Prof. J.

UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 3 – Human Development

Also known as developmental psychology, it refers to the scientific study of how people change and stay the same
over time. Change can take in two forms: quantitative (i.e. refers to variation in number, amount or size; e.g.,
height, weight, age, vocabulary, IQ scores) and qualitative (i.e. refers to a shift in kind, structure, or organization;
e.g., an existing behavior becomes more complex).

Themes in Human Development (Alampay & Nisperos-Puente, 2007)

1. It is multidimensional and integrated

a. Dimensions: physical, cognition, personality, emotional, social

b. Interdependent and integrated

2. Occurs throughout the life span

a. Prenatal (from conception to birth)

i. Conception

ii. Human genome: 23 pairs of chromosomes

iii. Zygote (Germinal stage: from fertilization to 2 weeks) – Embryo stage (from 2 to 8
weeks) – Fetus stage (from 8 to between 37 and 40 weeks)

b. Infancy (birth to age 2)

i. Reflexes (rooting, sucking, gag, startle, Babinski, Palmar)

ii. Habituation

c. Early Childhood (ages 2 to 7)

d. Middle Childhood (ages 7 to 11)

e. Adolescence or Puberty (ages 11 to 20)

f. Young Adulthood (from the 20s to the 40s)

g. Middle Adulthood (from the 40s to the 60s)

h. Late Adulthood (from the 60s onward) a.k.a. Old Age or Senescence

3. Stability and Plasticity

Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.
 Prof. J. UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

a. Stability – may be due to biological factors underlying a person’s trait or behavior

b. Plasticity – temporal changes or instability in environments, relationships and in the demands of a

life stage have the potential to alter a person’s characteristics and life course, whether in a positive
or negative direction.

c. Further Readings: Basic Tendencies vs. Characteristic Adaptation by R. McCrae and P. Costa’s
Five-Factor Theory of Personality

4. Normative and Non-Normative Influences

a. Normative influences – are biological and environmental influences on development that occur in
a similar manner for most individuals in a given group. They can be age-graded or history-graded.

b. Non-Normative life events – are occurrences not common to most people: they are unusual events
that have a major impact on an individual’s life.

5. In Context

a. Development is in constant interaction with the environment (e.g., family, peers, community,
culture, society)

b. Biological Systems Perspective (Urie Bronfenbrenner, 1998) -- development is viewed as

contextual. A child develops within a complex dynamic system of relationships, and is affected by
multiple levels of the surrounding environment. The environment is conceptualized as a series of
nested systems namely:

i. Microsystem – consists of primary relationships, interaction, activities, and roles

experienced by a person in his/her immediate, or proximal, sorroundings.

ii. Mesosystem – refers to connections, or interrelationships, among the Microsystems in

which the person is involved

iii. Exosystem – refers to the settings that do not directly involve the person himself, but in
which events occur that affect his development nonetheless.

iv. Macrosystem – comprises the larger variables of culture, historical context, social class,
religion, government policies and the like. These contexts shape an individual’s values,
belief systems, and sociocultural practices, and life opportunities.

v. Chronosystem – reflects the influences of historical time in shaping the person’s

environment and life experiences.

Dr. Ma. Lourdes Arellano-Carandang’s (1981) Rubic’s Cube Approach to Development

1. First dimension: views the child as a total person with physical, intellectual, socio-emotional, and
moral/spiritual facets.
Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.
 Prof. J. UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

2. Second dimension: grounds these (see first dimension) characteristics on the child’s developmental level.

3. Third dimension: the child’s behavior within the context of the family and community

4. Fourth dimension: the child’s inner world, how the child makes sense of all that happens within and around
him/her.

Issues in Human Development

1. Nature versus Nurture controversy: What is the driving source of human development?

2. Continuity versus Discontinuity controversy: What is the nature of developmental change?

Jean Piaget’s (read: John Pee-ya-jay) Theory of Cognitive Development

• Schemas or mental schemes

• Assimilation, Accomodation, and Equilibration

• Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Key Concepts

Sensorimotor Decentration, Intentionality, Object Permanence
(from birth to 2 years)
Preoperational Centration, Conservation (of number, substance, length, area,
(2 to 7 years) weight, and volume), Symbolic Play, Egocentrism
Concrete Operational Reversibility, Seriation, Transitive Reasoning, Classification,
(7 to 11 years) Concrete Reality, Logical Thought
Formal Operational Pendulum problem
(11 years and beyond) Hypothetico-deductive reasoning or logio-mathematical
intelligence

Lev Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development

• Zone of proximal development

• Scaffolding

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

• Read Heinz dilemma

• Stage of Moral Development

Level Stage Feature

Preconventional morality individuals judge morality in terms of the effects produced by various
actions; egocentric
Stage 1 Punishment and obedience Morality judged in terms of

Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.
 Prof. J. UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

orientation consequences
Stage 2 Reward or Naïve Hedonistic Morality judged in terms of what
orientation satisfies own needs or those of
others
Conventional morality individuals judge morality largely in terms of existing social norms or
rules; sociocentric
Stage 3 Good boy-Good Girl orientation Morality judged in terms of
adherence to social rules or norms
with respect to personal
acquaintances
Stage 4 Social system or Social order- Morality judged in terms of social
Maintaining orientation rules or laws applied universally,
not just to acquaintances
Postconventional morality individuals judge morality in terms of abstract principles
Stage 5 Morality of social contract and Morality judged in terms of
democracy or Legalistic human rights, which may
orientation transcend laws
Stage 6 Morality of individual principles Morality judged in terms of self-
of conscience or Universal chosen ethical principles
ethical principles orientation

Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Human Development

• Libido energies

• Fixation

• The Stages of Psychosexual Development

Stage Key Concepts

Oral (birth to 12-18 months) - Mouth is the center of pleasure
- Oral fixation due to early weaning or overindulged
(i.e. prolonged thumb sucking): gossiping and talking
too much, overeating, smoking, alcoholism, excessive
childish dependency
Anal (between 12-18 months to 3 years) - Anus is the center of sexual energies
- Proper Toilet Training
- Anal fixation: (withholds feces) controlling, stingy,
stubborn, and excessively concerned with cleanliness,
orderliness, and minor details; (expels feces) messy,
disorganized, extravagant, and impulsive
Phallic (3 to 6 years) - Pleasure is shifted at the genital area
- Oedipus complex = castration anxiety (for boys)
- Electra complex = penis envy (for girls)
- Proper identification (i.e. how children learn the
appropriate gender roles for their respective sex)
- Phallic fixation: interpersonal problems; extreme
fear, aggression, and other difficulties dealing with
authority figures; uncertainty about one’s self,
problems in maintaining a stable love relationship,
and the appearance of aberrant sexual behavior
Latency (6 to 11 years) - temporary repression of sexual libido
- development of social, intellectual, and moral skills
Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.
 Prof. J. UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

- peer relationships and the school are primary

concerns
Genital (11 years to adulthood) - sexual energies resurfaces again in the genital area
- object of sexual desire with the opposite sex
- quality of relationships and the degree of fulfillment
experienced at this time

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory or Epigenetic Stages of Development

• Individual competencies and Societal expectations = Crisis

• Stages of Psychosocial Development

Ego Strength
Stage Feature
(resolution)
Trust vs. Mistrust Infants learn either to trust the environment (if Hope
(birth to between 12 to needs are met) or to mistrust it
18 months)
Autonomy vs. Shame & Toddlers acquire self-confidence if they learn to Will
Doubt (early childhood: regulate their bodies and act independently. If they
between 12 and 18 fail or are labeled as inadequate, they experience
months to 3 years) shame and doubt
Initiative vs. Guilt Preschoolers acquire new physical and mental skills Purpose
(preschool age: between but must also learn to control their impulses. Unless
3 to 6 years) a good balance is struck, they become either unruly
or too inhibited
Industry vs. Inferiority Children acquire many skills and competencies. If Competence
(middle childhood: they take pride in these, they acquire high self-
between 6 to 11 years) esteem. If they compare themselves unfavorably
with others, they may develop low self-esteem
Identity vs. Identity Adolescents must integrate various roles into a Fidelity
Confusion (adolescence: consistent self-identity. If they fail to do so, they
11 to 20 years) may experience confusion over who they are—also
known as identity crises
Intimacy vs. Isolation Young adults must develop the ability to form deep, Love
(young adulthood: from intimate relationships with others. If they do not,
20s to the 40s) they may become socially or emotionally isolated
Generativity vs. Adults must take an active interest in helping and Care
Stagnation (middle guiding younger persons. If they do not, they may
adulthood: 40s to 60s) become preoccupied with purely selfish needs—
highly characterized by middle-crises. For male
Filipinos, we have the nagmumurang kamatis or
tumatanda ng paurong.
Integrity vs. Despair In the closing decades of life, individuals ask Wisdom
(late childhood: 60s and themselves whether their lives had any meaning. If
beyond) they can answer yes, they attain a sense of integrity.
If they answer no, they experience despair

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

• Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved

Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.
 Prof. J. UNTALAN/General Psychology
Chapter 3 – HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Temperament – basic, innate disposition

Attachment – the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual

References and Suggested Readings

Alampay, L. P. & Nisperos-Puente, M. K. B. (2007). Human development. In L. A. Teh & M. E. J. Macapagal

(Eds.), General psychology for Filipino college students (pp. 50-84). Loyola Heights, Quezon City: Ateneo de
Manila University Press.

*Carandang, M. L. A. (1981). The Rubic’s cube approach: A multidimensional model for working with children.
Philippine Journal of Psychology, 14, 47-54. (Available at the Journal section of the Library. Please see
Philippine Journal of Psychology, June-December 2002, 35(1-2), 169-177.)

*Jimenez, M. C. C. (1976). The development of moral judgment in Filipino urban children. Philippine Journal of
Psychology, 9, 3-34. (Available at the Journal section of the Library. Please see Philippine Journal of
Psychology, June-December 2002, 35(1-2), 115-141.)

*Liwag, M. E. C. D., & Tiangco, L. E. M. M. (1999). What do young children know about knowing? A cognitive-
developmental study of preschooler’s understanding of knowledge acquisition. Philippine Journal of
Psychology, 32(2), 1-33. (Available at the Journal section of the Library.)

*Liwag, M. E. C. D., & Chua, H. G. C. (2001). What do young children know about the differences between
physical and mental objects? A study on preschoolers’ ontological abilities. Philippine Journal of
Psychology, 34(2), 1-26. (Available at the Journal section of the Library.)

Assignment: 10-Page Term Paper to be submitted on the first meeting of the first week of January 2009

Please choose ONE article—those with asterisks (*) and in yellow highlight—in the reference/suggested
readings section of this paper and make your own analysis whether why the theory is important in the Filipino
context. Raise the positive aspects of why the theory is important and raise as well the possible criticisms or
shortcomings that may be leveled against it using Western notions.

Format: All pages should be one-inch in all sides. Use only a Times New Roman font with a size of 12.
Use 1.5 spacing only. Make sure that you prepare a cover page of your term paper with the title of your paper
appearing on the midsection centered area of the first page. On the second page, start your paper with a tab. All
paragraphs should be aligned in the left and AVOID justifying the text. If the student will use articles (published in
reputable journals in print or online) to support their claims, the student must prepare a separate sheet for his/her
references for proper acknowledging of the articles. STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO FOLLOW THE TECHNICAL
INSTRUCTION OF THE PAPER WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A MINUS 10 PTS IN THEIR SCORES.

Note: This is not a chapter reviewer. This is the instructor’s lecture and students are
still to consult with the contents of Robert Feldman’s (2008) textbook particularly
Chapter 9 from Modules 27 to 30.