE 1: Learning by doing is more effective than just
sitting and listening
APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM SITUATION
Let the students have the feel of things through the hands-
on activities
PRINCIPLE 2: Concepts should be presented in
varied/different ways
APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM SITUATION
Teachers should be very creative, resourceful and
imaginative in teaching so as not to make the students as
well as themselves get bored
PRINCIPLE 3: Learning is aided by formulating and asking
questions
APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM SITUATION
Teaching is a two-way process. It’s not only the teachers
who will always do the talking and asking. Students should
be given a chance to do the same thing.
PRINCIPLE 4: Effort is put forth when tasks are challenging
APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM SITUATION
In giving tasks to students, the teacher should consider
that the tasks are not too difficult nor too easy and simple
to do.
PRINCIPLE 5: The principle of readiness is related to the
learners’ stage of development and their previous learning
APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM SITUATION
The teacher must consider the student’s age in presenting
certain content an in expecting certain cognitive processes
Behavioral Learning Theories or Associative Learning
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Theories
Prefer to concentrate on actual behavior
Conclusions based on observation of external
manifestations of learning
Did not focus on any underlying changes that may take
place in the learner
Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Individual learns when a previously neutral stimulus is
paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral
stimulus evokes a conditioned response
John Watson
20th-century psychologist and developmentalist who
claimed that he could take a dozen healthy infants and
mold them to be whatever he chose regardless of their
backgrounds or ancestry
It implies that nurture is everything and that nature, or
hereditary endowment, counts for nothing
Watson was a strong proponent of the importance of
learning in human development and the father of a school
of thought known as behaviorism
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Like John Locke, Watson viewed the infant as a tabula
rasa to be written on by experience. Children have no
inborn tendencies;
how they turn out depends entirely on their rearing
environments and the ways in which their parents and
other significant people in their lives treat them.
Progress: not through a series of distinct stages dictated
by biological maturation. Instead, development is viewed
as a continuous process of behavioral change that is
shaped by a person’s unique environment and may differ
dramatically from person to person.
Edward Thorndike’s Connectionism
Learning by selecting and connecting
Emphasizes on the response of the organism not limiting
himself to the association between the stimulus and the
response
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Believed that all learning is explained by bonds or
connections that are formed between the stimulus and
response. These connections occur mainly through trial
and error
Burrhus Frederick Skinner’s Reinforcement and Operant
Conditioning
Stressed the consequence of behavior in order to learn
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Proved that reinforcement is a powerful tool in shaping
and controlling behavior in and out of the classroom
Emphasized the greater influence of the environment or
learning and behavior, that is either to reinforce or
eliminate
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Reinforcer is a stimulus event that id it occurs in the proper
temporal relation with a response tends to maintain or
increase the strength of a response, stimulus-response
connection
Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Learning
Observational Learning or Social Learning Theory
Learning takes place when person observes and then
imitates the behavior of others
Information we process from observing other people,
things and events influence the way we act
COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORIES
Prefer to concentrate on analyzing cognitive processes
Believe in the non-observable behavior
Definite psychology as the study of structure
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory
Focused on the psychological field or life space of an
individual
Life space of an individual consists of everything one
needs to know about a person in order to understand
his/her behavior in a specific psychological environment at
a specific time
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Of significance to education is his view of motivation by
psychological tensions produced by the interaction of a
psychological self with a psychological environment
Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
Wolfgang Kohler’s Problem Solving Theory
Insight is the capacity to discern the true nature of a
situation; imaginative power to see into and understand
immediately
Gaining insight is a gradual process of exploring, analyzing
and restructuring perceptions until a solution is arrived
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Different Theories of Learning and their Applications in
classroom situations
The more intelligent a person and the more experience he
has, the more capable he will be for gaining insight
David Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning Theory
Meaningful learning is the acquisition of new meaning.
Refers to the process by which students turn potentially
meaningful material into actual meaningfulness
Meaningful learning occurs when the material to be
learned is related to what students already know
Jerome Burner’s Theory of Instruction
Instrumental conceptualism
The acquisition of knowledge, whatever its form is a
dynamic interactive process. A learner is a purposive
participant in the knowledge getting process who selects,
structures, retains and transforms information
Jerome Burner’s Theory of Instruction
Focused on the problem of what people do with
information to achieve generalized insights or
understanding
Learning is seen as a cognitive process that involves 3
simultaneous process:
Acquisition; Transformation; Evaluation
Robert Gagne’s Cumulative Learning
Learning skills are hierarchically arranged, where there is a
progression from developing simple stimulus – response
association to concepts and principles and problem solving
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
refers to how a person develops a sense of self or a self-
identity, develops relationships with others, and develops
the kinds of social skills important in personal interactions
The Psychoanalytic Viewpoint
SIGMUND FREUD (1856–1939)
challenged prevailing notions about human nature by
proposing that we are driven by motives and conflicts of
which we are largely unaware and that our personalities
are shaped by our early life experiences
Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
relied heavily on methods as hypnosis, free association,
and dream analysis, because they gave some indication of
unconscious motives that patients had repressed.
As biological creatures, we have basic sexual and
aggressive instincts that must be served; yet society
dictates that many of these drives must be restrained
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The ways in which parents manage these sexual and
aggressive urges in the first few years of their child’s life
play a major role in shaping their children’s personalities
Three Components of Personality
the id, ego, and superego
Only the id is present at birth. Its sole function is to satisfy
inborn biological instincts, and it will try to do so
immediately. Young infants often do seem to be “all id.”
The ego is the conscious, rational component of the
personality that reflects the child’s emerging abilities to
perceive, learn, remember, and reason.
Its function is to find socially approved means of gratifying
instincts.
As egos mature, children become better at controlling their
irrational ids and finding appropriate ways togratify their
needs.
FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES
Five different developmental periods:
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
Oral stage
early infancy to 18 months
pleasure seeking is around the mouth
sucking,chewing, and biting
if fixated at this stage due to oral wishes being gratified
too much or to little, could continue in adulthood seeking
oral gratification
Anal stage
1 and a half years to 3 years
infant’s pleasure seeking is centered on the anus and its
functions of elimination
Retention - may take form of being neat, stingy, or rigid
Elimination - may take form of being generous or messy
Phallic stage
3 to 6 years (early childhood)
pleasure seeking is centered on the genitals
competes with parent of same sex for affections and
pleasures of the parent of the opposite sex
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may result in feelings of inferiority for women and of
having something to prove for men
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
eight developmental periods during which an individual’s
primary goal is to satisfy desires associated with social
needs
Eight periods associated with issues of:
Trust
Autonomy
Initiative
Industry
Identity
Intimacy
Generativity
Ego integrity
TRUST VERSUS MISTRUST
early infancy through the first year
if parents are sensitive and responsive to needs of the
child, basic trust will develop
if parents neglect needs, the child may view the world as
uncaring and learn to become mistrustful
AUTONOMY VERSUS SHAME AND DOUBT
late infancy-1 to 3 years
battle of wills between parents’ wishes and child’s desires
to do as he or she pleases
if parents encourage:
the child to explore, a sense of independence develops
if parents disapprove or punish:
the child’s explorations, he or she may develop a feeling
that independence is bad and feel shame and doubt
INITIATIVE VERSUS GUILT
early childhood-3 to 5 years
child develops a number of social skills that are expected
to be used to meet challenges in the child’s world
if parents encourage initiative:
the child will develop the ability to plan and initiate new
things
if parents discourage initiative:
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the child may feel guilty or uncomfortable or may feel
unable to plan the future
INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
middle and late childhood-5 to 12 years
child needs to direct energy into working and completing
tasks
develops a feeling of industry
if child has difficulty applying and completing work:
then the child may develop a feeling of inferiority and
incompetence
IDENTITY VERSUS ROLE CONFUSION
if child is successful making the change to adolescence, he
or she will develop a sense of confidence and a positive
identity
if child is unsuccessful, he or she will experience role
confusion
results in having low self-esteem and becoming socially
withdrawn
BANDURA’S Social Cognitive Theory
emphasizes the importance of learning through
observation, imitation, and self-reward in the development
of social skills, interactions, and behaviors
RESILIENCY
refers to various personality, family, or environmental
factors that compensate for increased life stresses so that
expected problems do not develop
VULNERABILITY
refers to psychological or environmental difficulties that
make children more at risk for developing later personality,
behavioral, or social problems
GENDER IDENTITY
refers to the individual’s subjective experience and feelings
of being a female or male
GENDER ROLES
traditional or stereotypic behaviors, attitudes, and
personality traits that parents, peers, and society expect
us to have because we are male or female
SOCIAL ROLE THEORY
emphasizes the influence of social and cognitive processes
on how we interpret, organize, and use information
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
children develop mental skills and interact with their
environments, learn one set of rules for male behaviors
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and another set of rules for female behaviors
GENDER SCHEMAS
sets of information and rules organized around how either
a male or a female should think and behave
Adolescence & Adulthood
Adolescence
A developmental period, lasting from about ages 12 to 18,
during which many biological, cognitive, social and
personality traits change from childhood to adult-like.
Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Reasoning
ADULTHOOD
Changes in Cognitive Speed
Processing Speed – rate at which we encode information
into long-term memory or recall or retrieve from long-term
memory.
Perceptual Speed – rate at which we can identify a
particular sensory stimulus.
Reaction Time – rate at which we respond to stimulus.
PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Self-Identity – how we describe ourselves and includes our
values, goals, traits and, perceptions, interests and
motivations.
Self- Esteem – how much we like ourselves and how much
we value our self-worth, importance, attractiveness and
social competence.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT during ADOLESCENCE
To recap…
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Five different developmental periods:
Oral
Anal
Phallic
Latency
Genital
Latency stage
6 to puberty (middle to late childhood)
child represses sexual thoughts and engages in nonsexual
activities, such as:
developing social and intellectual skills
puberty:
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sexuality reappears
Genital stage
puberty to adulthood
individual has renewed sexual desires that he or she seeks
to fulfill through relationships with members of the
opposite sex
successful resolution of the conflicts in the first three
stages will lead to having energy to develop loving
relationships and a healthy and mature personality
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Stage 5: IDENTITY VS ROLE CONFUSION (12 – 20)
CONFLICT: Adolescents need to leave behind the carefree,
irresponsible, and impulsive behaviors of childhood and
develop the more purposeful, planned and responsible
behaviors of adulthood.
RESOLVE: Develop a healthy and confident sense of
identity.
UNSUCCESSFUL: Experience Role Confusion – low self-
esteem and becoming unstable or socially witdrawn.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Stage 6: INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION (20 – 40)
CONFLICT: Time for finding intimacy by developing loving
and meaningful relationships.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Intimacy can be found on caring relationships.
No Intimacy: Painful feeling of isolation and relationships
will be impersonal.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Stage 7: GENERATIVITY VS STAGNATION (40 – 65)
CONFLICT: Middle adulthood – time for helping younger
generation develop worthwhile lives.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Achieve generativity through raising own children; close
relationships with children of friends or relatives;
mentoring at work and helping others.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Lack of involvement – leads to a feeling of stagnation –
feeling of having done nothing for the younger generation.
Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Stage 8: INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR (65 – older)
CONFLICT: Reviewing on how previous challenges have
been met and how one lived his/her life.
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Feelings of contentment, satisfaction and integrity.

Adulthood: erikson’s Psychosocial STAGES
Negative: See a series of crises, problems and bad
experiences – regret and despair.
Which Kind of Love are you in?
PASSIONATE LOVE – involves continuously thinking about
the loved one and is accompanied by warm sexual feelings
and powerful emotional reactions.
COMPANIONATE LOVE – involves having trusting and
tender feelings for someone whose life is closely bound up
with one’s own.
Triarchic Theory of Love
PASSION – feeling physically aroused and attracted to
someone.
INTIMACY – feeling close and connected to someone;
develops through sharing and communicating.
COMMITMENT – making a pledge to nourish the feelings of
love and to actively maintain the relationship.
Triarchic Theory of Love
INFATUATED LOVE – no intimacy and commitment
HOLLYWOOD LOVE – Passion and Commitment
COMPANIONATE LOVE – Intimacy and Commitment
ROMANTIC LOVE – Intimacy and Passion
AGING
NORMAL AGING – gradual and natural slowing of our
physical and psychological process from middle through
late adulthood.
PATHOLOGICAL AGING – caused by genetic defects,
psychological problems or diseases which accelerate the
aging process.
GERONTOLOGY – study of aging
AGING PROCESS – caused by the combination of certain
genes and proteins that interfere with organ functioning
and by the natural production of toxic molecules (free
radicals) which in turn cause random damage to body
organs and DNA.

Thank You very much!!!

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