Understanding the Concepts of Change in Developmental Psychology
Understanding the Concepts of Change: Global, Modular, Continuous, and In Stages
Change in Stages
All living things adapt to their environments. Human intelligence, however, is unique in its adaptability. While most animals, and even human babies, are limited to reacting to their immediate surroundings, children develop the ability to acquire knowledge and think about objects and events that are far removed from them.
Understanding how these changes occur is a primary focus of developmental psychologist Jean Piaget. While Piaget emphasizes the continuous nature of development, he also acknowledges the existence of stages. Within each stage, various behavioral patterns can be observed, driven by a common underlying structure.
The shift to a new stage signifies a fundamental reorganization. Although there’s a clear distinction between stages, they don’t represent a complete fresh start. The main stages occur in a specific order, believed to be universal for all children. This order isn’t due to pre-programming or maturation alone, but rather because each stage builds upon the one before it. While the order remains consistent, the pace of progression varies among individuals.
These stages, broadly defined, are distinguishable periods of development characterized by consistent traits. They represent temporarily stabilized behavioral structures with identifiable beginnings and ends, occurring in a specific sequence. Defining these stages precisely is challenging due to the influence of social factors. Despite this, the concept of stages offers valuable classification advantages.
Characteristics Defining a Stage:
- Relative homogeneity and stability of behavior with a clear start and end point.
- A specific sequence of stages (e.g., crawling before sitting, sitting before standing).
- A hierarchy of behaviors where each stage builds upon previous ones, enabling new forms of behavior.
- A special receptivity and readiness for specific learning and behavior within each stage.
Various stage classifications exist. One of the most recognized is Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development:
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development
Infancy (Oral Stage): Birth to 2 Years
Newborns are entirely dependent on their environment. Consistent and appropriate care fosters a sense of basic trust, leading to hope and optimism. Inconsistent or inadequate care can lead to mistrust.
Early Childhood (Muscular-Anal Stage): 1 to 3 Years
Children develop autonomy as they gain control over bodily functions and movement. Excessive control or shaming during this stage can lead to feelings of shame, doubt, and insecurity. Successful navigation of this stage results in a sense of will.
Play Age (Locomotor-Genital Stage): 3 to 6 Years
Children become more aware of their surroundings and initiate closer relationships with the opposite-sex parent. A greater awareness of gender differences emerges. Identification with the same-sex parent is crucial.
School Age (Latency Stage): 6 to 12 Years
Children demonstrate their ability to function in educational and social settings. Effective interaction leads to a sense of competence, while difficulties can result in feelings of inferiority. Academic problems, phobias, and social isolation can be characteristic of this stage. The term “latency” refers to the temporary suspension of the search for heterosexual relationships.
Adolescence: 12 to 20 Years
The central task of adolescence is the consolidation of identity. Physical and psychological changes lead to internal conflict. Successfully navigating this stage results in a sense of continuity and stability of self. Failure to do so can lead to identity diffusion. Defining personal tastes, interests, values, and principles is key.
Young Adulthood: 20 to 40 Years
Young adults integrate into society through work and relationships, often forming families. The ability to share intimacy is central. This stage requires a sense of solidarity and shared identity within relationships. Failure to achieve this can lead to isolation.
Middle Adulthood (Mature Adulthood): 40 to 60 Years
The focus shifts to nurturing and guiding younger generations. Adults who successfully navigate this stage feel a sense of generativity. Failure to do so can lead to stagnation and self-centeredness.
Late Adulthood (Older Adulthood): 60+ Years
Adults reflect on their lives and confront the issue of integrity. Accepting the succession of generations and the finitude of life leads to wisdom and a transcendental philosophy. Failure to achieve this can result in despair and fear of death.
The characteristics and tasks of each stage are dynamic, and individuals are constantly evolving.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 Years)
Intelligence is primarily practical, linked to sensory and motor actions. Key achievements include intentional behavior, object permanence, and the emergence of symbolic function.
Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years)
Characterized by the development of symbolic thinking, but limited by egocentrism, lack of reversibility, and reliance on perceptual evidence.
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years)
Overcoming egocentrism, the emergence of logical and reversible thinking.
Formal Operational Stage (Adolescence Onward)
Development of formal logic, abstract thinking, and deductive reasoning.
Continuous Change and Global Change
Development is a continuous, comprehensive, and flexible process. It involves behavioral changes towards what is considered superior within a specific cultural context. Learning refers to relatively stable behavioral changes acquired through practice.
Influence of Age in Modern Developmental Psychology
Modern developmental psychology, influenced by Baltes, takes a sociocultural approach, viewing individuals as products of their experiences, biology, and culture. Baltes introduces the concept of the life cycle, allowing for the study and optimization of change across the lifespan.
Two dominant views on evolution in this field are:
- Stimulus-Response Behaviorist Perspective: Focuses on behavior change with age, emphasizing environmental influences and individual agency.
- Structural Perspective: Views evolution as a change in structure with age, emphasizing innate and universal factors.
These differing perspectives influence research methodologies and applications.
Contemporary developmental psychology considers the entire lifespan, although researchers often focus on specific segments (infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age). These segments are interconnected yet functionally distinct.
Understanding the relationships between evolution, time, and age is complex. While time is a primary endpoint in developmental psychology, it’s not considered a causal variable but rather an index variable. Behavior change is seen as a function of age, but the underlying causes are correlated with age and related to evolutionary processes like maturation, learning, and interaction.
These causes are linked to hereditary variables, environmental variables (past and present), and their interaction. This paradigm incorporates additional time-related parameters, including inheritance, past environment, and present environment.