Growth and development in humans is descriptively an ongoing process that begins at conception and continues throughout life. Apparently, this continuous progression is characterized by a broad spectrum of psychological and physical changes. A deeper analysis of this concept shows that growth is defined as the physical changes that are witnessed in a person’s life, such as their weight and height. On the other hand, development describes the psychological and social changes in an individual, and they are commonly witnessed as transitions in their thinking and behavioral patterns. One good illustration of growth and development is among infants. In infants, growth and development are apparent in that they get to understand speech before their bodies can mature enough to perform it physically. An interpretation of such an occurrence shows that an infant’s psychological growth is faster compared to their physical development. According to Herting and Sowell (2017), the variation in body and mental growth in people is best understood based on Piaget’s stages of development. As of these stages, the one noticeable fact about growth and development is that it tends to vary from one individual to the other. Nonetheless, despite there being variations, the sure fact is that all individuals follow the suggested sequence of cognitive development that ranges from basic to complex understanding of the world around them. As such, Piaget’s stages of development are an illustrative blueprint to help in understanding how the body and mental development affects individuals at different development stages such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Stages of Development
Based on Piaget’s characterization of the various stages of development, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are significant in that they are all associated with drastic physical and intellectual development.
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Infancy
Jean Piaget described the infancy phase of human development as the sensorimotor stage. The specifics of this stage of development are that at such an early age, the infants are only aware of what they can see immediately before them. That is, at this stage, the infants are only capable of comprehending what they see, physically interact with, and what they do. Thus, the immediate environment is the entire world for this lot, and this happens to be so because they are unaware of the things beyond their sight (Piaget, 1976). The reason behind such an occurrence is because their physical and mental development is still at the start, and they are incapable of exploring and experimenting with the world around them. However, as time progresses, the spirit of exploration and experimentation takes over them, and they are constantly trying anything in their reach; for instance, taking things and putting them in the mouth. Arguably, at this stage, life for the infants is categorically trial and error. Next to this is physical development, when the infants can now crawl, stand, and walk, and this helps increase their physical mobility.
Childhood
After infancy, the next stage of human growth and development is childhood, which Piaget characterizes as the preoperational stage. This stage in life is usually between toddler and seven years old. Unlike in the previous stage of infancy, the children how now development significantly in terms of their physical and mental growth. For instance, in childhood years, the children can now think symbolically; meaning that they can explore the imagination world. A good illustration of this is that the children’s language, at this stage, is more mature and they can think figuratively and create imaginative pictures (Huitt & Hummel, 2003). Basically, what this means is that the childhood stage of development is significant in that it describes a time in life where the children are now capable of thinking beyond what they see, though they are yet to have complete logical thinking because most of their actions are based on intuition.
Adolescent
The adolescent stage, according to Piaget’s description, is known as the concrete operation phase. The concreteness in this stage is that the children aged between 7 and 11 years old now are in a stage where they demonstrate logical and concrete reasoning in their actions. The kind of mental and physical development that the children in this stage experience are one that allows them to become less egocentric (Huitt & Hummel, 2003). Being less egocentric means that they are increasingly aware of the external influences and their actions are focused on ensuring that there is some form of compatibility. Also, there is that appreciation that thoughts and feelings are unique and different among individuals. Despite this being the case, most individuals in adolescence are believed to think hypothetically or abstractly. An explanation as to why this is so is best understood based on the intense hormonal changes that take place among individuals in this stage of life.
Adulthood
Adulthood, also known as the formal operational phase, is described as the stage when the people have reached their full physical and intellectual development. The full physical and intellectual development allows individuals to logically connect to various abstract ideas such as science and algebra, and a lot easier (Piaget, 1976). The reason behind this is that the multiple variables in their lives allow systematic approaches that are crucial in considering all the possibilities.
An Overview of Body and Brain Changes
Having analyzed the four main stages of development, the irrefutable fact about each one of them is that they are all unique as they are associated with a different body and mental growth. Therefore, there is the question of what body and mental ailment consist of, as this will help focus on the bigger picture of how these developments affect the various stages of life. According to Huitt and Hummel (2003), the landscape of human growth and development is a hypothetical field that analyzes the complex human process of aging, and how various changes since infancy to adulthood are particular to a given sequence of development. That is, development throughout life is a dynamic concept that influenced by various forces that play some very vital roles in the substantiation of the various development aspects.
As proposed by Piaget (1976), the human brain is arguably a very complex biological system, but its complexity continues to increase with a person’s growth process. In a child, the brain functioning is considerably complex, but not as that of an adult. The disparity between the two attributes to the fact that the child’s brain is still in the development process and incapable of handling complex issues of life. Alternatively, the brain of an adult has undergone sizeable growth and is capable of imagination and figurative thinking. The reason behind such is that brain development leads to diversity in functionality in the various distinct regions of the brain. Thus, the lifespan of a brain is dynamic, and one that encompasses structural and functional changes.
As of the above analysis, the brain is perceived to have a unique developmental trajectory that is different from body growth. Evidence for this is that the people’s cognition of their surroundings develops faster than they are physically capable of exploring them. Notably, the reason why the body growth process is slower than the mental development is that the brain is responsible for more complex analysis of the world around a person, which is more than just physical exploration. As a result, when physical development from one stage to the other occurs, it happens at the right when the person is capable of not only physically capable of exploring the space but is also aware of what to expect. The rapid rate of growth of the brain is hence accompanied by slower functional maturation, which extends into early adulthood.
Effects of Body and Brain on Development Stages
A critical analysis of body and brain developments in human drives Herting and Sowell (2017) to posit that the particular growth processes have a significant impact on a person’s overall development process. The effects are argued to be evident in each of the aforementioned stages of development, which are infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Effects on Infant Stage
The infancy stage of development marks the very first step in human development. As such, the various body and mental developments are very important in a person’s life, as they are believed to influence their growth later in life. As of this understanding, fast brain developments are believed to be significant for a reason and sizeable affects how one develops. In infancy, the brain grows very fast, starting at birth to early childhood for a reason. The main reason herein is that when a child’s brain development is faster than their body growth, then, it means that they have a more substantial ground for future learning. In understanding this, it is notably clear that the stage between birth and two years is the point of rapid and profound physical and mental growth. The physical developments refer to the biological changes that a child in this stage undergoes. There is the development of motor skills, perceptions, sensations, reflexes, and learning skills that allow the children to associate with their surroundings better (Seidler et al., 2010). The rapid physical growth is important because it generally helps ensure that the children gain weight accordingly. For instance, because of the fast body growth, the children’s size of the head decreases in size compared to the other parts of the body.
The physical development of the head that involves getting proportional to the body is accompanied by brain developments. For example, there is the subcortical development of the brain areas, which is the very first growth in the brain, and this is vital because it helps with the overall basic life functions such as breathing. The following process after this is the higher cortical brain development that is responsible for the general planning of activities (Piaget, 1976). The effects of brain and body development are best understood from the perspective that they are responsible for enhanced motor and reflex skills in an infant. Basically, the newborns cannot survive on their own; therefore, they are born with prewired abilities that guarantee their adaptation and survival. Rapid brain development leads to reflexes, which are automatic reactions to stimulants in the surrounding.
Hence, even before the children can learn anything about their surroundings, this development leads to automatic responses. A good example of this is children automatically suck when they are presented with a nipple. The brain development, as of this explanation, affects the development of an infant because these reflexes lead to eventual voluntary responses (Piaget, 1976). The process particular to this development is that motor skills are developed with conjunction with physical growth; meaning that as children learn to engage, they continue with physical development. For this reason, the children at a certain point of this stage will be able to engage in motor activities such as crawling and walking as they explore the world around them. The same is replicated with brain developments as sensory information about the external world proves to be important for the children to react to stimulus from the environment.
Effects on Childhood Stage
As stated herein, the childhood stage ranges between toddler years to 7 years. As a result, the effects of mental and body growth are very significant in influencing a child’s thinking and physical activities. Since this is the age of preschoolers, this lot is noticeable for its steady cognitive progress. That is, children in this stage are observed to express continuous cognitive development as they progress from naming colors, counting, spelling their names to making decisions of the outfit they want to wear. The progress from basic mental exercises to more complex situations that require their analysis of the situation is a clear indication that cognitive mental development is of great importance in this stage (Kolb & Gibb, 2011). A critical analysis of this situation shows that with continued mental development, the children in this stage are capable of thinking symbolically, which influences their activities. That is, because of symbolic thinking, the children enjoy engaging in pretend plays and inventions that elaborate characters and scenarios beyond ‘normal.’ The exploration beyond the egocentric perspective is an occurrence that is argued to be instigated by mental development that helps the children to be aware of others’ point of perception. Therefore, by utilizing the theory-of-mind, the children tend to associate with others by teasing them.
Considering that by the time children transition from infancy to the childhood they already have achieved most physical developments, in this stage, cognitive development is deductively the most significant. Hence, in understanding the effect of brain development on the children, this development is debated to continue the expansion of logical and organized concepts. The outcome of this is that the children are now capable of understanding the past, present, and the future, and this influences their planning process, as they can now formulate goals and objectives and work towards their attainment. The effects of this planning are that the relationship between children is affected; specifically because irrespective of this planning, their attention is still limited (Kolb & Gibb, 2011). However, this cognitive development cannot be entirely disqualified because of existing limitation, since brain development is believed to help with improved development of language acquisition. In fact, this is the one reason why children from different backgrounds are common in learning language because of the consistency in the language structures. Thus, irrespective of various researches purporting that children are biologically predisposed for language acquisition, the brain development during childhood years makes it all possible.
Effects on Adolescent Stage
Unlike the previous stage, childhood, which is mostly associated with mental development, the adolescent is different because it is defined as a stage that involves a variety of physical and intellectual developments. Culturally, adolescence is perceivably a period that is defined by sexual maturity, which progresses to end with the establishment of personal identity. Apparently, what this means is that adolescent is a stage of accelerated growth, with most individuals recording an increase of several inches and pounds every year. According to Seidler et al. (2010), the first two years are associated with fast growth, while the other three years are followed by slow yet steady growth. Unlike other stages where physical growth is almost uniform, with adolescence, the growth spurt is highly unpredictable; more so, because it happens to be different between the girls and the boys. In general, the body and mental development among boys are slower compared to the females. As a result, the girls tend to mature faster than their male counterparts. Sexual maturation between the boys and the girls is evidently a concept influenced by hormonal manifestation in these individuals. Like in the case of physical development, the release of testosterone and estrogen hormones, this leads to a trend towards sexual development that is manifested both physically and in terms of sexual maturity.
Additional to witnessed physical development because of estrogen and testosterone hormones, adolescence is also characterized by being an important stage in terms of cognitive development. Evidence for this is that other than boys being different from girls in terms of their physical appearances such as broken voices and beards and breasts for the girls, both lots are seen to transition in ways that they are sounder in their decisions. For example, because of this cognitive development, it tends to affect individuals in ways that are now capable of classifying objects and reversing processes (Blakemore, Burnett, & Dahl, 2010). The greatest influence of these developments in this stage is that these individuals normally learn through abstract ideas and direct experiences. Therefore, with this being the case there is assured solving of hypothetical and systematic problems. The one factor that leads to such a situation is that there is improved meta-cognition, which translates to the ability to reflect on hypothesized thoughts. In overall, because of associated body and mental growth, most adolescents are sure to be affected, specifically in their emotional development. The argument herein is that because of this stage being associated with hormonal imbalance, adolescents experience mood swings, which are logically explained as a reaction to physical, social, and cognitive changes in their surroundings.
Effects on Adulthood Stage
In understanding the effects of body and brain developments of adulthood, the primary focus should be on the three stages of adulthood; namely, early, middle, and late adulthood. In early adulthood, there is sizeable body and mental growth. Evidently, between the age of 25 and 30 years old, most individuals record sizeable growth in height and weight. On the same note, hormonal changes tend to also extend into this stage. The changes are the least drastic. The changes are significantly experienced in middle and late adulthood, as individuals start witnessing body and mental changes, only that in this case, the changes are characterized as opposite of youthful years. That is, the skin starts to lose its elasticity, and the cognitive ability sizably deteriorates. Therefore, by the time a person is past age 60 years old, their skin continues to lose its elasticity, the muscles lose their strength and other problem such as lost eyesight, and other senses are experienced (Seidler et al., 2010). Basically, what this means is that adulthood is relatively different from other development stages, and the effects of brain and body growth are the reverse of what is experienced in the other development phases.
Thus, when analyzing cognitive development, there are sizeable changes to the brain functioning of an aged person. Apparently, this lot experience sizeable psychological and emotional changes and they are more noticeable compared to the physical changes. One of the effects is that people at this stage of life are forced to make challenging decisions that typically involve them being independent; in ways that their psychological well-being is guaranteed. Part of forming a relationship with others such that psychological well-being is enhanced is a concept entrenched in the idea of aging being associated with lowered functioning of the brain (Piaget, 1976). As a result, memory loss and loss of intellectual functions are common. The degeneration of memory with age forces older adults to have hard times in remembering. Such a situation with this stage is arguably as a result of procedural memory, which is responsible for performing various cognitive functions being incapable of executing tasks that exist below conscious levels. In summation, the effects of brain and body developments in adulthood are unlike other previous stages of human development because it is associated with deteriorated processes. As a result, the effects are witnessed in terms of memory loss, sagging skin, and lost muscle power.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is irrefutable that growth and development in humans is a continuous process that starts at conception and continues throughout life. However, based on Piaget’s explanation of this, psychological developments of humans are categorized into four stages, which are infant, childhood, adolescent, and adulthood. Each one of these stages is unique based on the body and mental changes associated with it. As of this approach, there are stages associated with fast cognitive development and slower physical growth, such as in infancy. The reason behind such changes is purported to be rooted in the idea that these developments are meant to help people adapt better to their surroundings.
References
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Kolb, B., & Gibb, R. (2011). Brain plasticity and behaviour in the developing brain. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 20 (4), 265.
Herting, M. M., & Sowell, E. R. (2017). Puberty and structural brain development in humans. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology , 44 , 122-137.
Huitt, W., & Hummel, J. (2003). Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Educational psychology interactive , 3 (2), 1-5.
Piaget, J. (1976). Piaget’s theory. In Piaget and his school (pp. 11-23). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Seidler, R. D., Bernard, J. A., Burutolu, T. B., Fling, B. W., Gordon, M. T., Gwin, J. T., ... & Lipps, D. B. (2010). Motor control and aging: links to age-related brain structural, functional, and biochemical effects. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews , 34 (5), 721-733.
