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Moral development of child and adolescent

Social and moral development of an adolescent

The study of moral development emphasizes how morality develops from childhood to maturity and how it changes through time. Morality is described as rules for how people should behave towards one another with regard to fairness, other people’s welfare, and their rights in the realm of moral growth. Measuring people’s beliefs, feelings, behaviors, and actions leads to moral knowledge, which is crucial in order to understand how people perceive morality.

The study of moral development investigates the functions of conscience and values, socialization and cultural effects, empathy and compassion, positive growth, and the facilitation of moral development by peers and parents. Numerous academic fields, including philosophy, economics, biology, and political science, as well as subfields of psychology, have an interest in morality (e.g., social, cognitive, and cultural). The study of moral growth over a lifetime is a key topic in moral developmental psychology.

The Concept of Development

The first step in development is that it is a continual process. Development never comes to an end. It lasts from the time of conception until the person reaches adulthood. It happens gradually rather than in big leaps and bounds, whether it happens slowly or quickly.

The fact that development is ongoing highlights the idea that each stage’s underpinnings are built upon an earlier stage and that each stage has a clear impact on those to follow. A child’s growth may be interrupted by disease, famine or poverty, other environmental causes, or some unusual circumstances in their life. As per Growth and Development, a person’s life may be split into the key developmental phases:

Pre-natal period (from conception to birth)

Neo-natal period (birth to 10-14 days)
Babyhood (2 weeks to 2 years)
Early childhood (2 years to 6 years)

Late childhood (6 years to 12-13 years)
Adolescence (from 12-13 years to 18-19 years)
Adulthood (from 18-19 years and onwards)

Second, development takes place in a systematic, predetermined order. Every species and creature follows a certain pattern of development in nature. Humans operate in a similar manner. Development happens in a systematic way and follows a certain order that, typically, is the same for most youngsters. The progression of development is linear.

Although the rate and speed of growth may differ from instance to instance, the pattern’s progression never changes.

Thirdly, it transforms a generalized behavior into a localized one. When examining a child’s developmental pattern, it is shown that general activity always comes before a particular activity. Early newborn reactions are fairly generic in nature, but particular ones progressively take their place. The typical initial emotional reaction of a newborn is usually dispersed enthusiasm, which gradually gives way to more focused emotional responses like wrath, happiness, terror, etc.

A succession of incremental modifications occurs during development. Humans are never static beings. The individual transforms from the moment of conception to the final moment. Genetic programming, which may define entire sequences of subsequent development, is the mechanism through which nature most clearly shapes development. It speaks of an ongoing set of organized, cogent adjustments. But on the other hand, growth describes quantitative changes that get larger and more complex. Both quantitative and qualitative changes are implied by development.

Genetic variables also have an impact on development. A youngster should be given the chance to study and experience new things.

A dynamic atmosphere where the young may explore is one of them.

Materials that promote learning and pique interest must be present in the setting with parental and educational support and direction.

Every kid is a distinct individual. Despite being the same age, it cannot be assumed that two children will act or develop in the same way. For example, in the same class, it is unrealistic to expect a child from a low-income family to perform equally well academically as a child whose parents place great importance on education and actively encourage their child to learn.