Developmental Paper Example

Developmental Paper Example Developmental Paper â€" Essay Example > Development Stages of Ages 12 to AdolescentsIntroductionAdolescence is a challenging time for most teens full of rebellion, confusion, and problems. Adolescence is the transition period between infancy and adulthood and includes ages 12 to 19. During this period, growth occurs at a tremendous speed thus most teenagers finding it challenging to adjust. However, most teenagers successfully navigate these changes without any problem. Adolescents experience some changes such as increased physical growth, emotional, biological, social, and neurological and brain, moral and cognitive changes. Puberty may, however, begin at different times, some have early development while others experience a little later although eventually they all catch-up. This essay will discuss the various development stages of adolescence Physical and biological stageSigmund Feud in his theory of psychosexual development says that children go through different stages of sexual development. He discusses them as or al, phallic, genital, anal, and latency. The first stage is early adolescence which comprises of ages 11-13. There are common physical changes that occur in both sexes while some occur to one sex. Testosterone hormone in boys triggers the changes while estrogen hormone triggers the changes in puberty in girls. In this stage, there is a tremendous physical growth in both girls and boys. Their weight and height increase incredibly. Both sexes experience increased perspiration, hair growth on their bodies and production of oil in hair and skin. Early adolescents at this stage have a greater sexual interest; they become attracted to the opposite sex. Hauser-Cram, Nugent, Theis and Travers, boys will experience wet dreams, growth in penis and testicles, have broader shoulders and their voice becomes deeper. Wet dreams commonly termed as nocturnal emissions is harmless release of semen during sleep. Girls, on the other hand, have their hips widen, breasts become rounder and larger, thei r clitoris elongates, uterus enlarges, and labia thickens. Most girls begin menstruation at the age of 12 or 13 while some may incur delays. Some adolescent girls and boys can experience skin problems such as acne vulgaris or pimples (2014). In the middle stage of adolescent, between the age of 14-18, the physical growth continues for boys but slows down for girls. Mostly puberty is completed setting in for the late adolescence stage for ages 19-21. The young woman is now fully developed, but the young men continue showing some changes. Their weight and height continue to increase, body hair and muscle mass also increase. According to Freud theory of psychosexual, sexual desires and attraction emerges and if the adolescents involve in sexual behavior, it may result in childbirth and marriage. Freud believed that the development of a child’s personality is determined by the guardians to deal with that child’s basic sexual and aggressive desires. Cognitive stageCognitive developme nt involves the growth ability of child’s reasoning and thinking. Cognitive development has four stages which are assimilation, schema, equilibrium and accommodation according to the theory developed by Jean Piaget. Lee Vygotsky also developed a theory to explain cognitive development. Piaget argues that during the early cognitive development changes in mental operations are as a result of actions that individuals perform. Schema involves the person’s mental and physical steps to display a sense of knowing, understanding and obtaining. Assimilation stage includes people using new acquired ideas and information into their first stage (schema). The third stage is accommodation, where the individual changes the existing schema to new using the obtained information. Lastly, there is the equilibrium level where the individual tries balancing between accommodation and assimilation (Sheski, Chvallier, Lambert, Baumard, 2014).