Psychosocial Development during Middle Childhood
CSL6801.2 Life-Span Development
Psychosocial Development during Middle Childhood
Over a person’s lifespan, there is a series of growth and development that takes place, which affects the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of the person. This is the normative approach in which there are specific developmental stages taking place over a course of lifespan, which can be observed in almost all people around the world. Still, people develop at different rates, especially those who belong to different cultures and environment. Although biological milestones tend to be universal, there are things like social milestones that are experienced differently between groups of people. Still, development is continuous, whether it is physical development, cognitive or psychosocial development, and it starts from the time a person is conceived in the mother’s womb, up to the time of his/her death.
Factors that Affect Physical Development
Factors affecting physical development
Physical development is a developmental domain that involves “growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness” (Santrock, 2013, p.294). There are a number of factors that affect physical development. They can be the effect of nature or nurture. Nature has something to do with biology and genetics, such as the physical effects of genes, which bring about the genetic traits, age, gender, weight, diet and nutrition, as well as race and the type of foods being eaten, which optimize growth. On the other hand, nurture has something to do with culture and the environment, such as parents and peers, the socioeconomic status, ethnicity and race, as well as religion.
The influence of heredity and environment
There are hereditary and environmental influences that affect the physical development of a person. Hereditary influences are usually those of nature or those that are connected to biology and genetics, such as genes and gender, as well as the talents and abilities that others get from their parents. On the other hand, the environmental influences are usually those connected to nurture or those that are the effect of culture and things found in the environment. For example, as an effect of the environment, a girl in the middle childhood is physically affected after falling from the top of the stairs. A 10-year old boy may also develop an asthma as a result of the polluted air from which they live.
Factors that Affect Cognitive Development
Factors affecting cognitive development
Cognitive development is a developmental domain that “involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity” (Santrock, 2013, p.294). There are a number of factors that affect the cognitive development of a person in middle childhood. Based on the psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson, a boy or girl in middle childhood (ages 6-12) face the task of industry vs. inferiority, in which they compare themselves with peers (Santrock, 2013, p.300). Cognitively, they begin measuring themselves up and thereby develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in themselves. This takes place in the form of schoolwork, social activities, sports, and family life. If they don’t measure up, they begin to think and feel inferior, as compared with others, instead of developing competence. It is at this time that the child’s brain has increased to 90 percent of its full size, as the child increases in knowledge and skills (Peterson, 2014, p.286).
The influences of heredity and environment
There are hereditary and environmental influences that affect the cognitive development of a person. Hereditary influences may have something to do with gender, race, physical appearance, physical health, and level of knowledge and intuition, which counts a lot on how others perceive them, which affects their cognitive development. For example, a fat 12-year-old girl is being criticized and dumped by her peers, which affects her cognitive development, as she develops a sense of inferiority instead of competence. On the other hand, environmental influences can also affect the cognitive development of a person, such as the effect of other people, things, events, the physical surroundings, and the ambiance. For example, a boy who is accepted by his peers is more likely to develop self-confidence than someone of the same age who is not being accepted by his/her peers. Also, children who grew up in tropical countries were more relaxed and languid because of the weather.
Factors that Affect Psychosocial Development
Factors affecting social development
Psychosocial development includes factors affecting the development of social relationships. As stated, those who are in middle childhood are in a state of confusion, as based on the theory of Erikson. Their main questions are: “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?” Although others develop their social roles from their parents, there are still others who develop their identities in accordance with their peer group. As Santrock (2013) mentioned, “peer relationships become a central focus in adolescent’s lives” (p.323). There are many factors affecting social relationships in an adolescent’s life—from hereditary things like genes, talents, and level of knowledge, to environmental things like events and culture.
Factors affecting moral development
Psychosocial development also includes factors affecting the development of emotions and morality. Since children who are 6-12 years old are usually in a state of confusion, his/her state of morality may be the effect of how he/she is being treated by parents, the family, the teachers, and other elders in the community. It can also be based on how often the child is being taught or lectured, especially when it comes to morality and how he/she should behave when being with other children or with elders. As Santrock (2013) mentioned, “Warm and healthy parent-child relationships have been associated with positive child outcomes, such as better grades and fewer school behavior problems” (p.323). For most of the time, the morality of a child becomes more developed when parents take time to teach them about the values of life, including teachers and elders in the religious sector.
Factors affecting personality development
Lastly, psychosocial development also includes factors affecting the development of personality. Based on history, it was Hippocrates in 370 BCE who proposed that there are basically four separate temperaments associated with the four fluids of the body: (1) choleric temperament; (2) melancholic temperament; (3) sanguine temperament; and (4) phlegmatic temperament (Santrock, 2013, p.374). It was the Greek philosopher Galen who developed this theme and proposed that there are indeed four temperaments. However, personality is driven by a number of factors, from hereditary ones to environmental ones. Hereditary factors include the physical condition of the body, the brain and cardiovascular system, the condition of the nerves or the blood pressure. There are also environmental factors affecting the personality of a child, such as the events, the state of affairs, people surrounding the child, the state of living, the state of air environment, as well as social and community affairs.
Conclusion
Development psychology seeks to address different aspects of human development, such as physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development. This series of growth takes place continuously over a person’s lifespan, as it follows biological and social milestones that affect the person’s development. Both genetic and environmental factors affect these series of changes taking place within a person, affected by both nature and nurture, with both the internal and external factors dominating the child. An adolescent who is still on the verge of growth and development experiences continuous changes within him/her. It is a time when all the domains of the body—physical, cognitive, emotional, mental, and psychological—are all changing for growth to take place. It is at this time of complexity that the adolescent experiences changes in a new, incomprehensible world.
References:
Peterson, C.C. (2014). Looking forward through the lifespan: Developmental psychology (6th ed.). Australia: Pearson.
Santrock, J.W. (2013). Life span development (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
