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Child Development and Educational Psychology · Chapter 2

Stages and Dimensions of Development

What to remember

  • Development has stages from infancy to adolescence, and each stage has physical-motor, cognitive, emotional, social, moral and language sides that grow together.
  • Infancy is the stage of fastest growth; childhood builds skills and peer life; adolescence brings puberty, identity and abstract thinking.
  • A teacher must teach to the stage: play and activity for young children, reasoning and guidance for adolescents.

Stages of development

StageApproximate age
PrenatalConception to birth
InfancyBirth to 2 years (newborn: first 2-4 weeks)
Early childhood (pre-school)2 to 6 years
Middle childhood (primary school)6 to 12 years
AdolescenceAbout 12 to 18-19 years

Early childhood is called the "toy age" or "pre-gang age". Middle childhood is also called the "gang age" or "latency" period because peers become important. G. Stanley Hall called adolescence (not middle childhood) the period of "storm and stress". Ages in books vary a little.

Physical and motor development

Physical growth is fastest in the first two years, then slows in childhood, then speeds up again at puberty (adolescent growth spurt). Girls generally enter puberty earlier than boys.

  • Gross motor skills use large muscles: crawling, walking, running, jumping.
  • Fine motor skills use small muscles: holding a pencil, buttoning, cutting with scissors.
  • Infancy: reflexes such as grasping, sucking and rooting are present at birth. Control grows from head to foot.
  • Early childhood: runs, climbs, hops, throws a ball, scribbles. Needs much free play.
  • Middle childhood: steady growth, better balance and strength, skill in games and writing.
  • Adolescence: puberty brings primary sex characters (organs of reproduction) and secondary sex characters (voice change, body hair, breast development). Body image becomes a big concern.

Classroom angle: give activity, games, drawing and clay work for muscle development. Avoid long sitting for small children.

Cognitive development

Cognitive means thinking, remembering, reasoning and problem solving. Piaget's stages are the common frame:

StageAgeMain feature
Sensorimotor0-2Learns by senses and actions; object permanence
Pre-operational2-7Language and symbols; egocentric; animism
Concrete operational7-11Logical thought about real things; conservation
Formal operational11 and aboveAbstract and hypothetical thought

Classroom angle: use real objects and activities for children; allow discussion and "what if" problems for adolescents.

Emotional development

Emotions are strong feelings such as joy, fear, anger and love. Newborns show general excitement. Distinct emotions appear in the first year. Fear of strangers (stranger anxiety) appears around the second half of the first year. Children learn to control emotions with age. The pre-school child shows short, strong outbursts. Adolescents show mood swings. A secure bond with the caregiver (attachment) gives emotional safety. Bowlby described attachment; Harlow's monkey study showed that comfort contact matters more than food.

Classroom angle: a warm, predictable teacher, praise for effort and a safe place to talk.

Social development

Social development means learning to live with others. It begins with the family and widens to peers and school.

  • Infant: attachment to the mother or caregiver.
  • Early childhood: parallel play, then cooperative play. Interest in other children.
  • Middle childhood: close friends, team games, rules, group loyalty (gang age).
  • Adolescence: peer group is very important, wish for independence, interest in the opposite sex, search for identity.

Socialisation uses family, school, peers and media. Teachers can use group work, projects and responsibilities to build social skills.

Moral development

Morals are ideas of right and wrong. Piaget described two stages: moral realism (rules are fixed and come from adults, under about 7-8 years) and moral relativism (rules are made by agreement, later). Kohlberg later gave three levels with six stages (see the theorists chapter): pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional. Young children obey to avoid punishment; older children follow rules to please others and keep order; mature persons follow principles. Moral growth needs good models, stories, discussion and fair rules. Imitation of adults is strong.

Language development

Language grows in a fixed order across cultures:

AgeStage
BirthCrying (reflex sounds)
About 2-3 monthsCooing
About 6 monthsBabbling (repeated syllables)
About 1 yearFirst words (one-word, holophrase)
About 2 yearsTwo-word (telegraphic) speech
3-5 yearsRapid growth of vocabulary and sentences
School ageReading, writing, longer and complex sentences

Receptive language (understanding) comes before expressive language (speaking). Children learn through hearing, imitation, reinforcement and interaction. Chomsky proposed an inborn Language Acquisition Device (LAD); Skinner stressed reinforcement; Vygotsky stressed social talk. The mother tongue is the best first medium for learning. Classroom angle: songs, stories, talk and reading aloud.

Adolescence: special points

  • Rapid body change, sexual maturity and a new body image.
  • Abstract and critical thinking; questioning of adults.
  • Search for identity (Erikson: identity vs. role confusion).
  • Strong influence of friends and media.
  • Emotional ups and downs; need for understanding, not harsh control.
  • Career interests begin; guidance and counselling are needed.

Needs of each stage for the teacher

StageWhat the teacher should do
Infancy and early childhoodGive play, songs, stories, safe space and love; use the mother tongue
Middle childhoodGive group games, projects, rules, simple responsibility and praise for effort
AdolescenceGive guidance, respect, chances to talk, career information and healthy outlets

Reflexes and early skills of the newborn

A newborn shows reflexes without learning. The Moro reflex is a startle response. The grasping (palmar) reflex closes the hand on touch. The rooting reflex turns the head toward a touch on the cheek. The sucking reflex helps feeding. Most of these fade in the first months as voluntary control grows. Their absence or long persistence can be a warning sign for a doctor.

Links between dimensions

The dimensions are not separate. A child who cannot hear well may be slow in language, then slow in social life and school progress. A child with bullying at school may show emotional stress and poor concentration. A teacher should look at the whole child, not only marks. Early help in one area often improves the others.

Common concerns in the school years

  • Slow speech or stammering: give patience and calm time to speak; do not mock.
  • Clumsiness in writing: give fine motor activities.
  • Shyness or fear: build trust slowly through small group tasks.
  • Aggression: teach rules and fair play and give praise for good behaviour.
  • Early or late puberty: give private, correct information.

Cognitive development: classroom activities by stage

For pre-operational children, use pictures, stories, puppets, counting with objects and role play. Keep instructions short and show examples. For concrete operational children, use experiments, measuring, sorting and simple maps. Ask them to explain why. For formal operational learners, use debates, projects, algebra, science reasoning and moral discussion. Vygotsky adds that language and guided help from adults move thinking forward.

Emotional and social skills: signs of healthy growth

A child with healthy emotional growth can name feelings, wait for a turn, accept small failure and recover from upset. Healthy social growth shows in sharing, helping, following rules, making friends and resolving small quarrels. The teacher should give chances for these in daily routine: class jobs, group tasks, assembly and games. Emotional safety must come first, since a frightened child cannot learn well.

Growth spurts and body changes

There are two rapid growth periods: the first two years of life and early adolescence. In adolescence, height and weight rise quickly; the heart, lungs and muscles grow; and hormones cause sexual maturity. Because body parts grow at different speeds, teenagers may feel awkward or clumsy for some time. This is normal. Good diet, sleep and exercise matter greatly at this time, along with kind and honest information about body changes.

Exam traps

  • Gross motor is large muscles (running); fine motor is small muscles (writing).
  • Cephalocaudal and proximodistal both explain motor control, but they are not the same.
  • Stranger anxiety belongs to infancy, not adolescence.
  • Cooing comes before babbling; babbling before first words.
  • Piaget's moral realism is a younger stage; relativism is later.
  • Primary sex characters are reproductive organs; secondary are outward signs like voice change.
  • Girls usually reach puberty earlier than boys.
  • Hall's "storm and stress" refers to adolescence, not infancy.

One-liners

  • 1. Infancy is birth to about two years.
  • 2. Middle childhood is also called the gang age.
  • 3. Adolescence is called a time of storm and stress.
  • 4. Fine motor skills use small muscles.
  • 5. Babbling appears around six months.
  • 6. Telegraphic speech has two-word phrases.
  • 7. Object permanence is a sensorimotor achievement.
  • 8. Conservation develops in the concrete operational stage.
  • 9. Abstract thinking appears in the formal operational stage.
  • 10. Bowlby is known for attachment theory.
  • 11. Moral realism means seeing rules as fixed.
  • 12. Receptive language develops before expressive language.

Practice questions

  1. Infancy is generally taken as the period from birth to about

    1. 10 years
    2. 7 years
    3. 5 years
    4. 2 years
    Answer

    D. 2 years

    Infancy covers the first two years.

  2. Middle childhood is also called the

    1. storm age
    2. critical age
    3. gang age
    4. toy age
    Answer

    C. gang age

    Peer groups become important in this stage.

  3. Which psychologist described adolescence as a time of storm and stress?

    1. G. Stanley Hall
    2. Erikson
    3. Piaget
    4. Bandura
    Answer

    A. G. Stanley Hall

    Hall used the phrase for adolescence.

  4. Holding a pencil and buttoning a shirt are examples of

    1. social skills
    2. gross motor skills
    3. reflexes
    4. fine motor skills
    Answer

    D. fine motor skills

    Small muscle control gives fine motor skills.

  5. Running and jumping are examples of

    1. gross motor skills
    2. moral skills
    3. fine motor skills
    4. language skills
    Answer

    A. gross motor skills

    They use large muscles.

  6. Which of these is a reflex present at birth?

    1. Speaking
    2. Crawling
    3. Grasping
    4. Walking
    Answer

    C. Grasping

    The grasping reflex closes the hand on touch.

  7. The stage at which a child shows repeated syllables such as 'ba-ba' is

    1. cooing
    2. babbling
    3. holophrase
    4. telegraphic speech
    Answer

    B. babbling

    Babbling begins around six months.

  8. Two-word speech such as 'mama go' is known as

    1. babbling
    2. telegraphic speech
    3. cooing
    4. crying
    Answer

    B. telegraphic speech

    Telegraphic speech has only key words.

  9. Object permanence is achieved in Piaget's

    1. sensorimotor stage
    2. pre-operational stage
    3. concrete operational stage
    4. formal operational stage
    Answer

    A. sensorimotor stage

    Infants learn that unseen objects still exist.

  10. Conservation is mastered in the

    1. pre-operational stage
    2. sensorimotor stage
    3. formal operational stage
    4. concrete operational stage
    Answer

    D. concrete operational stage

    Conservation appears at about 7 to 11 years.

  11. Abstract and hypothetical thinking appears in the

    1. pre-operational stage
    2. sensorimotor stage
    3. formal operational stage
    4. concrete operational stage
    Answer

    C. formal operational stage

    This stage begins around 11 years.

  12. The scholar linked with attachment theory is

    1. Binet
    2. Bowlby
    3. Chomsky
    4. Skinner
    Answer

    B. Bowlby

    Bowlby studied bonds between child and caregiver.

  13. Fear of strangers usually appears

    1. only in adolescence
    2. at birth
    3. after school age
    4. in the second half of the first year
    Answer

    D. in the second half of the first year

    Stranger anxiety is an infant emotion.

  14. Voice change and body hair are

    1. primary sex characters
    2. reflexes
    3. secondary sex characters
    4. motor skills
    Answer

    C. secondary sex characters

    They are outward signs of maturity.

  15. Piaget's first stage of moral development, in which rules are seen as fixed, is

    1. moral realism
    2. moral relativism
    3. social contract
    4. post-conventional morality
    Answer

    A. moral realism

    Young children view rules as unchangeable.

  16. Understanding words comes before speaking them. This is the order of

    1. expressive then receptive language
    2. babbling then crying
    3. writing then reading
    4. receptive then expressive language
    Answer

    D. receptive then expressive language

    Children understand before they can speak.

  17. Which comes first in language development?

    1. Cooing
    2. Two-word phrase
    3. First word
    4. Babbling
    Answer

    A. Cooing

    Cooing is at about 2 to 3 months.

  18. A teacher gives clay modelling and drawing to small children mainly to develop

    1. abstract thinking
    2. fine motor skills
    3. moral reasoning
    4. IQ scores
    Answer

    B. fine motor skills

    These activities train small muscles.

  19. A teenager keeps asking, 'Who am I?' This is linked with

    1. object permanence
    2. egocentrism
    3. the search for identity
    4. moral realism
    Answer

    C. the search for identity

    Identity versus role confusion is the adolescent task.

  20. A five-year-old believes the moon follows him. This thinking is typical of the

    1. sensorimotor stage
    2. pre-operational stage
    3. formal operational stage
    4. concrete operational stage
    Answer

    B. pre-operational stage

    Egocentric and animistic thought fits this stage.

  21. Which activity best suits adolescents' cognitive stage?

    1. Counting with beads only
    2. Debate on 'what if' situations
    3. Playing with rattles
    4. Colouring pictures only
    Answer

    B. Debate on 'what if' situations

    They can think abstractly.

  22. Which of the following shows parallel play?

    1. Children play a team game with rules
    2. A child plays alone far from others
    3. A group builds a model together
    4. Two children play with their own toys side by side
    Answer

    D. Two children play with their own toys side by side

    Parallel play is side by side without interaction.

  23. Harlow's monkey experiments showed that infants need

    1. only food
    2. only toys
    3. only punishment
    4. comfort contact more than food alone
    Answer

    D. comfort contact more than food alone

    Cloth mother was preferred for comfort.

  24. In which stage do girls generally mature earlier than boys?

    1. Infancy
    2. Late childhood only
    3. Puberty
    4. Old age
    Answer

    C. Puberty

    Girls usually enter puberty before boys.

  25. A child who cannot yet speak understands simple instructions. This shows development of

    1. expressive language
    2. telegraphic speech
    3. receptive language
    4. babbling only
    Answer

    C. receptive language

    Understanding precedes speaking.

  26. A teacher of a pre-school class should mostly use

    1. play, stories and songs in the mother tongue
    2. formal tests
    3. long lectures
    4. abstract rules
    Answer

    A. play, stories and songs in the mother tongue

    Young children learn through play and familiar language.

  27. A teenager's mood swings, wish for independence and peer influence are best handled with

    1. understanding guidance rather than harsh control
    2. strict punishment
    3. ignoring the child
    4. isolation
    Answer

    A. understanding guidance rather than harsh control

    Adolescents need support and respect.

  28. Which of the following correctly lists Piaget's stages in order?

    1. Sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational
    2. Pre-operational, sensorimotor, formal operational, concrete operational
    3. Sensorimotor, concrete operational, pre-operational, formal operational
    4. Formal operational, concrete operational, pre-operational, sensorimotor
    Answer

    A. Sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

    The order is fixed.

  29. Which lists the stages of language in correct order?

    1. Babbling, cooing, crying, first words
    2. First words, babbling, cooing, crying
    3. Cooing, crying, first words, babbling
    4. Crying, cooing, babbling, first words
    Answer

    D. Crying, cooing, babbling, first words

    This is the usual order across children.

  30. Statements: 1. Gross motor skills use large muscles. 2. Fine motor skills use small muscles. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are true.

  31. Statements: 1. Girls generally reach puberty earlier than boys. 2. Boys always reach puberty earlier than girls. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Girls usually mature earlier.

  32. Statements: 1. Attachment to the caregiver gives emotional security. 2. Emotions do not change with age. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Emotions develop and children learn control.

  33. Statements: 1. Peer group becomes very important in adolescence. 2. Adolescents never question adults. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Questioning authority is typical.

  34. Statements: 1. Moral realism belongs to younger children. 2. Moral relativism appears with growth. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both describe Piaget's moral stages.

  35. Statements: 1. Babbling comes before first words. 2. Telegraphic speech appears around the first year. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Telegraphic speech is about two years.

  36. Statements: 1. Primary sex characters are reproductive organs. 2. Secondary sex characters include voice change. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are true.

  37. Statements: 1. Physical growth is fastest in the first two years. 2. Growth slows down through childhood and speeds up again at puberty. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are true.

  38. Statements: 1. A reflex is learned through practice. 2. Reflexes such as grasping are present at birth. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Reflexes are inborn.

  39. Match stage with feature. 1. Sensorimotor 2. Pre-operational 3. Concrete operational

    1. 1 - conservation; 2 - egocentrism; 3 - object permanence
    2. 1 - object permanence; 2 - egocentrism; 3 - conservation
    3. 1 - object permanence; 2 - conservation; 3 - egocentrism
    4. 1 - egocentrism; 2 - object permanence; 3 - conservation
    Answer

    B. 1 - object permanence; 2 - egocentrism; 3 - conservation

    These are the standard features of each stage.

  40. Match the age with the language milestone. 1. About 6 months 2. About 1 year 3. About 2 years

    1. 1 - two-word speech; 2 - babbling; 3 - first words
    2. 1 - babbling; 2 - two-word speech; 3 - first words
    3. 1 - first words; 2 - babbling; 3 - two-word speech
    4. 1 - babbling; 2 - first words; 3 - two-word speech
    Answer

    D. 1 - babbling; 2 - first words; 3 - two-word speech

    Babbling, first words and then two-word speech.

  41. Match the stage with its common name. 1. Early childhood 2. Middle childhood 3. Adolescence

    1. 1 - toy age; 2 - storm and stress; 3 - gang age
    2. 1 - toy age; 2 - gang age; 3 - storm and stress
    3. 1 - gang age; 2 - toy age; 3 - storm and stress
    4. 1 - storm and stress; 2 - toy age; 3 - gang age
    Answer

    B. 1 - toy age; 2 - gang age; 3 - storm and stress

    Early childhood is the toy age, middle childhood the gang age.

  42. Match the theorist with the topic. 1. Bowlby 2. Hall 3. Piaget

    1. 1 - storm and stress; 2 - stages of thinking; 3 - attachment
    2. 1 - stages of thinking; 2 - attachment; 3 - storm and stress
    3. 1 - attachment; 2 - stages of thinking; 3 - storm and stress
    4. 1 - attachment; 2 - storm and stress; 3 - stages of thinking
    Answer

    D. 1 - attachment; 2 - storm and stress; 3 - stages of thinking

    Bowlby: attachment; Hall: adolescence; Piaget: thinking stages.

  43. A child who treats a doll as alive shows

    1. reversibility
    2. animism
    3. abstraction
    4. conservation
    Answer

    B. animism

    Animism is a pre-operational feature.

  44. The most important agent for a baby's early social development is

    1. the workplace
    2. the school
    3. the mass media
    4. the family
    Answer

    D. the family

    Family is the first and main social agent.

  45. A teacher who gives short, clear instructions with examples to six-year-olds is following the needs of the

    1. old age
    2. pre-operational or early concrete stage
    3. formal operational stage
    4. prenatal stage
    Answer

    B. pre-operational or early concrete stage

    Young children need concrete, simple guidance.

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