Development TheoriesConception Through Adolescence

Chapter 10, 11

Why Study Development Theories?

Learning Objectives

In this lesson, you will learn to: Define human development. Understand some of the important issues in

developmental psychology. Identify the different types of theories.

The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand how and why people grow, learn, and act as they do

For example

Consider the following scenario: Three-year-old Sarah has started trying to dress herself each morning. She regularly wears her shoes on the wrong feet, misses buttons, and puts shirts on inside-out. When her mother tries to help her, Sarah becomes angry and shouts, "NO! ME DO IT! Why does Sarah behave this way? Is her behavior related to her age, family relationships, or individual temperament? Developmental psychologists strive to answer such questions.

Development

Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from conception to death. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and personality development

Developmental Theories

Models intended to account for how and why people become as they are.

Theories explain behavior, as well as predict behavior that can be tested and observed.

They help nurses assess and treat a person’s response to an illness.

Areas of Theory DevelopmentAreas of Theory Development

Biophysical (Gasell’s theory)

Psychoanalytic (Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Robert Havighurst)

Cognitive (Jean Piaget’s theory)

Moral (Jean Piaget’s and Lawrence Kohlberg’s theories)

Intrauterine Life (40 weeks or 280 days) Fertilization Zygote Mormula Implantation Organogenesis Birth

Risk Factors

Nutrition

Stress

Age

Newborn (1-st month of life)Newborn (1-st month of life)Infant (1 month – 1 year)Infant (1 month – 1 year) Physical Changes Psychosocial Changes Cognitive Changes

Health Risks

Injury prevention

Child Maltreatment

Overfeeding

Toddler (12-36 months)Toddler (12-36 months) Physical changes- self care activities- walking- cardiopulmonary system become stableCognitive changes- memory- languagePsychosocial Changes- independence

Health Risks

Injury prevention

Preschooler (3-5 years)Preschooler (3-5 years)

Physical Changes- Weight - Muscles- New skills Psychosocial Changes- Meet with other children- Playing Cognitive Changes- Artificialism - Animism

Health Risks

Injury prevention

School-age child (6-18 years)School-age child (6-18 years) Physical Changes- Weight - Growing - Independence Psychosocial Changes- Moral- Relationships - Sexual identity Cognitive Changes- Ability to think - Classification

Health Risks

Stress

Accidents

Adolescent (18-…years)Adolescent (18-…years)

Physical Changes- Sex-specific changes (shoulders, hip) - Alteration in distribution of muscle - and fat - Reproductive system development- (estrogen, testosterone) Psychosocial Changes- Family identity- Group identity- Sexual identity- Vocation identity Cognitive Changes- Depend on persons social environment

Health Risks

Accidents Suicide Substance abuse Eating disorders Sexually Transmited Diseases

Health concerns

Perception Health education