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Topic 4

Physical Development

Principles of Development

• Cephalocaudal (head down)
• Proximodistal (centre outward)
• Differentiation & integration
• Genetic patterns (sequences & rates)
• Individual differences

Why

• Physical growth provides potential for behaviour change
• Physical growth expands experience and promotes cognitive and social change
• Physical growth affects how others see the child
• Physical growth affects how the child sees itself

Aspects of physical development

• Skeletal and muscular
• Nervous system
• Endocrine system
• Sexual development
• Motor development

Skeletal and muscular development

• Ossification (completion , hardening, healing, degeneration)
• Muscular (change, training/use, hormones, gender differences)
• Fat (change in volume/distribution, gender)
• Lead to size, shape, strength, endurance difference
• growth patterns, spurts

Nervous System

• Neurological development (midbrain, medulla, cerebral cortex)
• neurons, glial cells
• axon, dendrite, synapse, myelinisation, pruning

Endocrine (Hormones)

• Pituitary (Growth, trigger) maturation
• Growth hormones: Adrenal, Thyroid
• "Sex" hormones
• Other , Pancreas

Pituitary

• trigger for other glands
• thyroid
• gonadotropic

Thyroid

• Foetal brain growth
• Energy metabolism
• Bone growth
• Sex maturation
• Cell size & multiplication

Adrenal

• androgen & corticoids (reaction, strength)
• metabolism (carbohydrate & protein)

Testes

• testosterone *
• body & facial hair
• muscle growth
• male sexual characteristics (sperm)
• bone maturation
• adolescent growth
• nervous system

Ovaries

• oestrogen & progesterone
• Female sex characteristics (menstrual cycle)
• Fat
• Uterine growth
• Bone maturation

Pancreas

• insulin
• carbohydrate metabolism
• protein synthesis

Motor Development

• Gross & fine motor
• Early Motor (crawling, grasping)
• Locomotion, prehension, manipulation
• practice & training

Biological and Cultural Influences

• General
• heredity (size, shape, rate, specific characteristics)
• racial characteristics (size, shape, rate, racial characteristics)
• gender
• Specific cultural
• health (disease, trauma, teratogens, stress)
• nutrition
• life style (exercise)
• pregnancy
• social class
• social class & race

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