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Infancy: First Words
Babbling and first speech: A proto-form of speech which denotes semi-random sounds which follow mostly disordered patterns. This can often be repeating syllables or making happy noises. Like all children, I babbled before speaking as a means to get getter equipped with language. As I progressed, I said my first word: "hot." The advancement to speaking full words is only possible with babbling, as it predicts later vocabulary and allows them to notice specific patterns of speech. -
Infancy: Temperament
Temperament: An unchanging or persistant trait which roughly measures emotional stability. Temperament may be somewhat connected to higher or lower levels of neuroticism, a constant which does not often change throughout life. The only temperament which changes is fear. During childhood, according to my parent's report, I had a temperament akin to "effortful control," whereas I exhibited some mild control over my emotions or reactions. Now, according to an in-class test, I have low neuroticism. -
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Infancy: Cognitive and Social Development
Cognitive Development: The sensorimotor stage of development dictates that children will attempt to explore the world through the lens of their senses, and not some underdeveloped form of logic. Moreover, language begins the develop alongside attempts to gain a greater control over the body, including attempts to walk. Social Development: During infancy, children will learn appropriate reactions and emotional regulation, often based on the social context around them. -
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Early Childhood: Cognitive Development (Preoperational) and Social Development.
Logical Operations: Reasoning processes which occur alongside advanced cognitive development. In the Pre-operational Development stage, logical operations are rare, and several obstacles to logic exist. Among these obstacles are centration (focusing on one idea), focus on appearance (discounting non-visual aspects), static reasoning (belief things were always as they are), and irreversibility (nothing can be undone). Social Development: Emotional development and play are commonplace. -
Early Childhood: Rough and Tumble Play
Rough-and-tumble-play: A type of play which appears to be somewhat violent, but occurs without intention to cause serious harm. Correlations imply a stronger connection with the limbic system with the prefrontal cortex with the presence of rough-and-tumble-play. As a result, emotions would develop, which is a massively important facet of social relations. During early childhood, one of my favourite things to do was to wrestle with my father after he came home from work. -
Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic (Animism)
Animism: The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive the way humans are. Such may be a result of the centration obstacle to logic, which dictates that one factor is focused on at the expense of others; egocentrism is an example. When I was a child, I believed my cat had the same personality, plans, schema, or processes as humans, so I approached my cat like it was another person. I believed correctly that my cat was alive, but incorrectly assumed that it was alive just as I was. -
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Middle Childhood: Psychological and Social Development
Cognitive Development: During this period, children learn how to overcome the obstacles to logic, and are able to comprehend deeper ideas. The subject will grow a web of ideas about themselves and others during the strive for independence or autonomy. Social Development: Peer groups will begin to form, with the ascent of social rules or codes, such as the value of loyalty. Moreover, partially as a result of cognitive development, a child's morality will advance to the conventional stage. -
Middle Childhood: Concrete Operational Thought
Concrete Operational Thought: Logical abilities begin to manifest in noticeably effective ways, whereas logic is now suitably cultivated. Among these logical tactics is classification, meaning the organisation of things into specific groups or classes. During this time, conversations at the dinner table began to get more logical and topical, reaching aspects such as the books I was reading or even politics. The newfound depths of dinner conversations testifies to newfound logic. -
Middle Childhood: Industry vs. Inferiority
Industry vs. Inferiority: Erikson's 4th crisis of development, indicating that children will attempt to learn or master culturally acceptable skills. The successfulness of these efforts will dictate one's self-image. During this period of time, my lessons of violin began to intensify as I entered into a fine arts school. As such, comparison to my peers on musical skill was likely commonplace, which exhibits the connection between industriousness and social hierarchies. -
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Adolescence: Cognitive and Social Development
Cognitive Development: Cognitively speaking, adolescents now have the complete ability to comprehend or deduct abstract ideas, demarcating the formal operational stage. Moreover, biological changes, coupled with psychological changes, cause several cognitional differences, including a resurgence of egocentrism. Social Development: The strive for identity becomes a massive struggle during these times, and tension generally increases between the adolescent with any caretakers. -
Adolescence: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Identity vs. Role Confusion: Erikson's 5th stage of development, revealing how adolescents will strive to figure out who they are, answering the question of how they fit in society or amongst themselves. During adolescence, around 13 or 14, my relationship with God deepened dramatically, something akin to a true conversion. Until then, I viewed Christ as something I agreed with intellectually; but in adolescence, I found a calling and identity within my faith. -
Adolescence: Formal Operational Thinking
Formal Operational Thinking: The final stage of cognitive development according to mainstream Piaget theory, whereas one can now reason outside of oneself. Entails that the subject can think abstractly or comprehend principles, often upon newly found assumptions. Deductive reasoning is an example of a new innovation, something which was found in adolescence for me. During my mother's Christian Apologetics course, she taught me abstract lines of reasoning which could defend the faith.