Human Development

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Concept of Human Development

Man is a developing animal and the study of development is the study of how and why human beings grow and change throughout life. Development means the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span. Development can be defined as orderly and relatively enduring changes over time in physical and neurological structures, thought processes and behavior.

According to ELIZABETH B. HURLOCK, ‘Development means progressives series of changes in an orderly, coherent pattern. It is a process in which the internal physiological changes and the psychological process stimulated by them are integrated in a way which enables the individuals to master further and a new environment stimulation.’

Development can also be defined as the changes in the structure, thought or behavior of a person which occur as a function of both biological and environmental influences.

OVERTON (1998) argued that although age gives a rough estimate of when behavior appears, it tells nothing about the reason of occurrence of a particular behavior at a specific time. As LERNER (1998) noted, the appearance of a particular behavior is due to interactions involving biology, culture, physical features of the ecology and socioeconomic resources.

Development includes two contrast processes taking place simultaneously throughout life- growth or evolution, and atrophy or involution. Both begin at conception and end at death