Developmental psychology refers to the scientific study of the transition and changes that individuals undergo throughout their lives. Having been previously dominated with infants and children, the field has since expanded to cover adolescence, adults, aging and the entire life of human beings. The field seeks to examine and explain how thinking, feeling and human behavior change over time throughout the lifespan. The major dimensions covered in the developmental psychology include infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. This paper will focus on the physical and cognitive developmental at the infancy stage of between birth to one year.
Physical development
It refers to the biological changes that infants undergo as they grow. Infants grow quickly with rapid body changes that are profound. According to “Introduction to Early Childhood Development 2015,” infants are born with limited skills and abilities, yet as they grow, they develop social skills, new motor, cognitive and language. The significant physical changes that occur in infants as they grow include brain changes, motor skills, perceptions and development of reflexes as well as health issues. The initial four weeks of the baby known as a neonatal period where they weigh between 5 and 10 pounds and are averagely between 18 and 22 inches in height. Male infants are normally slightly heavier in weight than the female ones.
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Factors affecting physical development
Several factors affect the physical development of a baby during the infant stage. The environmental factors that affect the physical development of an infant can include elements such as nutrition. A child’s nutrition, as well as the nutrition of the mother, will play a significant role in determining the physical development of the baby. If the baby and the mother have poor nutrition, the development of the child will be affected negatively. The child will develop slowly, and the brain development, as well as the weight, will be affected. Other environmental factors that can affect the physical development of the baby at infant stage include the lifestyle of the mother. For example, if a mother was on drugs or consumed alcohol during pregnancy or any other substance harmful to the body, a child may develop some kinds of physical or mental complications and slow down the physical development.
Hereditary factors that may affect the physical development of the child at infant stage include the genetic factors that are inherited from the parents. For example, if a parent has some condition such as hemophilia that is inheritable by the baby, such a state may slow down the physical development of the baby and make the baby weigh lower than the normally expected pounds.
Cognitive Development
This development starts immediately the baby is delivered. Infants start to learn and use their senses to explore anything in their surroundings. At this stage, babies can undergo developmental milestones which include acquiring specific skills such as smiling for the first time or waving bye-bye. The baby develops the brain, starts learning the language and signs. Most newly born babies can focus and follow moving objects, identify the pitch and volume of sounds and distinguish colors. They also start to anticipate the event, for example, they start to suck whenever they see a nipple. At around four months old, infants can identify faces, copy the facial expression of someone, for example, smiling when they see a person around smile. At half a year of age, infants begin to understand the world around them. They begin to distinguish between inanimate and animate objects. They also start to recognize strange faces, recognize parents, enjoy hearing in their voice and fear people not familiar with them. When they have dropped an object, they can realize and pick it up. At nine months, the infants can recognize their names, imitate actions and gestures. The babies also develop the sense to test the responses of their parents on certain behavior such as dropping food on the floor. At one year of age, babies can speak some few words such as “mama,” can imitate the sounds of animals and can develop a sense of attachment towards specific objects such as toys. They also start to experience the feeling of loneliness or anxiety when away from their parents.
Factors affecting cognitive development
Various environmental and hereditary factors affect the cognitive development of the newly born babies. The environment in which a newborn baby is brought up plays a significant role in the cognitive development of that baby (What Factors Affect Physical Development in Childhood 2003-2015) . Infants living in houses with low economic status and income are more likely to develop slower and less favorable outcomes than other children from better families. These children from low economic status families can be exposed to malnutrition and poor housing. Their parents are more likely to be engaged in multiple works and a lot of stress making them spend less time with their children. As a result of less time with parents, these babies will take a long time to talk or even read. According to neurologists, babies who receive small proteins and poor nutrition both before and after birth are more likely to have a slow cognitive development than those who receive better nutrition.
Hereditary factors can also affect the cognitive development of the newborn babies. Genetic conditions can inhibit a child’s access to the stimulating environment, slowing the intellectual development. Children with genetically based conditions are limited in their capacities to develop certain skills.
Social, Moral and Personality Development
The behavior of children is determined by the social conditions in which they live. Children who are aggressive and disruptive are known to have lived in an aggressive and violent surroundings. A child who is brought up morally by being told what is right and wrong will obviously grow up a moral child. The moral behavior of a child is therefore dependent on how the child is raised up, the moral behaviors in the environment as well as the discipline instilled in them by the parents and the caregivers. Personality, on the other hand, is noticed on the child at around three months. The personality of a child is either modified by the environment or inherited. Some children are naturally happy while others are naturally sad or funny. A child can also inherit certain personality such as being humble or polite from their parents.
Certain theorists have also come up with various theories to explain the social, moral and personality development in human beings. According to Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children undergo a series of four stages that are associated with changes in how they think and reason. According to him, how a child thinks about herself, others and the surrounding will play an essential role in the formation of her personality and social development. Another theorist, Erik Erikson in his theory of eight-stage of human development, illustrates how human personality and moral behavior can be formed. In his theory, at each stage of development, human beings go through a certain crisis in which they have to master a task. Those who manage to complete each stage successfully emerge to be good beings with a sense of mastery while those who fail to solve the crisis remain to struggle with the skills for the rest of their lives.
In conclusion, children undergo many changes in their lives as they grow. The environment in which the children are born and brought up as well as the genetic factors remain the significant determinants in the physical and cognitive development of the child. The environment also plays a significant role in determining the moral and personality development of a child.
References
Introduction to early childhood development 2015 - Google Search . (2018). Google.com . Retrieved 22 January 2018, from: https://www.google.com/search?q=introduction+to+early+childhood+development+2015&oq=introduction+to+early+childhood+development+2015&aqs=chrome..69i57.17945j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
("What Factors Affect Physical Development in Childhood. (2003-2015). Retrieved from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-factors-affect-physical-development-in-childhood.htm - Google Search", 2018)
