UNIT 3 PRI[NCI[PLES OF DEVELOPMENT - --- --

Structiuy!
3.1 Introduuioo
3.2 Principles of Development
3.2.1 Direction of Development
3.2.2 Rate of Development
3.2.3 Diffemntiacloll and Integration
3.2.4 Critical Perids
3.3 Influences on Development
3.4 Summing u p
3.5 Glossary
3.6 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

3.1 INTRODUCTION
In the earlief Units you have been reading about the experiences of children and some
basic concepts in Child Development You learnt that there are universal patterns in
development. Development also follows certain principles that are common for all
individuals. In this Unit you will read about these principles. Development is influenced
by many factors. These factors can be grouped under the two main heads of heredity
and environment. In this Unit you will also read how heredity and environment
influence development.

Objectives
After studying this Unit,. you will be able ta:
describe the principles of development
understand the meaning of ' h d t y ' and 'environment' and explain how they
interact to influence development in all areas

3.2 PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT

In the second Unit of this Block. you read about certain charactenistics of development
Can you recall them? They are as follows: development is orderly. progmsive and
results in changes that are long lasting. In this Section. you will read about tbe
principles that govern development.

3.2.1 Direction of Development

Physical and motor development follow two directions. One direction is the bead-to-toe
direction. Development proceeds from the head to the fee4. In &ex words,
improvements in structure and functions come f m t in the head region. tben in the trunk,
.and finally in the leg region. This principle is applicable in the case of plenatal (before
birth) as well as postnatal (after birth) development. It has been obsmed that in the
embryo. the head region is the first to develop. followed by the trunk and then the
limbs. In fact, at eight weeks after conception. the head c o m p r h s half the entire length
of the embryo. In the entire prenatal life. head continues to be the fastest growing part
of the body. This is not to say that the rest of the body is not developing
simultaneously. It is simply that be head is developing faster.
As a matter of fact, in the context of direction of development in general. it is important
to point out that when one part of the body is growing rapidly. the other parts are also
developing at the same time. but at a slowex rate compared to the part which is the
focus of growth and development.
Since the head developed fastest in prenatal life. it is obviously more developed than
any other part of the body at birth. After birth. the focus of development shifts
downwards to ofher areas of the body. The focus first becomes the tom, followed by
the arms and the legs. This is clear when we look at the growth in size of the differwlt
body parts fnw birth to maturity. 'while the head only doubles in size between birth
and maturity, the lower parts of the body have to do more growing to reach adult size.
'Ibe 6triples in length, the arms and hands increase in length by about four times,
and the legs and feet increase by about five times.
Motor development also follows the head-to-toe direction of development. 'Ibe muscles
of the head region come under control fmt leading to the control of movements of the
eyes sad mouth. men the neck muscles come under control, later the amu and torso
and fmally the legs. As a result of this, you would have seen that babies lean to hold
their head up before they acquire tbe ability to sit, and they are able to sit before they
are able to walk.
The second dhrdon that physical and motor development follow is from €hecentre of
the body to the ends, that is, development proceeds outwards. Figure 3.1 shows the
central axis of the body. Tbe body parts and the muscles which are near the axis grow
earliea and those which are the farthest are the last to develop. In the prenatal period the
head, spinal cord, heart and the trunk whicb are towards the cenm of the body are &t
fmt to develop. 'Ibe amu and the legs, which are away from the axis, develop lam.
'Ibe fingers and toes that are at extreme ends are the last to develop. This principle is
also evident in motor coordination. The movement of the arms whicb the child can
m m l earliest are those whicb use the shoulder muscles (nearer the centre of'the body).
Gradually, the child learns to control the muscles of the elbow, then the Mist and last
.of all the fingers. This will become clear if you observe an infant reaching for an
object lying near her. At three months the baby uses her whole arm while reaching for
the object As she grows older she is able to reacb for the object by using only the
elbow. Similarly, to pick up an objea the child initially uses her whole band. She can

Fig. 3.2 :Centre-to-periphery and

head-to-toe diredons d developmeat
 hb.irllr(.ClilldCuc pick it up using the fingers only at a later stage. This shows that the child uses the
= d W muscles of her shoulders, which are dose to the centre, before she is able to use the
muscles of the fingers which are at h e periphery of the body. Similarly, the child is
able to control the movemenb of her legs before she can use the toes. These examples
show that the child first achieves the coodimtion of large muscles (such as sbouldm)
of the body since they are closer to the axis, before sbe can cadhate the small
muscles (such as fmgers and toes) which an? towards the pedphety. Figme 3.2
illustrates the head-to-toe and centreto-ends directions of development.

33.2 Rate.of Developnient

Individual dilllerar~sin rate of development: You have read that development of all
children follows a particular sequence. or example, in the case of motor development
all children will fmt learn to roll on their backs, thea sit, creep, walk m,climb and so
on. Esbcb child's development will pass through these stages. You would also recall
reading in the earlier Unit that the ages at which children acquire these abilities are
different. One child may begin to walk at nine months and another m y do so at 13
months of age. This means that while development follows the same sequence, there are
\ individual differences in the rate of development. Consequently, there are differences in
the age when children rea& a particular miles- of development or q u i r e a
particulai ability. Because of thew individual differences in development, some Wdrm
may recognize and name cdom at three years of age while otbers may do so at five
years of age. One girl may start me g at 10 years of age and another at 13
years. One boy may gmw fast and Z% kist by. 12 y-
growth may be slow and he may adhve his beight only by 16 years.
whi*

SexdlU~hrtnteoldav~Tbeatarediff~intherateof
development of boys arid giris. In pmtal ptriod the skeletal system of girls grows
W e x as wmpaced to boys. 'hxehce, at Mitb girlsare ahead of boys in their &letal
development. Tbe peaiod of pubuty is about two years d e r for girls thaa for boys.

I 32.3 Differentiation and Integration

Development follows the principles of differentiation and integration. Let as understand
these through the following example. Tbe fertilization of the ovum with the sperm
results in a single cell, which is called a zygote. The zygote them starts multiplying at a
very fast rate into cells that are all of the same kind. These cells thea acquire dB-t
characteristics and form Merent tissues like nerves, bones, bbod and so forth, ead~
having a special function. Tbese different tissues subsequeotljr-c q d h m with each
other to f o m complex systems like the digestive, c i m h t a y and rcgpiratory systems.
b serves and
When the similar cells of the zygote change to f ~ r mdifferent tissues l
bones, the process is differentiation. Di~erentLotlonmeans that development proceeds
6rom simple to complex, from geneml to specific. In the above process, development
was seen to proceed from identical cells to complex tissues, each of which hab its own
specific functions. When different tissues uxudinate to farm a system, the process is
catled integration. In tioa means coordination of various parts to farm an
$n
inaeasingly complex tructm. It also refers to cooniination of diffeaent behavim
patterns that result in a hi@ level of complexity.
The principles of differeaWon and Integration can be seen in all areas of develojment.
Let us see bow this principle applies to social development. Initially, the infant smiles at
all faces. This is because she cannot recognize different people. A little later she learns
to diffemntiate the mother's face from the faces of others and smiles only at her:
Gradually the infant recognizes other people who interact with her regularly and smiles
only at those people who are familiar to k.Thus she learns to differeatiate the faces of
people she knows from ones she does not know. She can also diffmntiate the mother's
touch and smell from that of the others. Then she integrates the mother's face, voice,
smell and touch and so learns that all these aspeas belong to one person. ,

Cognitive development also proceeds through differentiation and integration. Tbe child
fvst learns to differebtiaee between more and less. This later helps her to learn the more
specific concept of number. that is, understand the meaning of one, two, three and so '
on. Using these concepts she then integrates them to learn new and complicated
cacepts of addition, subuaction, division and multipiication.
Similarly, the child leans to walk and as she grows older the walking differentiates into -.
I
hopping, running, &$ping, and so forth. When the child learns to walk, she walks h-t
simply for the pleasure of it. Later she walks to take a ~ object
. from one place to
another. Widking thus becomes integrated with the purpose of carrying things from one
place to another.

3.2.4 Critical Periods

There are some periods in the life of the child that are crucial for development agd
learning. During these periods if the child has favourable experiences, her development
will be fostered. If in these periods experiqces are unfavourable, development suffers.
At rimes, the damage done because of unfavourable experiences may be irreversible.
These periods when a child is particularly sensitive to the conditions in her environment
are refeared to as critical periods or sensitive periods.

A critical or sensitive period is that time period in life when an environmental ihfluence
has its greatest impaa on the development of the &Id. During this period, specific
experiences affect the development of the child more than they do at other times.

Such periods are critical for development because during these periods the child is ready
to learn a particular skill. For example, a child begins to speak'only when she is able to
control the movements of the tongue, lips and vocal chords and the brain has developed
furrher. That is, the child must be biologically ready to speak. This biological readiness
refers to maturation. However, besides being mature the child needs to hear language
in order to be able to speak. The'refore, in 'order to learn speech the child must be
biologically ready as well as get opportunities to hear language and speak it. You may
have noticed that by and large it is around twelve months of age that the child utters the
first word. Before this, tbough the child understands.words, she cannot speak them and
no amount of effort will help her speak since she is not biologically mature. But
opportunities to hear and practise speed are also important. If she does not have them.
she will not be able to speak in spite of being biologically mature. Thii is clear from
the study of deaf children. A child who cannot hear speech will not be able to talk.
Thus Mdren who are deaf or hard of hewing in the early years of life do not lean to
speak unless efforts are made to enable them to hear language, for inswce through
hearing aids. It is observed that children generally have a readiness to distinguish sounds
and thus leam speech in the early years of life. Tbe fmt few years are thus considered
critical for aapirhg language.

You would have m b s b c d that a critical period is one when the child is maturationally
ready to acquite a skill. During this period the child must have favourable experiences
(in the above example, opportunities to hear and practise speech), which will help bef to
quite the skill. If the favourabk experieaces come after the aitical period is over, the
M d finds it difficult to learn.

There are -&tical periods in.prenata1 development as well. It has been observed that the
first three months of pregnancy are by and large critical for most body systems and
exposure to harmful environmental factors during these months can cause major
developmental & x&
if. The first three months of pregnancy correspond to the embryonic
and early fibetal periods of pmmhl development It is during this time that cell
diff- tissue q w b l h t i o n and organ fomation is taking place. As a result,
most of rhe harmful environmental elements have maximum impact on the-unborn child
during this period, In subsequeet monrhs, the foetus is less susceptible and vulnerable to
en-Eel influences.Let us consider an example. G e m measles may cause
~ ,beart defecls, brain: damage or limb deformity
~ in a clrild developing
in the motpa'r womb, &pending upon the particular time in the developmental
q u e n q wbeD the mother contracts the disease. While considerable damage is caused in
the that three months of pregnancy, the disease do& not bium the foetus in any
dgdfhat way if tbe mother coatraus it in later months of pregnaucy. Tbus in this
'@rIhk exampb, unfavourable conditions had an impact only during the m o d aitical
for-t
!

Critical periods are o W e d in social and emoti~hal&velopmentalso. The i q h t f m

het 6rst x e h t i o e with tbe caregiver, who is u s d y the mother, during the fmt six
htmhdim to child Cur months of life. Research shows that the child can form this relationship only if the
.ndDevelopment
caregiver is loving and nunurant. Children who are unable to form an motional
attachment during the first six morbths show distress. 7bey cry more, are fearful, do not
respond to people and withdraw from social contact. If this neglect of the child
continues, she may find it difficult to fonn strong relationships later in life. Thus the
first six months are critical for social development.
Though you have been reading that critical periods are the best time for leaming, you
must remember that they are not the only time for learning. Human beings are very
resilient and a child can learn after a critical period is over, though with some difficulty.
In one particular case a six-and-a-half year old girl had been isolated with her mute
mother from the time of her birth. The girl could not speak. She was then given special
instruction. Gradudly she learnt to speak and at 14 years of age she appeared to be
nonnal. According to fecent research, in fact the brain is particularly capable of learning
language till one reaches puberty.
Similarly, that children can recover from unfavourable emotional experiences is seen
from the experiences of children who were deprived of a loving caregiver in the first six
months of life. Though &ese c.h.i!36;! started showing the symptoms described above,
when they were provided a loving environment after this period, they recovered. Most of
their symptoms disappeared and they leamt to relate to people and form relationships.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) Match the items given in column 1 with those in column 2.

,
COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2
a) Head-to-toe development i) the child initially uses the whole ann to
reach for an object. Gradually she
\
leams to use muscles of the wrist and
fingers to pick up an object.
b) Centre-to-ends development ii) first the child learns to control the
movements of the neck and later
develops the coordination of lower
limbs because of which she leams to
crawl and walk.
c) Differentiation . iii) the understanding of numbers leads to
learning of more complex concepts like
addition and subtraction.
d) Integration iv) the child leams to recognize the
mother's voice from other people's
voices.

2) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with appropriate words.

a) The rate of development of the various parts of the body is .................................
b) There are .................................in the rate of development of boys and girls.
c) There are ...................................................................in the ages at which
children reach a particular milestone of development

3) Read the following statements carefully. Write whether they are true or false in the
space provided after each statement.
a) Maturation refers to the biological readiness to perfonn a task or leam a skill.
( )
b) Both biological readiness and experiences and opportunities to practise are
essential for any learning or development. ( 1
c) Critical periods are the only times for learning particular skills. ( )
 3.3 INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT
You have read in the earlier subsection on critical periods that development and learning
take place when the child is mature or ready to learn and when opportunities for
learning are available. The biological readiness or maturation is mainly determined by
heredity. The child also inherits many other uaits and characteristics. Heredity is one
factor that influences development. The other factors are the experiences of the child
and opportunities available to her. These are determined by the child's environment.
Development and learning are the result of interaction between heredity and
environment Let us now read what is meant by these two terms.
i Environment refers to the external conditions that influence development. We can
i consider environment as prenatal and postnatal. The prenatal environment is the mother's
i womb. The foetus is affected by the kind and amount of food the mother eats, physical
i work done by her, illnesses she may have during pregnancy and drugs consumed by her.
1 The mother's feelings and emotions will also affect the foetus.
After birtb the environment influences the development of the child in many ways. We
refer to this as the postnatal environment. The postnatal environment can be divided into
physical and social influence.. Physical environment refers to the ecological conditions:
the type of food eaten, the occupation of the people. the amount of living space, the
surroundings, facilities (hospitals, electricity, water, etc.) and media (television, radio,
newspapers, etc.). Social environment refers to the settings in which the child has
interactions with other people. The interaction is influenced by size and type of family,
gender, culture, religion and social class. Environment provides the experiences to the
child.
Heredity refers to the inborn traits and characteristics. These characteristics are
transmitted to the child from the parents. The colour of one's hair, skin and eyes, the
shape of one's nose and the body structure are determined by heredity. A person's
mental capacity and some personality traits are also determined by heredity to a certain
extent. Genes transmit the hereditary characteristics from parents to children. They carry
the codes of the biological development of an individual. The maturation of diffe-rent
parts of the body is also determined by genes. At what stage in life a particular organ1
system malures is detennined by genes. Some genes are common to all h u m beings
such as for two arms, two legs, a heart. a digestive system, and a code for the pattern of
development. These genes make human beings different from a uee or a horse.'
However, the length of the atms and legs, the size of fingers and toes, colour of eyes,
h&, skin etc. are unique for every individual. This makes each person different from
every 02s.No two people have an identical set of genes except in the case of identical
twins. Identical twins are two babies born from the division of a single zygote. Some
time two ova are fertilized by two sperms at the same time, which results in two
zygotes and the twins,are called fraternal twins. 'Each of these twins bas different
genetic material because they result from the fusion of a separate ovum and sperm.
Let us now understand q e complex roles of heredity and environment in human
development. There havd, been many views concerning tbe relatiye influence of heredity
and environment on development, At one time environment was regarded to be playing
a greater role than heredity. At another time the role of heredity was considered greater
than that of environment. Neither view is now central. The issue is not whether it is
heredity or environment that influences development, neither is it how much of the
development is to be attributed solely to heredity or environment. Both heredity and
environment interact to influence various aspects of development. It is not easy to

I sepamte the effects of the two since interaction between them is continuous and
complex.
In the case-of physical development, characteristics like height, weight, rate of growth, .
physical features, blood pressure and heart beat are to a large extent determined by
genes. However, environment does have an effect on these. For example, if one of the
I dentical twins suffers from a severe infection at an early age and is seriously ill for a
long time. it is most likely that she will not have the same gain in weight and height as
the healthy twin. This may result in the sick twin being shorter and lighter than the
healthy twin in spite of the fact that both had the same genes for beigbt and weight
 b CUM ~ u c
~m&dmdlm Io relation to motor development you have read that a child needs to be biologically
dDevdopmcnt
ready or mature to learn motor skills. A child's muscles, bones and nerves must be
developed to a certain level to allow walking. Tbus acquiring of motor skills is greatly
detennined by maturation. Further evidence for this is obtained when you read that
motor development follows a universal pattern and sequence. This shows the role of
genes. However, the role of environment cannot be ruled out. The environment provides
opportunities for practice which is very essential for acquiring motor skills. A child will
learn to ride a cycle only if she gets the opportunity to do so. The interaction between
heredity and environment is continuous.
Studies have been done to understand tlle interaction of heredity and environment on
cognitive development. In one particular study infants living in orphanages were
observed. In these institutions one caregiver looked after many children. She, therefore,
did not have enough time to talk to or play with the children. The cognitive
development of these children was found to be below the norms for their age.
Subsequently, thirteen of these children were put in the care of women in an institution
where they got nurturance, care and attention. These women had time to play with them.
After a period of two years all the thirteen children showed an increase in their
cognitive functioning compared to children who had remained in the orphanage. After
twenty years it was found that all thirteen children were economically independent. The
children who had stayed continuously in the orphanage were still dependent on adult
help and institutional care. This study illustrates the role of a nurturing and stimulating
environment in cognitive development.
Intelligence is influend by genes as well. A certain genetic abnormality results in the
absence of a gene because of which a particular enzyme is not p-uced in the body.
Due to the lack of this enzyme, toxic substances get accumulated in the body. These
toxic chemicals affect the nervous system and may cause mental retardation. But
environment has a role to play here also. If the condition is identified early and the
needed treatment is given, in general the harm to the nervous system can be controlled
and the child will not be mentally retarded. Heredity provides a certain potential for
intelligence and the environment determines how much of the individual's potential is
realized.
-
The interaction of heredity and environment can be observed in language development
also. Children who are born deaf do not learn to speak in the normal course of life. But
it has been observed that the infant did babble in the early months but the frequency of
babbling decreased because she could not hear the response of the caregivers. Thus sbe
had no feedback regarding the sounds she was producing and failed to develop speech.
If the problem is detected early and hearing aids provided, the child can leam to speak
and gradually catch up with others of her age.
How do heredity and environment influence the behaviour and peasonality of an
individual? You have read that the height of a person is determined by heredity to a
large extent. One's height can influence one's self-image. If a person is less than tbe
average height she may feel self-conscious or inadequate, which may interfere with her
social interactions. From the earlier Units you will remember that environment
determines the type of experiences the child has. These experiences will also influence
the child's personality development.
One cannot say tl~ritpersonality is directly influenced by heredity. Genes do not directly
produce anger, likes and dislikes, j&ousy, a love of fun or a serious nature. Genes may
act on the physiology of an individual which leads to the development of certain
personality charactetistia. For example, the level of activity of a child seems to be
determined by heredity. Studies also reveal that children who are active at birth may
start walkipg earlier and they continue to be more active than other children. 'Ibis may
influence development in other areas and specific aspects of the persodity.
The genetic make-up of an individual may alk account for certain emstional
disturbances. It has been observed that children whose parents suffering from an
emotional disturbance are more Likely to have an emotional problem. In the case of
identical twins, if one twin develops a problem the chances iue that the other will also
develop it. It can not be said that the child inherits the emotional disturbance itself.
What is actually inherited is the level of s m s a person can tolerate. Whether the
disturbance is manifested or not will depend on the experiences of the child. If tbe
environment is suessful, the child is likely to be emotionally disturbed. In a favotuable
setting the child can be nonnal despite a genetic predisposition to emotional problems.
 From the above discussion one can co~icludethat heredity and environment interact in
all areas of development. Heredity sets the limits to what a person can achieve and
environment determines how much of this potential is realized. In no case can we say
lliat development is a consequence of only heredity or only environment. It is a result of
the interaction between the two. The different genetic material that each one of us
inherits and the varied experiences we have account for the differences among us.

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) The following figure includes the factors that influence development. Complete the
blanks in the figure.

I Renatal

r'
environment
/7
Physical
environment
E
2) Fill in the blanks in the sentences given below with appropriate words.
a) !Environment refers to the ........................conditions that influence development.
b) ........................ are transmitted from the parents to the children.
c) No two individuals have the ........................genetic material except in the case
of ........................twins.
d) Heredity and environment ........................to influence all areas of development.

3.4 SUMMING UP
In this Unit you read about the principles of development. The direction of physical and
motor development is governed by two principles. These are: that development proceeds
from head-to-toe and centre-to-ends. The rates of development of the various parts of
the body at any one period of life are different. Though there is a universal pattern in
development, there are differences in the pace at which every individual develops. There
are sex differences as well in the aspects of development. Development follows the
principle of differentiation and integration. Differentiation means that development
proceeds from simple to complex, from general to specific. Integration means
coordination of various parts to form an increasingly complex suucture. It also refers to
coodination of different behaviour patterns that result in a higher level of complexity.
Both processes are involved in growth and development.
In the course of development there are some periods when the child is m a m . i.e..
biologically ready, to learn a particular skill. At this time it is important that the child
has the appropriate experience so that learning takes place. These periods are referred to
as critical periods. Critical periods are the best time periods to learn. However. even
. after the critical period, learning can take place but it requires more effort. It may at
b times be impossible to learn a skill after the critical period is over.

You have also learnt that environment and heredity are the two factors that influence
development. Environment can be categorized as prenatal and postnatal. Postnatal
n
environment includes physical settings and social experiences. Heredity refers to the
traits and characteristics that the child is boni with. These are uansmitted from t8e
parents to the children through genes. Human deGelopment is a result of the interaction
between heredity and environment.
IntroducUon to Child Care
a d Development 3.5 GLOSSARY
Self-Image: One's views about one's personality. It includes what one feels, thinks and
imagines almut oneself. One may think oneself to be a person who is friendly, outgoing
or shy, intelligent, brave, serious natured, immature in dealing with people,
straightforward, one wlm speaks too much, etc.

Milestones of Development: Significant behaviours which are used to mark the progress
of development. Walking is a milestone in motor development; understanding that things
are present somewhere even if not visible is a milestone in cognitive development and
learning to recognize the mother in social development, etc.
Periphery: External boundary.
Resilient: Capable of recovering from hardship.
Torso: The human body without the head and limbs.

Creeping: Moving on hands and knees with the abdomen raised from the surface.

3.6 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your I'rogress Exercise 1

1) a) ii
b) i
c) iv
d) iii
2) a) difterent
b) differences
c) individual differences
3) a) True
b) True
c) False. Critical periods arc the best times for learning particular skills.

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) Factors influencing development

~e&itv environment

genes
environment environment

~hysi~al Social
environment environment

2) a) external
b) Genes
C) same, identical
d) interact