MPC-002

1. Explain the characteristics and periods of pre-natal development.

Human development is the process of growth and change that takes place
between birth and maturity. Prenatal development is the development of the
embryo. It starts with fertilization and continues into foetal development until
birth. The process of fertilization occurs when the male and female sex cells
combine together. Both the cells undergo preliminary stages of development
before they can fertilize. The preliminary stages of development for male sex
cells (sperm) include maturation and fertilization and for female sex cells
(ovum) include maturation, ovulation and fertilization.
Maturation leads to chromosome reduction by cell division.
Ovulation is the release of mature ovum into the uterus, by the ovaries for
fertilization.
Fertilization is the process that occurs at the time of conception.

Characteristics of Prenatal Period

 The major characteristic features that influence the prenatal period are:
 This is the first period in the lifespan of human development.
 It is the shortest phase of human development, which starts from
conception and ends at birth, but the most important phase. The duration
of this phase usually lasts 270 to 280 days or roughly nine months.
 The physical and psychological factors possessed by the individual are
inherited and hence the hereditary factors play a major role in the
development of the foetus. They may be either favourable or
unfavourable.
 One of the most important characteristic is the condition of the mother’s
body, habits of the mother etc.
 The gender of the foetus is decided at the time of conception and it
remains the same.
 In the lifespan of a human, the greatest amount of growth takes place in
the prenatal period.
 During this period, the size of the foetus increases 11 million times from
the microscopically small cell to an infant.
 Before birth, the foetus passes through certain sensitive periods, which
are the times when the foetus if particularly susceptible to stimuli, such
habits of the mother.
 The prenatal period is also affected by environmental factors such as
drug, chemical, virus or other factors that produce a birth defect. Also, the
attitude of the people and mother’s positive attitude influence the normal
development of the infant.
 The biological process in the prenatal development includes various stages:

Stage 1: The Germinal Stage (Period of Zygote)

The two-week period after conception is called the Germinal Stage.
Conception occurs when a sperm cell combines with an egg cell to form
a Zygote. About thirty-six hours after conception, the zygote begins to divide
quickly. The resulting ball of cells moves along the mother’s fallopian tube to
the uterus. Around seven days after conception, the ball of cells starts to become
embedded in the wall of the uterus. This process is called Implantation and
takes about a week to complete. If implantation fails, as is quite common, the
pregnancy terminates. One key feature of the germinal stage is the formation of
a tissue called the Placenta. The placenta has two important functions:
 Passing oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s blood into the embryo or
foetus.
 Removing waste materials from the embryo or foetus.

Stage 2: The Embryonic Stage (Period of Embryo)

The Embryonic Stage lasts from the end of the germinal stage to two months
after conception (end of second lunar month). The developing ball of cells is
now called an Embryo. In this stage, the cells not only multiply but start taking
specific functions by the process of tissue differentiation. All the major organs
form, and the embryo becomes very fragile.
At 3 weeks: The formation of heart occurs along with the beginning of the
development of the brain and spinal cord, and the gastrointestinal tract.
At weeks 4 & 5: There is beginning of the vertebrae, the lower jaw, eyes and
rudiments of the ear.
At 6 weeks: The development of lower jaw, nose, palate and also there is
beginning of the development of lungs. The fingers and toes appear but are
webbed.
At weeks 7 & 8: All the important organs have begun their growth, facial
features develop, and external ear continues to grow.
The biggest dangers are teratogens, which are agents such as viruses, drugs, or
radiation that can cause deformities in an embryo or foetus. At the end of the
embryonic period, the embryo is only about an inch long.
Stage 3: The Foetal Stage (Period of Foetus)
The last stage of prenatal development is the Foetal Stage, which lasts from
two months (end of the second lunar month) after conception until birth. About
one month into this stage, the sex organs of the foetus begin to form. The foetus
quickly grows as bones and muscles form, and it begins to move inside the
uterus. Organ systems develop further and start to function. In 9 to 12 weeks,
the head is half the size of the foetus and the tooth buds start to appear in the
oral cavity.
The weeks 13 to 16 is termed as the second trimester. The foetus is active and
the heart beats can be perceived.
During the last three months, i.e., the last trimester, an insulating layer of fat
forms under the skin, and the respiratory and digestive systems start to work
independently. At 21 to 24 weeks, a major development is the reflex actions
which include swallowing, coughing, suckling etc. At 38 weeks, the foetus is
considered full term.

2. Describe the cognitive changes during adulthood period.

The stages in the life span of a human being can be commonly identified as:

 Prenatal Stage (from conception until birth)

 Infancy (birth to the end of second year of life)
 Early childhood (three to six years)
 Middle childhood (six years until puberty)
 Adolescence (puberty to adulthood)
 Early adulthood (twenty to forty years)
 Middle adulthood (forty to sixty-five years)
 Late adulthood or old age (sixty five years and older)

In early adulthood (20 to early 40s), our physical maturation is complete,

although our height and weight may increase slightly. In this period, our
physical abilities are at their peak.

Middle adulthood extends from the 40s to the 60s. The skin loses some
elasticity, and wrinkles and decrease in visual acuity are among the first signs of
aging. Women experience a gradual decline in fertility as they approach the
onset of menopause, the end of the menstrual cycle, around 50 years old.
Late adulthood is considered to extend from the 60s on. This is the last stage of
physical change. The skin continues to lose elasticity, reaction time slows
further, and muscle strength diminishes. The brain may also no longer function
at optimal levels, leading to problems like memory loss, dementia, etc.

Cognitive Changes during Adulthood

According to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the establishment

of formal operational thinking occurs during early adolescence and continues
through adulthood. Unlike earlier concrete thinking, this kind of thinking is
characterized by the ability to think in abstract ways. 
Since Piaget's theory, other developmental psychologists have suggested a fifth
stage of cognitive development, known as post-formal operational thinking. In
post-formal thinking, decisions are made based on situations and circumstances,
and logic is integrated with emotion as adults develop principles that depend on
contexts. This kind of thinking includes the ability to think in dialectics, and
differentiates between the ways in which adults and adolescents are able to
cognitively handle emotionally charged situations.

Early Adulthood
The early adulthood includes people in the age range of 20 to 40 years. After the
adolescence stage, the individuals have attained formal and abstract reasoning
and capable of solving problems and take life decisions.

Perry’s theory: He found that individuals gradually changed their thinking in

the face of reality and adult responsibility.
 Dualistic thinking is representative of younger individuals, a stage of
transition between adolescence and adulthood- dividing information,
values, and authority into right and wrong, good and bad. Truth is
compared to abstract standards, and authority figures are respected simply
because of their authority base.
 Relativistic thinking occurs as individual ages and becomes aware of the
diversity of opinions on any topic. They recognize there is little absolute
truth, but relative truths, based on context. The thinking becomes more
flexible, tolerant, and realistic. This transition in thinking may be unique
to people pursuing extended education, with all the diversity that they
face in that environment. The underlying theme is adaptive cognition-
thought that is less constrained by the need to find one answer to a
question and is more responsive to context.
 Schaie’s theory regards the change as the shift from acquiring knowledge to
using it.
 Acquisitive stage (childhood and adolescence) is the time when people
are acquiring knowledge. They develop enhanced processing abilities,
strategies for use of information, and ways to combine and integrate it.
 Achieving stage (early adulthood) is when people adapt their cognitive
skills to particular situations: job, marriage, childbearing, that affect long-
term goals. They are applying knowledge to real life problems.
 Responsibility stage (middle adulthood) develops as adults expand their
responsibilities to others.
 Re-integrative stage (late adulthood) involves people at retirement, re-
examining and re-integrating their interests and values to produce a
satisfying quality of life.

Labouvie-Vief’s theory involves the transition from adolescent perception

of all the possibilities to adult perception of the practical and realistic.
 Pragmatic thought is a structural advance in which logic becomes a tool
for solving real-world problems. This change is motivated by the need to
specialize. When adults choose a career path, they eliminate all the
alternative possibilities. They fine-tune their learning for that particular
environment and its demands. The advantage of this is that it opens new
doors to higher levels of expertise and competence. They accept
inconsistencies of life and people and develop thinking that accepts
imperfection and compromise.

Middle Adulthood
Adults in middle age witness continued cognitive development, with many
individuals becoming experts in a particular area of study or occupation.
Though the brain has already reached maturity, the demands of life produce
both cognitive gains and losses in this stage of development. Two forms of
intelligence are the main focus of middle adulthood:
Crystallized Intelligence: It is dependent upon accumulated knowledge and
experiences, the information, skills, and strategies we have gathered throughout
our lifetime. This kind of intelligence tends to hold steady as we age—in fact, it
may even improve. For example, adults show relatively stable to increasing
scores on intelligence tests until their mid-30s to mid-50s.
 Fluid intelligence: It is more dependent on basic information-processing skills
and starts to decline even prior to middle adulthood. Cognitive processing speed
slows down during this stage of life, as does the ability to solve problems and
divide attention. However, practical problem-solving skills tend to increase.
These skills are necessary to solve real-world problems and figure out how to
best achieve a desired goal.

Memory in Middle Adulthood

According to research on memory changes in adulthood, most people show only

minimal losses, and many exhibit no memory loss at all.

Memory is viewed in terms of three sequential components:

 Sensory memory is an initial, momentary storage of information that lasts

only an instant which does not decline in middle age.

 Short-term memory holds information for 15 to 25 seconds. There occurs

no decline in middle age.

 Long-term memory holds information that is rehearsed for a relatively

permanent time. There may be some decline in middle age. The memory
storage is less efficient. Also there may be a reduction in efficiency of
memory retrieval.

(Figure/Graph: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence in phone)

Late Adulthood
The period is generally considered to start at 65 years of age. As an individual
age into late adulthood, psychological and cognitive changes can sometimes
occur. A general decline in memory is very common, due to the decrease in
speed of encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. This can cause
problems with short-term memory retention and with the ability to learn new
information. In most cases, this absent-mindedness should be considered a
natural part of growing older rather than a psychological or neurological
disorder.
Selective Optimization with Compensation is a strategy for improving health
and wellbeing in older adults and a model for successful aging. It is
recommended that seniors select and optimize their best abilities and most intact
functions while compensating for declines and losses.

Intelligence and Memory in Late Adulthood

The time required for processing of information and retrieve information from
long-term memory is slower. One of the characteristics most frequently
attributed to late adulthood is forgetfulness. The deficits in memory, rather than
being whole, are often limited to certain types of memory.
Episodic memory, which relates to specific experiences in life, is affected more
than semantic and implicit memory.
In the past, older adults with severe cases of memory decline accompanied by
other cognitive difficulties were said to suffer from senility. Senility is a broad,
imprecise term typically applied to older adults who experience progressive
deterioration of mental abilities, including memory loss, disorientation to time
and place, and general confusion. Once thought to be an inevitable state that
accompanies aging, senility is now viewed by most gerontologists as a label that
has outlived its usefulness.

Traditionally, IQ tests may be inappropriate measures of intelligence in late

adulthood. Older individuals tend to perform better on tests in practical
intelligence. Some decline in intellectual functioning does occur in late
adulthood. The skills relating to fluid intelligence show more decline than
crystallized intelligence, which remain steady and in some cases actually
improve.

3. Discuss Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including
remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through
adolescence to adulthood.

Jean Piaget proposed the theory of cognitive development in 1952. He referred

to his theory as ‘Genetic Epistemology’ which he defined as the study of
acquisition, modification, and growth of abstract ideas that makes growth
possible. He derived his theory by asking questions to children. He was not
concerned whether the answer was correct or not but the way in which the child
arrived at the answer. He viewed it as an extension of biological adaptation that
has a logical structure.

Piaget proposed that cognitive development begins with primitive reflexes and
motor coordination of infancy to thinking and problem solving of adolescence
till adulthood. He proposes that the world is a stable environment and the child
acquires this through the knowledge of mathematics and logic as reality. Then
as the child grows, he is required to adapt according to people he is living with.
These stages can be grouped as following:
 1. Operation: An action, which the child performs mentally and is
reversible.
2. Schemata: A dynamic process of differentiation and reorganization of
knowledge with the resultant evolution of behaviour and cognitive
functioning apparatus for the age of the child.
3. Assimilation: New object or idea interpreted in terms of idea or action the
child has already acquired within its age-specific skills.
4. Accommodation: An individual’s tendency to modify action to fit into a
new situation.
5. Equilibrium: The state established as a result of new knowledge to the
child.

The theory deals with cognitive development beginning with primitive reflexes
and motor coordination of infancy to thinking and problem solving of
adolescence till adulthood. The theory constitutes four stages of cognitive
growth each characterized by a different type of thinking and in each relies
more upon internal stimuli:

 Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years)

 Pre-operational Stage (2-7 years)
 Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
 Formal Operational Stage (11-15 years)

Sensorimotor Period (Birth to 2 years of age): A child develops from the

stage of being totally dependent on reflex activities to an individual who can
develop behaviour. The child starts to develop the idea of object permanence
and the foundation for language develops during this time. This stage can be
sub-divided into six stages:

1st stage: Automatic inborn reflexes of the child. Ex: Crying

2nd stage: Co-ordination of reflexes improves. Ex: Child gets digits close to the
mouth while crying.

3rd stage: Infants try to perceive and maintain interesting experiences. Ex: learns
to kick the crib to hear the bell ring.

4th stage: Coordinate sensory motor scheme.

5th stage: New sensory motor schemes are invented.

6th stage: Invent new schemes through mental exploration in which they
imagine certain events and outcomes.

Preoperational Period (2 years to 7 years): The ability to manipulate symbols

and words is a characteristic feature of this stage. This period can be divided
into two stages:

Pre-conceptual stage (2 to 4 years): In this stage, the child’s reactions are not
simply due to the physical nature of the stimulus but its meaning.

Intuitive stage (4 to 7 years): Pre-logical reasoning starts to appear which is not

reversible. The trial and error mode may lead to intuitive discovery of correct
relationships but the child can process only one attribute at a time.

This stage is marked by egocentric thoughts which cause the child to view the
entire world in child’s own perspective. They also lack the principle of
conservation.

Ex: 2 glasses, one taller and the other shorter but with more volume, are filled
with water. The child is asked to identify the glass with more water, most
probably; the child will point out to the one which is taller.

Concrete Operational Period (7 years to 11 years): The concrete operational

stage is a major turning point in the child's cognitive development, because it
marks the beginning of logical or operational thought. Children gain the abilities
of conservation (number, area, volume, orientation), reversibility, seriation,
transitivity and class inclusion However, although children can solve problems
in a logical fashion, they are typically not able to think abstractly or
hypothetically.

 The child is able to focus attention on more than one attribute at the same
time. This ability is termed as Decentration.
 There occurs an emotional surge in intellectual development and is able
to compare and tolerate different point of views. Unlike the pre-school
children who are unable to consider others’ viewpoints, these children
develop a New Egocentrism which permits flexibility, logic and
objectivity.
 Syllogistic reasoning, in which a logical conclusion is formed from two
premises, appears during this stage.
  The principle of reversibility, which means something which has been
changed, can be changed back into its original form, and conservation,
that is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even
though its appearance changes are also enhanced at this stage.

 The cognitive operation of seriation (logical order) involves the ability to

mentally arrange items along a quantifiable dimension, such as height or
weight.
 Classification is the ability to identify the properties of categories, to
relate categories or classes to one another, and to use categorical
information to solve problems.

Formal Operational Stage (11 years unto adulthood): The ability to deal
with abstract concept and abstract reasoning develops by about 11 to 12 years of
age. The child’s thought processes become similar to that of an adult. He/she
can do mathematical calculations, think creatively, use abstract reasoning, and
imagine the outcome of particular actions.
An example of the distinction between concrete and formal operational stages is
the answer to the question “If Kelly is taller than Ali and Ali is taller than Jo,
who is tallest?”  This is an example of inferential reasoning, which is the ability
to think about things which the child has not actually experienced and to draw
conclusions from its thinking. 
 Deductive reasoning is the ability to think scientifically through
generating predictions, or hypotheses, about the world to answer
questions.
 Abstract Thinking:  The individual can think about hypothetical and
abstract concepts they have yet to experience. 

Critical Evaluation
Support

 The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been

enormous. He changed the methods of studying children.
 His ideas have been of practical use in understanding and communicating
with children in the field of education (re: Discovery Learning).

Criticisms

 Some psychologists would rather not talk about stages at all, preferring to
see development as a continuous process.
 Because Piaget concentrated on the universal stages of cognitive
development and biological maturation, he failed to consider the effect
that the social setting and culture may have on cognitive development.
 Piaget’s methods (observation and clinical interviews) are more open to
biased interpretation than other methods.
 As several studies have shown Piaget underestimated the abilities of
children because his tests were sometimes confusing or difficult to
understand.
  Behaviourism would refute Piaget’s schema theory because it cannot be
directly observed as it is an internal process. Therefore, they would claim
it cannot be objectively measured.
 For Piaget, language is seen as secondary to action, i.e., thought precedes
language.

4. Describe motor development in childhood.

Motor development is the term that represents the way one's ability to control
bodily movements increases as he or she grows. Gross motor skills are one's
ability to control his or her large muscle groups, like arms and legs. Balance is
an important part of gross motor development. Fine motor skills are the use of
our small muscle groups, like fingers, more precisely for things like handwriting
or drawing.
Gross Motor Skills
Between ages 2 and 3 years:
 Young children stop "toddling," or using the awkward, wide-legged
robot-like stance that is the hallmark of new walkers.
 They also develop the ability to run, jump, and hop.
 Children of this age can participate in throwing and catching games with
larger balls. They can also push themselves around with their feet while
sitting on a riding toy.
3 to 4 years of age:
  They can climb up stairs using a method of bringing both feet together on
each step before proceeding to the next step.
 They can jump and hop higher as their leg muscles grow stronger. Many
can even hop on one foot for short periods of time.
 At this age children develop better upper body mobility. As a result, their
catching and throwing abilities improve in speed and accuracy. As whole
body coordination improves, children of this age can now peddle and
steer a tricycle.
4 to 5 years of age:
 Children can go up and down the stairs alone in the adult fashion (i.e.,
taking one step at a time). Their running continues to smooth out and
increase in speed.
 They can also skip and add spin to their throws. They also have more
control when riding their tricycles (or bicycles)
5 to 6 years of age:
 Young children continue to refine earlier skills. They begin mastering
new forms of physical play such as the jungle gym, and begin to use the
see-saw, slide, and swing on their own.
 They often start jumping rope, skating, hitting balls with bats, and so on.
 Many children of this age enjoy learning to play organized sports such as
soccer, basketball, t-ball or swimming.
 Children continue to refine and improve their gross motor skills through
age 7 and beyond.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are necessary to engage in smaller, more precise movements,
normally using the hands and fingers. Fine motor skills are different than gross
motor skills which require less precision to perform.

2 to 3 years of age:
 Children can create things with their hands. They can build towers out of
blocks, mould clay into rough shapes, and scribble with a crayon or pen.
 They often begin showing a preference for using one hand more often
than the other, which is the beginning of becoming left or right-handed.
3 to 4 years of age:
 Children continue to gain independence in dressing and undressing
themselves.
 At this age, children can also begin using scissors to cut paper.
 They continue to refine their eating skills and can use forks and spoons.
They can also use larger writing instruments, like fat crayons, in a writing
hold rather than just grasping them with their fist.
  They can use a twisting motion with their hands, useful for opening door
knobs or twisting lids off containers.

4 to 5 years of age:
 Children continue to refine fine motor skills and build upon earlier skills.
For instance, they can now button and unbutton their clothes by
themselves.
 Their artistic skills improve, and they can draw simple stick figures and
copy shapes such as circles, squares, and large letters.
 They begin to show the skills necessary for starting or succeeding in
school, such as printing letters and numbers and creating shapes such as
triangles.

5. Define social cognition. Discuss the role of peer group in social

development.

Social cognition is a sub-topic of social psychology that focuses on how people

process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It
focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in our social interactions. The
way we think about others plays a major role in how we think, feel, and interact
with the world around us.

Social Cognition involves:

 The processes involved in perceiving other people and how we come to

know about the people in the world around us.
 It involves the study of these mental processes that involved in
perceiving, remembering, thinking, and attending to the other people in
our social world.

Peer Group: A peer group is a social group whose members have interests,
social positions, and age in common. It is a group of people of approximately
the same age, status, and interests. This is where children can escape
supervision and learn to form relationships on their own. A peer group consists
of friends and associates who are about the same age and social status. Peer
groups play an important role in socialization, especially in childhood and
adolescence.  It is made up of the contemporaries of the child, his associates in
school, in a playground and in street. It provides children with the opportunity
to be a part of relationships that are productive and beneficial for all parties
involved. The growing child learns some very important lessons from his peer
group. Since members of the peer group are at the same stage of socialization,
they freely and spontaneously interact with each other. They also allow children
to create relationships with one another without being under adult control. The
members of peer groups have other sources of information about the culture and
thus the acquisition of culture goes on.

As children reach school age, their social interactions begin to follow set
patterns and become more frequent. They may engage in elaborate games
involving teams and rigid rules. This play serves purposes other than mere
enjoyment. It allows children to become increasingly competent in their social
interactions with others. Through play, they learn to take the perspective of
other people and infer others’ thoughts and feelings, even when they are not
directly expressed.

In short, social interaction helps children interpret the meaning of others’

behaviour and develop the capacity to respond appropriately. Furthermore,
children learn physical and emotional self-control. They learn to be polite and
control their facial expressions and mannerisms.

6. Elucidate the issues and domains of human development.

Lifespan development explores how we change and grow from conception to

death. This field of psychology is studied by developmental psychologists.

There are a number of important issues that have been debated throughout the
history of developmental psychology. The major issues include the following:

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate over the relative contributions of inheritance and the environment
usually referred to as the nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues.

Today, most psychologists believe that it is an interaction between these two

forces that causes development. Some aspects of development are distinctly
biological, such as puberty. However, the onset of puberty can be affected by
environmental factors such as diet and nutrition.

Early Experience vs. Later Experience

A second important consideration involves the relative importance of early

experiences versus those that occur later in life.
Psychoanalytic theorists tend to focus on events that occur in early childhood.
According to Freud, much of a child's personality is completely established by
the age of five. In contrast, researchers have found that the influence of
childhood events does not necessarily have a dominating effect over behaviour
throughout life.

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

A third major issue in developmental psychology is that of continuity. Some

theories of development argue that changes are simply a matter of quantity;
children display more of certain skills as they grow older. Other theories outline
a series of sequential stages in which skills emerge at certain points of
development.

Abnormal Behaviour vs. Individual Differences

One of the biggest concerns is the normal development of children.

Developmental milestones offer guidelines for the ages at which certain skills
and abilities typically emerge, but can create concern when a child falls slightly
behind the norm. Learning theories rely more on the environment's unique
impact on an individual, so individual differences are an important component
of these theories.

Domains of Human Development

Human development is viewed as a lifelong process that can be studied

scientifically across three developmental domains: physical, cognitive
development, and psychosocial.

 Physical development involves growth and changes in the body and

brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness. This domain
includes the development of the senses and using them. Physical
development can be influenced by nutrition and illness.

 Cognitive development involves learning, attention, memory, language,

thinking, reasoning, and creativity.  Jean Piaget outlined stages of
cognitive development: sensorimotor stage from birth to age 2,
the preoperational stage from ages 2 to 6, the concrete operational
stage from age 7 to 11, and formal operational stage from age 12 to
adulthood.

 Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, and social

relationships. This domain includes the growth of a child in
 understanding and controlling their emotions. They develop the ability to
cooperate, show empathy, and use moral reasoning. Children and
adolescents develop many relationships, from parents and siblings to
peers, etc. 

7. Discuss the ways to cope with the loss of normalcy by an adolescent.

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development emphasizes the search for

identity during the adolescent years. The fifth stage of Erikson’s theory
encompasses adolescence which is identity versus role confusion. The
adolescent during this stage is under the pressure of identifying what to do with
their life.

In youngsters with autism, adolescence is essentially determined by the levels of

three ingredients: interest, avoidance and insight.

Level of interest: Since all forms of autism have an impact on social

development, they may seem to be totally unaware of their peers’ presence or
they may appear indifferent when peers try to interact. As autism gets less
severe, the level of interest in peers usually increases.

Level of avoidance: In the social development of adolescents who show some

interest in peer interactions, social anxiety and resultant avoidance may lead to
disconnect socially. Their avoidance may appear as if they are not interested in
others. It is important to differentiate this since anxiety can be treated much
more easily than genuine lack of interest.

Anxiety: For adolescents with autism who show interest in peers and do not
avoid contact, the quality of social interactions will depend on the level of
insight.

Level of insight: Adolescents are eager to communicate, though, often in a

clumsy way. The level of their insight into their social disability will then
become the determining factor of their social success.
Coping with an adolescence can be done by understanding the following:

1. All Adolescents want to be “normal.”

Adolescence is a time when most teens just want to fit in. So when a tragedy
sets a teen apart, it’s all the harder. So, in order to make them feel normal, it is
important to act normal around them.

2. Friends are important.

Adolescence is also a time when peers play a starring role, much more so than
in early childhood. So it should come as no surprise that when it comes
to teenage grief and loss, teens may lean more on peers than grown-ups.

3. The teenager should be allowed to make decisions

It’s not helpful to try to direct what an adolescent should do, say, or feel.
Rather, follow where they lead. For example, don’t force a teenager to have a
conversation. It is always good to make them feel that someone is there for
them.

4. Be careful with the language used

It’s hard to know what to say to an adolescent. It is better to make them feel
comfortable rather than trying to engage them in conversations they may not be
interested in.
5. Give them something to do.

It is better to be engaged with some work so that their mind is engaged on

something constructive rather than brooding over things which make them
anxious, angry or depressed.

6. Be honest.

It is better to answer honestly to the questions asked by them so that they build
trust and faith, a lie, although may help temporarily, but a later realization can
lead to further denial and depression.

7. Seek professional help if needed

If there is a need for professional help, it should be taken without a second

thought. In most of the countries, it may be a taboo, but the teenager should be
made to realize it is completely normal.

8. Explain the contextual approach to development.

The contextual approach to development, in contrast to the stage theories of

development (Erik Erikson’s theory), hold the point of view that quantitative
changes occur in children’s ability to manipulate and organize information,
depending on the context or the environment in which a child is growing.

Two main contextual theories include:

 Ecological Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner

 Zone of Proximal Development Theory by Lev Vygotsky

The Ecological Theory

The American Psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner, in this theory explains

how the inherent qualities of a child and his environment interact to
influence how he will grow and develop. The theory stresses the importance
of studying a child in the context of multiple environments, also known as
ecological systems in the attempt to understand his development.

 A child typically finds itself simultaneously enmeshed in different

ecosystems, from the most intimate home ecological system moving
outward to the larger school system and the most expansive system which
 is society and culture. Each of these systems inevitably interacts with and
influences each other in every aspect of the child’s life.
 The Urie Bronfenbrenner model organizes contexts of development into
five levels of external influence. The levels are categorized from the most
intimate level to the broadest.

Zone of Proximal development Theory

The Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, explains that the culture in which we
are raised significantly affects our cognitive development. He argues that
cognitive development occurs as a consequence of social interactions, in which
children work with others to jointly solve problems. Through such interactions,
children’s cognitive skills increase, and they gain the ability to function
intellectually on their own.

The zone of proximal development is the level at which a child can almost, but
not fully, comprehend or perform a task on his or her own. More specifically, a
child’s cognitive ability increases when they encounter information that falls
within the zone. In contrast, if the information lies outside the zone, they may
not be able to master it.

In short, cognitive development occurs when parents, teachers, peers, etc, assist
a child by presenting information that is both new and within the ZPD. This
type of assistance is called scaffolding, which supports learning and problem
solving. Vygotsky’s theory considers how an individual’s specific cultural and
social context affects intellectual growth, more than any other approaches.

9. Concept Formation
Concepts result from the elaboration and combination of individual sensory
experiences. A child may have a clear and accurate concept of what generosity
means but may not know the word. The characteristics include:

 No two children have precisely the same intellectual abilities

 It follows a pattern- as new meanings are associated with old.
 It develops from undefined to specific.
 It is frequently resistant to change.
 It influences behaviour

10. Educational Excursion

Educational excursions are trips meant for children, an outside school activity,
which includes field trips to agricultural areas, industrial areas, factories,
historical places, etc, to make them understand the process by which things for
their daily needs are produced. These trips provide children with the opportunity
to explore and understand what they read in books. It also helps in inducing
natural curiosity in children for learning.

11. Longitudinal and Cross- sectional Method.

A longitudinal method is an observational research method in which data is

gathered for the same subjects repeatedly over a period of time. Longitudinal
research projects can extend over years or even decades.

A cross-sectional method of research involves the collection of data at the same

period of time from people who are similar in other characteristics but different
in a key factor of interest such as age, income levels, or geographic location. 

12. Self-esteem

Self-esteem is the component of personality that encompasses our positive and

negative self-evaluation. It relates to how we feel about ourselves. It has strong
cultural components. Although people have a general level of self-esteem, it is
not one-dimensional. We may see ourselves positively in one-dimension but
negative in others. For example, a good student may have high self-esteem in
academic domains but lower self-esteem in sports.
 13. Grammar and Pragmatics

The basic structure of language rests on grammar, which is the system of rules
that determine how our thoughts can be expressed. Grammar deals with three
major components of language: phonology, syntax, and semantic.

Pragmatics is the study of the use of linguistic signs, words and sentences, in
actual situations. It looks beyond the literal meaning of an utterance and
considers language as an instrument of interaction, what people mean when they
use language and how we communicate and understand each other.

14. High Risk Behaviour

High Risk Behaviours are often impulsive and damaging, but can be seen as a
cry for help when emotions become intolerable. High-risk behaviours include
physical self-harm, impulsive, and reckless behaviours. Physical self-harm may
be done by cutting, pulling out hair, burning, scratching, or any other bodily
harm. Sometimes, without seeking help, an individual may begin to think
suicide is the only option.

15. Ageism

Ageism is a form of discrimination toward an individual or group based on their

age. The term often refers to the treatment of older people. The term ‘ageism’
was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler.  He defined ageism as having three
connected elements: prejudicial attitudes toward older people, old age and the
aging process; discrimination against older people; and practices and policies
that perpetuate stereotypes of older people.

16. Social Clock

Social clock is the set of norms that govern the ages at which certain events
happen, like starting school, getting married, retiring etc. It works to govern
some of the age related events in society. For example, in some cultures it is
expected that people be married in their teens. This is an example of a social
clock - in that cutlture they have an accepted timetable for when events are to
occur.
 17. Mid-life crisis

The term, mid-life crisis was coined by Elliott Jaques, a Canadian

psychoanalyst, which refers to the phase between the 40s and 60s, where
individuals have anxieties over their accomplishments, as they have come
halfway through life. While most people do not experience a severe crisis
during middle age, some individuals do develop conditions such
as depression and anxiety. Women experiencing menopause may be particularly
vulnerable to distress.

18. Secondary Ageing

Secondary ageing is the result of disease and poor health practices (e.g. no
exercise, smoking, excess fat and other forms of self-damage) and are often
preventable, whether through lifestyle choice or modern medicine. Diseases like
high blood pressure, diabetes and coronary artery disease do not have to happen
to everyone because they age. It happens more to those who choose unhealthy
life style practices which leads to the development of these diseases.