MILESTONES OF DEVELOPMENT | INFANCY & TODDLERHOOD | AGE | PHYSICAL | COGNITIVE | LANGUAGE | EMOTIONAL/ SOCIAL | Birth -6 Months | Rapid height & weight gain. | Engages in immediate imitation and deferred imitation of adults facial expressions. | Engages in cooing and babbling. | Shows signs of almost all basic emotions (happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust). | | Reflexes decline. | Repeats chance behaviors leading to pleasurable and interesting results. | Establishes joint attention with caregiver, who labels objects and events. | Social smile and laughter emerge. | | Sleep organized into a day-night schedule. | Aware of object permanence and other object properties in habituation-dishabituation tasks. | | Matches adults emotional expressions during face-to-face interaction. | | Holds head up, rolls over, and reaches for object. | Attention becomes more efficient. | | Emotional expressions become better organized and clearly tied to social events. | | Can be classically and operantly conditioned. | Recognition memory for people, places, and objects improves. | | I-self emerges. | | Habituates to unchanging stimuli; dishabituates to novel stimuli. | Forms perceptual categories based on objects and similar features. | | | | Hearing well developed; by the end of this period, displays greater sensitivity to speech sounds of own language. | | | | | Depth and pattern perception emerge and improve. | | | | 7 -12 Months | Sits alone, crawls, and walks. | Combines sensorimotor schemes. | Babbling expands to include sounds of spoken languages and, by the end of this period, sounds of the childs language community. | Anger and fear increase in frequency and intensity. | | Shows refined pincer grasp. | Engages in intentional, or goal-directed, behavior. | | Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety appear. | | Perceives larger speech units crucial to understanding meaning. | Finds object hidden in one place. | Uses preverbal gestures (showing, pointing) to communicate. | Uses caregiver as a secure base for exploration. | | Depth and pattern perception improve further. | Understanding of object properties and physical causality expands. | | Shows "clear-cut" attachment to familiar caregivers. | | | Engages in deferred imitation of adults actions with objects. | | Ability to detect the meaning of others= emotional expressions improves. | | | Recall memory for people, places, and objects improves. | | Engages in social referencing. | | | Groups stimuli into wide range of meaningful categories. | | | EARLY CHILDHOOD | 2 Years | Slower gains in height and weight than in toddler hood. | Make-believe becomes less dependent on realistic toys, less self-centered, and more complex. | Vocabulary increases rapidly. | Begins to develop self-concept and self-esteem. | | Balance improves, walking becomes better coordinated. | Can take the perspective of others In simple situations. | Sentences follow basic word order of native language; grammatical markers are added. | Cooperation and instrumental aggression appear. | | Running, jumping, hopping, throwing, and catching develop. | Recognition memory well developed. | Displays effective conversational skills, such as turn taking & topic maintenance. | Understands causes, consequences, and behavioral signs of basic emotions. | | Puts on and removes some items of clothing. | Aware of the difference between inner mental and outer physical events. | | Empathy increase. | | Uses spoon effectively. | | | Gender-stereotyped beliefs & behavior increase. | 3 -4 Years | Running, hopping, throwing and catching become better coordinated. | Notices transformations, reverse thinking, and has a basic understanding of causality in familiar situations. | Masters increasingly complex grammatical structures. | Emotional self-regulation improves. | | Galloping and one-foot skipping appear. | Classifies familiar objects hierarchically. | Occasionally overextends grammatical rules to exceptions. | Self-conscious emotions become more common. | | Rides tricycle. | Uses private speech to guide behavior in challenging tasks. | Understands many culturally accepted ways of adjusting speech to fit the age, sex, and social status of speakers & listeners. | Nonsocial activity declines and joint, interactive play increase. | | Uses scissors, draws first picture of a person. | Attention becomes more sustained and planful. | | Instrumental aggression declines and hostile aggression increase. | | Can tell the difference between writing and nonwriting. | Uses script to recall familiar experiences. | | Forms first friendships. | | | Understands that both belief and desire can determine behavior. | | Distinguishes moral rules from conventions. | | | Aware of some meaningful features of written language. | | Preference for same sex playmates strengthens. | | | Counts small number of objects and grasps cardinality. | | | 5 -6 Years | Body is streamlined & longer-legged with proportions similar to an adult. | Ability to distinguish appearance from reality improves. | Vocabulary increases to about 10,000 words. | Ability to interpret, predict, and influence others' emotional reactions improves. | | First permanent teeth erupt. | Attention continues to improve. | Has mastered many complex grammatical forms. | Relies more on language to express empathy. | | Skipping appears. | Recall & scripted memory improve. | | Has acquired many morally relevant rules and behaviors. | | Shows mature throwing & catching patterns. | Understands that letters and sounds are linked in systematic ways. | | Gender-stereotyped beliefs & behavior continue to increase. | | Ties shoes, draws more elaborate pictures, writes name. | Counts on and counts down, engaging in simple addition & subtraction. | | Grasps the genital basis of sex differences and shows gender constancy. | MIDDLE CHILDHOOD | 6 -8 Years | Slower gains in weight & height continue until adolescent growth spurt. | Thought becomes more logical, as shown by the ability to pass Piagetian conservation, class inclusion, and seriation problems. | Vocabulary increases rapidly throughout middle childhood. | Self-concept begins to include personality traits and social comparisons. | | Gradual replacement of primary teeth by permanent ones throughout middle childhood. | Understanding of spatial concept improves, as illustrated by ability to give clear, well-organized directions. | Word definitions are concrete, referring to functions & appearance. | Self-conscious emotions of pride & guilt are governed by personal responsibility. | | Writing becomes smaller & more legible. Letter reversals decline. | Attention becomes more selective, adaptable, and planful. | Language awareness improves. | Recognizes that individuals can experience amore than one emotion at a time. | | Drawings become more organized and detailed; include some depth cues. | Uses memory strategies of rehearsal and organization. | | Attends to more cues--facial, situational, and past experiences--in interpreting another's feelings. | | Organized games with rules become common. | Regards the mind as an active agent, capable of transforming information. | | Understands that access to different information often causes people to have differing perspectives. | | | Awareness of the importance of memory & the impact of psychological factors (attention, motivation, in task performance improves). | | Becomes more responsible & independent. | | | | | Distributive justice reasoning changes from equality to merit to benevolence. | | | | | Peer interaction becomes more prosocial, physical aggression declines. | 9 -11 Years | Adolescent growth spurt begins 2 years earlier in girls than in boys. | Logical thought remains tied to concrete situations. | Word definition emphasizes synonyms & categorical relations. | Self-esteem tends to rise. | | Gross motor skills of running, jumping, throwing, catching, kicking, batting, & dribbling are executed more quickly and with better coordination. | Piagetian tasks continue to be mastered in a systematic fashion. | Grasps double meanings of words, as reflected in comprehension of metaphors and humor. | Has an adaptive set of strategies for regulating emotion. | | Reaction time improves, contributing to motor skill development. | Memory strategies of rehearsal & organization become more effective. Begin to use elaboration. | Use of complex grammatical construction improves. | Can "step into another's shoes" and view the self from that person's perspective. | | Representation of depth in drawings expands. | Applies several memory strategies at once. | Adapts messages to the needs of listeners in complex communicative situations. | Later, can view the relationship between self & others from the perspective of a third, impartial party. | | | | Conversational strategies become more refined. | Appreciates the linkage between moral rules and social conventions. | | | | | Sense of unique domain of personal matters strengthens. | | | | | Peer groups emerge. | | | | | Becomes aware of more gender stereotypes, including personality traits and school subjects, but has a more flexible appreciation of what males & females can do. | | | | | Sibling rivalry tends to increase. | ADOLESCENCE | AGE | PHYSICAL | COGNITIVE | EMOTIONAL/ SOCIAL | 11 -14 Years | If a female, reaches peak of growth spurt. | Becomes capable of formal operational reasoning. | Moodiness and parent-child conflict increase. | | | Becomes better at coordinating theory with evidence. | Is likely to show increased gender stereotyping of attitudes and behavior. | | | Can argue more effectively. | Less time with parents and siblings. | | | Becomes more self-conscious and self-focused. | Spends more time with peers. | | | Becomes more idealistic and critical. | Friendships are based on intimacy and loyalty. | | | Metacognition and cognitive self-regulation continue to improve. | Peer groups become organized around cliques. | | | | Cliques with similar values unite forming crowds. | | | | Conformity to peer pressure increases. | 15 -20 Years | If female, completes growth spurt. | Is likely to show formal operational reasoning on familiar tasks. | Combines features of the self into an organize self-concept. | | If male, reaches peak then completes growth spurt. | Masters the components of formal operational reasoning sequential order on different types of tasks. | Self-esteem tends to rise. | | If male, voice deepens. | Becomes less conscious and self-focused. | Is likely to be searching for an identity. | | If male, adds muscle while body fat declines. | Becomes better at everyday planning and decision-making. | Is likely to engage in societal perspective taking. | | If male, motor performances increase dramatically. | | Is likely to have a conventional moral orientation. | | May have had sexual intercourse. | | Importance of cliques and crowd declines. | | | | Has probably started dating. | | | | Conforms to peer pressure may decline. | EARLY ADULTHOOD | 20 -30 | Years Athletic skills that require speed of limb movement, explosive strength, and gross body coordination peak early in this decade and then decline. | If college educated, dualistic thinking (dividing information, values, & authority into right and wrong) declines in favor of realistic thinking (viewing all knowledge as embedded in a framework of thought). | Leaves home permanently.Strikes to make a permanent commitment to an intimate partner.Usually constructs a dream, an image of the self in the adult world that guides decision-making. | | Athletic skills that depend on endurance, arm –-hand steadiness, and aiming peak at the end of this decade and then decline. | | If in a high-status career, acquires professional skills, values, and credentials (for women, may be delayed and take a longer time). | | Declines in touch sensitivity; respiratory, cardiovascular, and immune system functioning; and elasticity of the skin begins and continues throughout adulthood. | | Begins to develop mutually gratifying adult friendships and work ties. | | As basal metabolic weight gain begins in the middle of this decade and continue through middle adulthood. | | May cohabit, marry, and bear children. | | As basal metabolic rate declines, gradual weight gain begins in the middle of the decade and continues through middle adulthood. | | Sibling relationships become more companionate. | | | | As people move in and out of relationships, loneliness peaks early in this decade and then declines steadily throughout adulthood. | 30 -40 Years | Declines in vision, hearing, and the skeletal system begin and continue throughout adulthood. | As family and lives expand, the cognitive capacity to juggle many responsibilities simultaneously improves. | Reevaluates life structure and tries to change components that are inadequate. | | In women, fertility problems increase sharply in the middle of this decade. | Creatively (generating useful original products) often peaks. | Establishes more stable niche within society through family, occupation, and community activities (for women, career consolidation may be delayed). | | Hair begins to gray and thin in the middle of this decade. | | | | Sexual activity declines, probably due to demands of daily life. | | | MIDDLE ADULTHOOD | 40 -50 Years | Accommodative ability of the lens of the eye and color discrimination declines; sensitivity to glare increases. | Consciousness of aging increases. | Desire to give to and guide the next generation intensifies. | | Sharp hearing loss at high frequency occurs. | A variety of crystallized and fluid abilities assessed by intelligence tests stabilize. | Modifies components of the life structure, focusing on personally meaningful living. | | Hair continues to gray and thin. | The fluid ability of processing speed, assessed on reaction time tasks, declines; adults compensate by taking large chunks of information into working memory and throughout practice & experience. | Tries to reconcile four opposing tendencies with the self: young/ old; creation/ destruction; masculinity/ femininity; engagement/ separateness. | | Lines on the face become more pronounced, and skin loses elasticity and begins to sag. | On complex tasks, ability to divide and control attention declines; adults compensate through practice and experience. | Possible selves become fewer in number and are more modest and concrete. | | Weight gain continues, accompanied by a rise in fatty deposits in the torso, whereas fat beneath the skin declines. | Amount of information that can be retained in working memory diminishes due to decline in use of memory strategies. | Introspection increases as people contemplate the second half of life. | | Loss of lean body mass (muscle and bone) occurs. | Retrieving information from long-term memory becomes more difficult. | Self-acceptance, autonomy, and environmental mastery increases. | | In women, production of estrogen drops, leading to short ending of, & irregularity in, the menstrual cycle. | General factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and knowledge related to one's occupation remain unchanged or increases. | Coping strategies become more effective. | | For men, quantity of semen and sperm declines, Intensity of sexual response declines, but sexual activity drops only slightly; stability is more typical than dramatic change. | Gains in practical problem solving and expertise occur. | Gender identity becomes more androgynous: "masculine" traits increase in women, and "feminine" traits increase in men. | | Proportion of women with no sexual partner increases dramatically. | Creativity shifts from a focus on generating unusual products to integrating experience and knowledge into unique ways of thinking and acting. | May launch children. | | Rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease increase, at a higher rate for women. | If in vocation offering challenge and autonomy, shows gains in cognitive flexibility. | May enlarge the family network to include in-laws. | | | | May become a kin keeper, especially the mother. | | | | May care for parent with illness or disability. (caregiver) | | | | Sibling bonds may strengthen. | | | | Number of friends generally declines. | | | | Job satisfaction increases. | 50 -60 Years | Lens of the eye loses its accommodative ability entirely. | Changes in cognition described in the 40-50 year continue. | Emotional and social changes continue. | | Hearing loss extends to all frequencies but remains greatest for highest tones. | | Re-evaluates life's structure and tries to change components that are inadequate. | | Skin continues to wrinkle and sag; age spots appear. | | Becomes concerned with "passing the torch". Desires that positive aspects of the culture survive. | | Menopause occurs, usually between ages 50-55. | | May become a grandparent. | | Continued loss of bone mass, accelerating esp. for women after menopause. Leads to high rate of osteoporosis. | | Parent-to-child help-giving declines, and child-to-parent help-giving increases. | | Due to collapse of disks in the spinal column, height may drop by as much as one inch. | | Sex difference in parental care giving declines. | | | | May retire. | LATE ADULTHOOD | 60 -80 Years | Neurons die at a faster rare, but the brain compensates through growth of new synapses. | Processing speed continues to decline; crystallized abilities are largely sustained. | May become a great-grandparent. | | Autonomic nervous system performs less well, impairing adaptation to hot and cold weather. | Amount of information that can be retained in working memory diminishes further; memory problems are greatest on complex tasks requiring deliberate processing. | May retire. | | Declines in vision continue. In terms of increased sensitivity to glare and impaired color discrimination, dark adaptation, depth perception, and visual acuity. | Modest forgetting of remote memories occurs. Use of external aids for prospective memories occurs. | More likely to vote and be knowledgeable about politics. | | Declines in hearing continue throughout the frequency of the range. | Retrieving words from long-term memory and planning what to say become more difficult. | | | Taste and odor sensitivity may decline. | Information is more likely to be remembered in terms of ideals (gist) than details. | | | Touch sensitivity declines on the hands, particularly on the fingertips, less so on the arms. | Traditional problem solving declines; everyday problem solving remains adaptive. | | | Declines in cardiovascular and respiratory functions leading to greater physical stress during exercise. | May hold one of the most important positions in society, such as chief executive officer, religious leader, or Supreme Court justice. | | | Aging of the immune system increases risk for a variety of illnesses. | May excel at wisdom. | | | Sleep difficulties increase, especially for men. | Can improve a wide range of cognitive skills through training. | | | Graying & thinning of the hair continue; the skin wrinkles further and becomes more transparent as it loses its fatty layer of support. | | | | Height loss (due to loss of bone mass) s continues, leading to rising rates of osteoporosis. | | | | Intensity of sexual response & activity declines, although most healthy married couples report regular sexual enjoyment. | | | 70 -80 Years | Physical changes described in the 60-80-year range continue. | Cognitive changes described above continue. | Emotional and social changes described previously continue. | | Mobility diminishes due to loss of muscle and bone strength and joint flexibility. | Fluid abilities decline further; crystallized abilities begin to drop as well. | As relatives and friends die, may develop friendships with younger individuals. | | | | Relationships with adult children become more important | | | | Frequency and variety of leisure activities decline. |