Early Stages of Human Growth: Biological, Social ... size.pdf · babyhood. You should note that it is very important to study the initial years of development. During the first part

246 Introduction to Family Life Education

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Early Stages of Human Growth:Biological, Social, Psychological

And Developmental Aspects

* Bhawana Gulati , Gracious Thomas

Introduction

Having learned about the physiological components ofhuman beings, it is appropriate that you also learn aboutthe biological, social, psychological and developmentalchanges that take place at all the stages in the lifecycle, right from conception to death. Since this is goingto be a vast area, we have to deal with it in two parts.The first part which we cover in the present unit, isintended to familiarize you with the first three stagesof human growth, namely, conception, infancy andbabyhood.

You should note that it is very important to study theinitial years of development. During the first part ofthe life of most species, more developmental changestake place than during any other period. In humans,for example, physical growth is greater in the first yearthan in any other single year. Similarly, changesinvolving social interactions, the acquisition and use oflanguage, memory and reasoning abilities, and virtuallyall other areas of human functioning are greatest duringchildhood. Also the events and experiences of the earlyyears have been found to strongly effect the individual’slater development.

* Dr. Bhawana Gulati JNU, New Delhi, Prof. Gracious Thomas IGNOU

Early Stages of Human Growth: Biological, Social, Psychological and Developmental Aspects 247

Conception and Human Development

A husband and wife who love each other have a veryspecial and intimate ways to knowing and loving oneanother deeply. They show it, among other things, bysharing their bodies and joining them. This is possiblebecause a man’s body and woman’s body are made insuch a way that they can join together. This process iscalled coitus of sexual intercourse. There are certainspecific positions that the husband and wife take duringthe sexual intercourse. The most common position thatin which the woman lies of her back with her thighsseparated, while man over her in close contact withher body. The husband’s penis penetrates into the wife’svagina. During these few moments the husband’s semenflows from his penis into the wife’s vagina. This veryintimate act between husband and wife helps them tolove and understand each other: it is called ‘makinglove’. If this act happens during the fertile days ofwoman’s menstrual cycle, there is a very high probabilitythat she will conceive. i.e sperm present in the semenof the male will unite with the ovum of the female. Thisprocess is called fertilization.

Prenatal development begins at conception, orfertilization, when the genetic material from a malesex cell (sperm) unites with the female sex cell (ovum)to form a single cell, called a zygote . The zygote receives23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 from the father,and these 46 chromosomes replicate over and over asthe zygote reproduces itself through mitosis.

Different Stages of Development After Conception

As you have been told in the earlier unit, there arethree stages of development after conception or duringpregnancy. Let us study each of them from the point ofview of development.


1) The Period of Zygote (Conception to Second Week)

Approximately six days after fertilization, the cells ofthe zygote become sticky and attach to the wall of theuterus, where implantation begins. Now the cells beginto specialize, some forming an inner cell mass, whichwill become the embryo, and some forming a surroundingcell mass, which will become support structures for theembryo. The zygote is still only about 0.01 inches long.

Implantation takes about a week. Finally, the zygote istotally buried in the uterine wall, and the period of thezygote ends. About two weeks have passed sincefertilization, which corresponds to the first missedmenstrual period. By the time a woman suspects shemay be pregnant, the prenatal development is wellunder way.

It is very important to note that with fertilization a newhuman life begins in all respects. Therefore, one shouldnot be carried away by the misinformation that the foetusis only a piece of flesh without life. Because of thisfeeling sometimes people feel convenient to abort thefoetus and many a time of the live foetus is extractedfrom its mother’s womb for laboratory experiments. Thisis the most inhuman harm one can do to an unbornand defenseless child.

2) The Period of Embryo (Third to Eight Weeks)

All major internal and external structure form duringthis period. In the third week, the inner cell massdifferentiates into three germ layers from which allbody structures will emerge. Initially, two layers form –the endodermal layer and the ectodermal layer. Theendodermal cells will develop into internal organs andglands. The ectodermal cells form the basis for parts ofthe body that maintain contact with the outside world---the nervous system; the sensory parts of the eye,nose, and ear, tooth enamel, skin, and hair. This is thethird cell layer that appears between the endodermal


and extodermal layers. This is the mesodermal layer,which will give rise to muscle, cartilage, bone, the heart,sex organs and some glands. A primitive heart beginsto form and, by the end of the third week, connects tothe vessels and begins to beat to form a cardiovascularsystem, the first organ system to become functional.

Around the fourth week, the embryo looks somethinglike a tube of about 0.1 inch long. You should note thatthis period is important, because now, the environmentbegins to affect the development of cells. By the end offourth week, the embryo assumes a curved form, andthe upper and lower limbs have just begun to form astiny buds.

The embryo’s body changes less in the fifth week, butthe head and brain develop rapidly. The upper limbsnow form, and the lower limbs appear and look likesmall paddles. In the sixth week, the head continuesto grow rapidly, and differentiation of the limbs occursas elbows, fingers, and wrists become recognizable. Itis now possible to discern the ears and eyes. The limbsdevelop rapidly in the seventh week, and stumps appearthat will form fingers and toes.


By the end of the eighth week, the embryo has distinctlyhuman features. Almost half of the embryo consists ofthe head. During most of this week, the eyes are open,but eyelids soon form to cover them. The eyes, ears,toes and fingers are easily distinguishable and the tailhas disappeared. All internal and external organs haveformed. Thus, you can see that in eight weeks a singletiny undifferentiated cell develops into a remarkablecomplex organism consisting of millions of cellsdifferentiated into heart, kidneys, eyes, ears, nervoussystem, brain, and all the other structure that makea human being. By the end of the embryonic stage, thesurrounding cells develop into three major supportsystems: the amniotic sac, the placenta, and theumbilical cord.

The amniotic sac is a watertight membrane filled withfluid. As the embryo grows, the amniotic sac comes tosurround it, cushioning and supporting it within theuterus and providing an environment with a constanttemperature.

The placenta, formed from both the mother’s tissue andthe embryo’s tissue is the organ the mother and embryouse to exchange materials. Linking the embryo to theplacenta is the umbilical cord which houses the bloodvessels that carry these materials. The exchange ofmaterials take place in the placental villi. These aresmall blood vessels immersed in the mother’s blood,but separated from it by a very thin membrane. Youshould note that blood does not pass between the motherand the foetus. However, oxygen and nutrients do passfrom the mother’s blood to the villi, and waste productsof the foetus pass into the mother’s blood to be carriedaway and excreted.

3) The Period of the Foetus (Ninth to Thirty EightWeek)

In this period, the principal tasks for the foetus are tofurther develop the already formed organ structures


and to increase in size and weight. You will find itsurprising that beginning its third month weighing only0.2 ounce and measuring 2 inches in length, theaverage foetus is born 266 days after conceptionweighing about 7 to 8 pounds and measuring about 20inches in length.

External Changes

During this period, the foetus’s appearance changesdrastically. The head grows first than the other partsof the body, changing its ratio from 50 percent of thebody mass at 12 weeks towards 25 percent at birth.The skin which has been transparent begins to thickenduring the third month. The foetus’s eye move from thesides, the head to the front. Nails appear on fingersand toes by the fourth month, and pads appear at theends of fingers that uniquely identify the individual forlife. Head hair also begins to grow. A bone structurebegins to support a more erect posture by six months.

Growth of Internal Organs

By three months, the brain has assumed the basicorganization that marks its later subdivision – seeing,hearing, thinking, initiating activity, breathing, and soon. The 100 billion cells of the adult brain are alreadypresent in the foetus by the fifth month. Nerve cellgrowth and establishment of connections, begun at 19days, continue throughout foetal development. A majormystery facing scientists is how a single zygote cell


can give rise to billions of fibres that properly connecteyes, ears, touch sensors, muscles, and the parts ofthe brain. It is clear that environmental factors andinteractions between nerve cells also play a role as(you would be aware that) no two brains are wiredidentically not even those of identical twins, who haveexactly the same genetic material.

In the third month, the kidneys begin to excrete urineinto the surrounding amniotic fluid, which is freshenedby the mother’s body every three hours. Sexualdevelopment becomes apparent in males by the end ofthis month with the appearance of external sexualorgans. In females the oocytes form the outer coveringof the ovaries. The fallopian tubes, uterus, and vaginadevelop and the external labia become discernible.

Early Signs of Behaviour

Foetal activity begins in the third month when the foetusis capable of wiggling the toes, and swallowing; but themother feels none of this. The foetus also appears to


become sensitive to environmental stimulation for itmoves its whole body in response to touch stimulus. Bythe fourth month the eyes are sensitive to light throughthe lids, and by the fifth month, a loud noise mayactivate the foetus. During this same month the foetusswims effortlessly. The foetus is now capable of kickingand turning, and may begin to display rhythms of sleepand activity. By the seventh month, brain connectionsare sufficient for the foetus to exhibit a sucking reflexwhen the lips are touched.

By seven months of age, the foetus has a slightly betterchance of survival outside the mother’s body. The brainis sufficiently developed to provide at least partialregulation of breathing, swallowing, and bodytemperature. However, a baby born after only sevenmonths of development will need to be provided withextra oxygen, will have to take food in very smallamounts and will have to live for several weeks in anincubator for temperature control. In the eighth month,fat appears under the skin, and although the digestivesystem is still too immature to adequately extractnutrients from food, the foetus begins to store maternalnutrients in its body. But even a baby born at eightmonths is susceptible to infection. By the eighth month,the mother’s body starts contributing disease-fightingantibodies to the foetus that she has developed throughher own exposure to foreign bodies. This process is notcomplete until nine months of foetal age and is veryimportant, because these antibodies help to protectbabies from infection until around six months of age,when they can produce their own in substantialamounts.

Importance of Conception

At the time of conception, four important conditions aredetermined that influence the individual’s laterdevelopment. The role each of these conditions plays inthe individual’s development explains why the time of


conception is probably the most important period in thelife span of the human being.

i) Hereditary Endowment

The first important happening at the time of conceptionis the determination of the newly created individual’shereditary endowment. You should note thatdetermination of hereditary endowment affects laterdevelopment in two ways. First, hereditary places limitsbeyond which individuals cannot go. If prenatal andpostnatal conditions are favourable, and if people arestrongly motivated, they can develop their inheritedphysical and mental traits to their maximum potential,but they can go no further. Secondly, hereditaryendowment is entirely a matter of chance, there is noknown way to control the number of chromosomes fromthe maternal or paternal side that will be passed on tothe child.

ii) Sex

Determination of sex depends on the kind ofspermatozoon that unites with the ovum. As we havealready discussed in the earlier unit, two kinds ofmature spermatozoa are produced in equal numbers.The first contains twenty-two matched chromosomesplus one X-chromosome, the second contains twentytwo matched chromosomes plus one Y-chromosome. TheX and Y chromosomes are the sex determiningchromosomes. The mature ovum always contains an X-chromosome. If it is fertilized by a Y bearingspermatozoon, the offspring will be girl. The sex of anindividual is important to lifelong development. Studiesof sex preferences for offspring have revealed that thetraditional preference for a child of given sex havemarked influences on parents attitudes, which in turnaffect their behaviour toward the child and theirrelationships with the child.


It is important that we accept each child as gift of Godborn in his own image and likeness. Therefore, parentsshould gladly accept this God given gift, no matterwhether the child born in a male or female, healthy ordisabled.

It should be noted that a girl child is born only with anX-bearing spermatozoon received from the father.Therefore women should not be blamed for giving birtha female child.

iii) Number of Offspring

While most humans are singletons, multiple births alsooccur. Meredith (1975) reported that 1 out of 80 birthsis twins, 1 out of every 9,000 is triple, and 1 out every570,000 is quadruplets.

You are perhaps aware that when a ripe ovum isfertilized by one spermatozoon, the result will besingleton, unless the fertilized ovum (zygote) splits intotwo or more distinct parts during the early stages ofcell cleavage. When this happens, the result will beidentical twins, triplets, or other multiple births. If twoor more ova are released simultaneously and arefertilized by different spermatozoa, the result will benon-identical) (or fraternal) twins, triplets, or othermultiple births.

iv) Ordinal Position

The fourth thing that happens at the time of conceptionis the establishment of the new child’s ordinal positionamong siblings. While this may change within a year orafter birth, the child’s ordinal position remains fairlystatic from then on.

The effect of ordinal position on the individual dependson a number of conditions, the two most important ofwhich are the sex of the individual and how individualsfeel about the roles they are expected to play. A firstborngirl, for example, who is expected to help with the


housework and with the care of young siblings mayresent the fact that the boys in the family have fewerdomestic duties and are granted privileges and givenopportunities denied to her. A second or later born boymay resent being ‘bossed’ by an older female sibling orbeing treated as the “baby of the family” while hisfemale siblings are given more privileges and freedomthan that he is given. Some individuals enjoy the rolethey are expected to play as a result of their ordinalposition while others do not.

Infancy and Human Development

Infancy begins with birth and ends when the infant isapproximately two weeks old, by far the shortest of alldevelopmental periods.

You should note that according to medical criteria, theadjustment to life outside uterine walls is completedwith the fall of the umbilical cord from the naval.According to physiological criteria it is completed whenthe infant has regained the weight lost after birth.

Infancy is hazardous period. Physically, it is hazardousbecause of the difficulties of making the necessaryradical adjustments to the totally new and differentenvironment. The high infant mortality rate is evidenceof this. Psychologically, infancy is the time when theattitudes of significant people toward the infant arecrystallized, some of which remain relatively unchangedor are strengthened, depending on conditions at birthand on the ease or difficulty with which the infant andparents adjust.

Here it is important to mention about a vital aspect,that of immunization of the new born. Adequate careneeds to be taken by parents or those responsible fortaking care of the child to see that necessary vaccinationand immunizations are given to the child as perschedule. Therefore parents should constantly takeguidance from a qualified physician.


Conditions Influencing Adjustment to Postnatal Life

Many conditions influence the success with whichinfants make the necessary adjustments to postnatallife. The most important of these, as research to dateindicates, are the kind of prenatal environment, thetype of birth and experiences associated with it, lengthof the gestation period, parental attitudes and postnatalcare.

i) Prenatal Environment

A healthy prenatal environment contributes to goodadjustments in postnatal life. Inadequate prenatal careof the mother, as a result of either poverty or neglect isoften responsible for the development of unfavourableconditions in the intrauterine environment which effectthe developing child and lead to complications duringchild birth, both of which affect the kind of adjustmentthe infant makes.

Malnutrition of the mother during pregnancy has beenfound to be responsible for premature births, still births,and infant mortality during the early days of life. Oneof the most important conditions that contribute todifficulties in postnatal adjustment is a prenatalenvironment characterized by prolonged and intensematernal stress.

It may be noted that in some communities a mother ofan unwanted female child is poorly fed and very oftenmade to do household chores beyond her ability. Thispractice is inhuman and needs to be discouraged at allcosts.

ii) Kind of Birth

The second condition that influences the kind ofadjustment that will be made to postnatal life is thekind of birth the infant experiences. There were fivekinds of birth each with its distinctive characteristics.These are Natural or spontaneous birth, Breech birth,


Transverse birth, Instrument birth and CaesareanSection.

The infant who has been born spontaneously usuallyadjusts more quickly and more successfully to thepostnatal environment that one whose birth has beendifficult enough to require use of instruments orcaesarean section.

The more difficult thebirth, the greater thechance of damageand the more severethe damage.


� Parental Attitudes

How quickly and how successfully newborn infants willadjust to postnatal life is greatly influenced by parentalattitudes. When parental attitudes are unfavourable,for whatever reasons, they are reflected in thetreatment of the infant that mitigates against successfuladjustments to postnatal life. By contrast, parent whoseattitudes are favourable treat the infant in ways thatencourage good adjustment. A relaxed mother forexample, produces more milk than one who is tenseand nervous, and this helps the infant to adjust to anew method of taking nourishment. Fathers who arepresent during delivery usually have more favourableattitude towards their children than do those who donot share the childbirth experience with their partners.In India the chances for the father to be present duringdelivery by the side of the mother is remote.

� Physiological Functions

With the birth cry the lungs are inflated and respirationbegins. The respiration rate at first ranges from forty toforty-five breathing movements per minute. By the endof the first week of life, it normally drops to approximatelythirty-five per minute is more stable than it was atfirst.

Elimination of waste begins a few hours after birth.Many voiding occur during periods of wakefulness andwhen the infant is quiet, usually within an hour afterfeeding. Defecations likewise, occur when the infant isquiet, shortly after feeding. Neonatal sleep is broken byshort waking periods which occur every two or threehours, with fewer and shorter waking periods duringthe night than during the day.

� Rhythms

The newborn baby engages in a cycle of active and quietsleep that repeats each 50 to 60 minutes. This cycle is


co-ordinated with a cycle of wakefulness that occursonce every 3 to 4 hours. Even before, the first feedingand with external distraction held a minimum,newborns still display roughly these same sleep-wakecycles. Gradually, infants adapt to the 24 - hour light-dark cycle. Sleep periods become longer at night andwake periods longer during the day, with long sleep atnight emerging around 5 to 6 weeks of age.

Organized Behaviour of Newborn

Newborns are also equipped with several specificbehaviour patterns that occur in response to specificstimuli such as the startle reaction to a loud sound.These highly stereotyped behaviour patterns, whichoccur as brief responses to specific stimulation calledreflexes. The newborn also initiates activities and iscapable of sustaining the over considerable period oftime. Looking behaviour, sucking and crying areexamples of such activities which can be referred to ascongenitally organized behaviour.

Emotions of the Newborn

Emotional reactions of the newborn may be describedas state of pleasantness and unpleasantness. Theformer is characterized by a relaxing of the body andthe latter by a tensing of the body.

The outstanding characteristic of the infant’s emotionalmakeup is the complete absence of gradations ofresponses showing different degrees of intensity.Whatever the stimulus, the resultant emotions isintense and sudden.

Beginning of Personality

Children are born with characteristic temperamentaldifferences that are reflected in activity rates andsensitivities. It is these differences from which theindividual’s personality pattern will develop. Individualdifferences are apparent at birth and are shown in


responses to food, in crying, in motor activities, andespecially, in sleep.

A disturbed prenatal environment, which can result ifthe mother is subjected to severe or prolonged stress,may cause a modification of the newborn infant’sbehaviour pattern. There is also evidence that infantswho are separated from their mothers after birth donot make as good as adjustment to postnatal life asinfants who remain with their mothers.

Babyhood and Developmental Aspects

Babyhood occupies the first two years of life followingthe brief two-week period of infancy. During thebabyhood months there is gradual but pronounceddecrease in helplessness. Babyhood is the foundationperiod of life, because, at this time many behaviourpatterns, many attitudes, and many patterns ofemotional expression are being established.

Babies grow rapidly, both physically and psychologically,there is a change not only in appearance but also incapacities. The decrease in dependency on othersresults from the rapid development of body control whichenables babies to sit, stand and walk and to manipulateobjects.

Developmental Tasks of Babyhood

The pattern of development is predictable even thoughdifferent babies reach important landmarks in thispattern at slightly different ages. Therefore, it is possibleto set up standards of social expectations in the form ofdevelopmental tasks. All babies, for example, areexpected to learn to walk, to take solid foods, to havetheir organs of elimination under control, to achievereasonable physiological stability (especially in hungerrhythm and sleep,) to learn the foundations of speechand to relate emotionally to their parents and siblings


to some extent instead of being completely self-boundas they were at birth.

It is important to note that the rapid development ofthe nervous system, the ossification of the bones, andthe strengthening of the muscles makes it possible forbabies to master the developmental tasks of babyhood.Babies, who lag behind their age mates in masteringthe developmental tasks appropriate of their age, maybe handicapped when they reach the early childhoodyears and are expected to master the developmentaltasks for these years. For example, a poor foundationin motor skills or in speech will make it difficult foryoung children to master the skills in these areas ofdevelopment.

Physical Development

We should always be aware that babyhood is one of thetwo periods of rapid growth during the life span; theother comes at puberty. During the first six months oflife, growth continues at the rapid rate characteristicof the prenatal period and then begin to slow down. Inthe second year, the rate of growth slows down at avery fast pace. During the first six months of life, growthcontinues at the rapid rate characteristic of the prenataland then begins to slow down. In the second year, therate of growth slows down at a very fast pace. Duringthe first year of life the increase in weight isproportionally greater than the increase in height.During the second year, babies gain height.

At the age of four months, the baby’s weight has normallydoubled. At one year, babies weigh three times as muchas they did at birth. Increase in weight during babyhood,comes mainly from an increase in fat tissue. At fourmonths, the height of a baby, on an average, is between23 and 24 inches, at one year, between 28 and 30inches, and at two years, between 32 and 34 inches.


Head growth slows down, while the trunk and limbgrowth increases. Thus, the baby gradually becomesless top heavy and appears more slender. Muscle fibrepresent at birth is in very undeveloped forms. They growslowly during babyhood and are weak. During the secondyear of life, as body proportions change, babies begin toshow tendencies toward characteristic body builds.

The average baby has four to six of the twenty temporaryteeth by the age of one and sixteen by the age of two.The first teeth to cut through are the central incisor,and the last to appear are the molars. Non-appearanceof teeth can cause concern to the parents. It is alwaysdesirable that you consult a qualified doctor in sucheventuality.

By the age of three months, the eye muscles are well-enough co-ordinated to enable babies to see thingsclearly and distinctly and the cones are also well-developed so that they can see colours. Hearing developsrapidly during this time. Smell and taste which arewell-developed at birth continue to improve. Babies arehighly responsive to all skin stimuli because of the thintexture of their skin.

Physiological Functions

Babyhood, as you might beaware, is the time to establishthe fundamental physiologicalpatterns of eating, sleepingand elimination. During thefirst year of babyhood, on anaverage night sleep increasesfrom 8 ½ hours at three weeksto 10 hours at twelve weeksand then remains constantthe rest of that year. Duringthe first three months, thedecline in day sleep is balanced by an increase in nightsleep.


From birth until four or five months of age, all eating isthe infantile form of sucking and swallowing. Chewinggenerally appears in the developmental pattern, a monthlater than biting. But both require a lot of practice beforethey become serviceable. After being accustomed to foodin liquid form, it is difficult for babies to adjust tosemisolid form. This adds to their revolt against food,even though they may like its taste.

Bowel control begins, on the average, at six monthsand bladder control begins between the ages of fifteenand sixteen months. The habit of bowel control isestablished by the end of babyhood. Dryness at nightcannot be achieved in the average child until severalyears later.

� Babyhood Skills

Development of skills depends upon three importantfactors: an opportunity for practice, an incentive to learn,and a good model to copy with guidance to ensure thatthe copying will be correct. Before babyhood is over,babies acquire many skills. At first, they are unable tointegrate the different parts of a skill, with the resultthat the skill is of little value to them. Eventually,integration takes place with practice.

� Comprehension

The speaker’s facial expression, tone of voice, andgestures help babies to understand what is being saidto them. Pleasure, anger and fear can be comprehendedas early as the third month of life. Until babies areeighteen months old, words must be reinforced withgestures, such as pointing to an object. Thecomprehension of the baby depends partly upon thebaby’s own intellectual abilities and partly on how othersstimulate and encourage the baby to try to comprehendwhat they are saying.


� Learning to Speak

Learning to speak is a long and difficult task, andbecause babies are not mature enough for such difficultand complicated learning during the first year of life,nature provides substitute forms of communication tobe used. These substitute forms of communication areknow as “pre-speech forms”.

Four pre-speech forms normally appear in thedevelopmental pattern of learning to talk: crying,babbling, gesturing and the use of emotionalexpressions.

� Tasks in Learning to Speak

Learning to speak involves three difficult tasks. Babiesare learning how to pronounce words, building, and avocabulary by associating meaning with words that canbe used to communicate meanings to others, andcombining words into sentences that areunderstandable to others. These tasks, you should note,not only involve control over the vocal mechanism butalso the ability to comprehend meaning and to associatethem with words which act as symbols for meanings.

As you can probably understand, these tasks are farmore difficult than may at first be apparent, it isunderstandable therefore, that only the foundation skillsinvolves in speech will be laid.

Emotional Behaviour in Babyhood

All of us know that the emotions of babies differ markedlyfrom those of adolescents and adults, and also fromthose of older children. It has often been observed thatthe behaviour responses accompanying baby’s emotionsare too great for the stimuli that give rise to them. Thisis especially true of anger and fear.


Common Emotional Patterns

There are certain emotional patterns that arecommonly found among babies.

Anger: The common stimuli that gave rise to angeramong babies are interference with attemptedmovements, thwarting of some wish, not letting themdo what they want to do, etc. Typically, the angryresponse takes the form of screaming, kicking the legs,waving the arms, throwing themselves on the floor, andhold their breath.

Fear: The stimuli that are most likely to arouse fear inbabies are loud noise, strange people, objects orsituations, dark rooms, high place, and animals. Thefear response is manifest in an attempt to withdrawfrom the frightening stimulus, accompanied bywhimpering, crying and temporary holding of breath.

Curiosity: Anything new or unusual acts as a stimulusto curiosity, unless the newness is so pronounced thatit gives rise to fear. As the fear wanes, it gives rise tocuriosity. Young babies usually express curiosity bytensing the facial muscle, opening the mouth andprotruding the tongue. Later, babies grasp the objectsthat aroused their curiosity and handle, shake, bangor suck them.

Joy: Physical well-being of the babies give rise to afeeling of joy. By the second or third month of life, babiesreach to being played with, being tickled and watchingor listening to others. They express their pleasure bysmiling, moving their arms and legs and also by cooing,gurgling or even shouting with glee.

Affection: Anyone who plays with them caters to theirneeds, give rise to the babies’ affection. Later, also toysand a family pet may also become objects of love forthem. Babies typically, express their affection by huggingor patting, at times, even kissing the loved object orperson.


Development of Socialization

You would agree that early social experience play adominant role in determining the baby’s future socialrelationships and patterns of behaviour towards others.Because the baby’s life is centered around the home, itis here that the foundations for later social behaviourand attitudes are laid. Whether the babies grow up tobecome extroverted or introverted individuals dependsmainly on their early social experiences. There are tworeasons for the importance of these early foundations.First, the type of behaviour shown in social situationsaffects their personal and social adjustments. Secondly,once established, the social foundations tend to bepersistent as children grow older.

Early social behaviour follows a fairly predictable pattern,though variations can and do occur as a result of healthor emotional states or because of environmentalconditions. During the first year of babyhood, babiesare in a state of equilibrium which makes them friendly,easy to handle and pleasant to be with. Around themiddle of the second year, babies tend to become fussy,unco-operative and difficult to handle. Before babyhoodis over, equilibrium is restored and babies again exhibitpleasant and social behaviour.

Interest in Play

Babyhood is the stage in which babies begin to showtheir interest in play. You know that play at all ages isengaged in for pleasure and not for any end result. Inspite of this, it makes important contributions to thebabies development. It provides opportunities for manyforms of learning like problem solving and creativity.Also, while playing, babies gain a lot of information abouttheir environment, and the people and things in theirenvironment.

Development of Understanding

All babies begin life with no meaning of the things theycome in contact with in their environment. They,


therefore, acquire it through maturation and learning,when they start understanding what they observe. Asnew meanings are acquired, babies interpret newexperiences in terms of their memories of previous ones.The association of meanings with objects, people andsituation results in the development of concepts. Babiesshow recognition of familiar people and objects and theirenvironment through pleasurable responses, just as theyregard strange people and objects with fear.

Beginning of Morality

Babies have no values and no conscience that is whytheir behaviour is not guided by moral standards. Thismeans that they are neither moral nor immoral.Gradually, babies learn moral codes from their parents,as well as the necessity of conforming to these codes.

Learning to behave in a morally approved manner is along, slow process. However, the foundations are laidin babyhood. Because of their limited intelligence,babies judge the rightness or wrongness of an act interms of the pleasure or pain it brings them ratherthan in terms of its good and harmful effects on others.

It is important for you to note that a baby is in stage ofmoral development which Piaget has called morality byconstraint, the first of the three stages in moraldevelopment. This stage lasts until the age of seven oreight years and is characterized by automatic obedienceto rules without reasoning or judgment.

Role of Discipline

The main purpose of discipline is to teach children whatis regarded as right and wrong by the group with whichthey are identified. It is also important, then to makesure that they act in accordance with this knowledge.

With strict discipline, involving negative reinforcement,i.e. punishing for a wrong behaviour, even young babiescan be made to follow a pattern of behaviour. Before,


babies are punished for wrong doing, however, they mustlearn what is right and what is wrong. Positivereinforcement, i.e., reward or praise for the rightbehaviour is equally significant for making the babyfollow a disciplined pattern of behaviour. Babies areable to understand what is said in praise. Pleasant facialexpressions accompanying praise motivate babies torepeat the acts that brought them such favourableresponses.

Family Relationships

We are all aware that the early environment of babiesis limited primarily to the home, therefore, familyrelationships play a dominant role in determining thefuture patterns of a baby’s attitudes toward andbehaviour in relationships with others.During the babyhood years, parent-child relationshipsare more important than any other family relationships.All babies need, at least during the first nine to twelvemonths of life, the continuous care of one person, usuallythe mother, or a satisfactory mother substitute. Suchcare not only makes them feel secure, but shows themthe satisfaction they can derive from a close, personalrelationship with another person.

Personality Development in Babyhood

It is very important to note that the potential forpersonality development is present at birth. Thomas etal(1970) had emphasized, ‘Personality is shaped by theconstant interplay of temperament and environment’.Babyhood is a critical time in the development ofpersonality. Since the baby’s environment is limitedalmost exclusively to the home and because the motheris the most constant companion, the kind of person sheis and the kind of relationship they share will have aprofound influence on the baby’s personality. Geneticstudies of the persistence of personality traits over aperiod of years have revealed that patterns establishedearly in life remain almost unchanged as the childgrows older.


Conclusion

In this chapter, you learnt about the biological, socialand psychological development that takes place duringthe stages of conception, infancy and babyhood in ahuman being’s life.

We started our discussion with prenatal developmentwhich begins at conception, paying attention to thespecific physical developments that takes place duringthe period of embryo and the period of foetus apart fromthe growth of internal and external body organs. Wealso discussed the conditions during conception whichare significant to the individual’s later development.Postnatal adjustment is as crucial for long-termdevelopment as is prenatal adjustment. After birth, anumber of factors influence the success with whichinfants adjust to their environment.

After the brief two-week period of infancy, babyhoodoccupies the first two years of life. Physical developmentin babyhood is visible in rapid gain in weight and height.Speech development in the form of comprehensions ofthe speaker’s facial expressions and tone. Babies atthis stage, try to communicate by gesturing and use ofemotional expressions. They also display certain specificemotional patterns as anger, fear, curiosity, joy,affection, etc. Discipline involving punishment andreward leads to development of morality. Parents andthe significant others in the family play an importantrole and thus, are crucial for the baby’s personalitydevelopment.

References

Hurlock, E.B. (1994), Developmental Psychology : A LifeSpan Approach, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing CompanyLimited, New Delhi.


Thompson, G.G. (1981), Child Psychology : Growth Trendsin Psychological Adjustment, Surjeet Publications.

Vasta, R., Haith M.M. and Miller, S.A. (1992), ChildPsychology: The Modern Science, John Wiley and SonsInc.

Thomas, Gracious (1995), AIDS and Family Education,Rawat Publication, New Delhi.

Documents

Early Stages of Human Growth: Biological, Social ... size.pdf · babyhood. You should note that it is very important to study the initial years of development. During the first part