The Nature of Developmental Processes

Abstract
The purpose of this work is to explain and describe the developmental processes of individuals. Define important phases in a person’s lifespan such as the biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes. Also, explore the different periods of development from conception through adulthood, as well as the importance and significance of age. Last, it identifies the issues that may occur during the development of these processes as a result of the many different changes and individual faces throughout a lifespan.

Keywords: developmental processes, lifespan, biological, cognitive, socioemotional, significance of age and issues

The Nature of Developmental Processes
The term “developmental processes” explores the different stages and changes an individual experiences from conception to late adulthood. There are two particular concepts that provide a platform to better understand and describe an individual’s development. Additionally, certain issues arise during these processes of life which make it a very complex subject.

I. Developmental Processes a. Definition b. Biological, Cognitive and Socioemotional Processes

II. Periods of Development a. The periods or age of lifespan i. Social Construction

III. Developmental Issues a. Nature vs. Nurture b. Stability and Change c. Continuity and Discontinuity

The Nature of Developmental Processes Developmental processes can be described as a pattern of changes that begin at conception and continue through adulthood. The nature of development involves different biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes. At the same time age periods serve as chronological descriptions as to when certain events are expected to take place in an individual’s life. On the other hand, developmental issues explain how the nature vs. nurture issue can impact a person’s life. Also the stability and change issue explains how early experiences persist throughout life. And last, the continuity and discontinuity issue gives details and describes the degree to which development involves gradual, cumulative or distinct stages. The processes used to describe these changes and the evolution in an individual’s lifespan can be quite complex according to Santrock (2012), “The pattern is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes” (p. 15). The biological changes that take place in a person’s life are all of physical nature; genes inherited from parents and the development of the brain are just some of the examples that occur during the biological process. Another important phase is the cognitive process which refers to the changes an individual experiences in thought, intelligence and language. Last, the socioemotional process which is an individual’s interaction with others which also involves changes in emotion and personality. A good example is the smile of an infant in response to the gesture of love from her/his parents or a family relative. Although these are all independent processes they are correlated and connected with each other. As a result, they serve as a platform, provide explanation or simply respond to the processes of each stage. In addition to the biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes, the developmental or age periods also play a part; this refers to a time frame in an individual’s life characterized by specific features or events. The prenatal period begins from (conception to birth); infancy (birth to age 3); the preschool period (ages 3 to 6); middle childhood (ages 6 to 12) adolescence (ages 12 to 20); young adulthood (ages 20 to 40); middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65); and late adulthood (age 65 to death). It’s important to mention that these time periods are only social constructions Berk (2011) states “social construction is a shared notion of reality, one that is widely accepted but is a function of society and culture at a given time” (p. 6). For this reason, age periods tend to be arbitrary and often cultural derived. These age periods can be sometimes quite confusing and deceiving and as a result modern lifespan developmentalist focus on only four stages; First age (childhood and adolescence); Second age (prime adulthood, ages 20-59); third age (60-79 years of age) and fourth age (80 years and older). Just as there are many connections among biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes; In resume, developmental periods can be the result of experiences from a previous age period as confirmed by Santrock (2012) “When individuals reach adolescence, many developments and experiences have already taken place in their lives” (p. 17). Consequently, many developmental issues occur and often one questions if early or late life experiences are responsible for this change or traits in a person’s life. This question leads to the three issues about a person’s development. The nature-nurture aspect plays an important role, nature refers to the biological traits someone inherits or is born with whereas nurture involves the environmental experiences a person is exposed through different groups such as the community they live in, school, friends, family etc. Many physiologists agree the environment has a great impact on the formation of an individual’s life however, they also believe many tendencies are genetically programmed into humans (Santrock, 2012, p. 20). Another important area is the stability-change issue which describes the importance of early traits and how they persist throughout life. Last, is the continuity and discontinuity issue which focus its attention on whether life is affected by gradual change, cumulative change or distinct stages in life. As a final point, is important to understand that the nature of development involves different processes, age periods and developmental issues. These processes help to shape a person into the individual he or she is. The age periods, on the other hand serve as a chronological table and provide an idea as to when certain events will take place. However, these age periods are often alter by cultural variances. Subsequently, developmental issues refer to the experiences or changes and individual is exposed to early or late life and whether these changes are gradual, cumulative or distinct.

References
Berk, L. (2011). Exploring Lifespan Development (Second ed.). Pearson.
Santrock, J. (2012). Life-span development (Fourteenth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.