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Human Development – Class 11 Psychology notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 11 Psychology, chapter 4. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Development is the pattern of progressive, orderly and predictable changes that begin at conception and continue throughout life. It involves biological, cognitive and socio-emotional processes, and is influenced by heredity and environment. Development occurs in stages: prenatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Theories such as Piaget's cognitive development theory help explain these changes.

Meaning and influences

Development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic and contextual; growth refers to increase in size, while development includes qualitative change.
Maturation is biologically programmed change; heredity and environment interact, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory describes layers of environment from the microsystem to the macrosystem and chronosystem.
Piaget described four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor (0–2 years; object permanence), pre-operational (2–7; egocentrism, animism), concrete operational (7–11; conservation) and formal operational (11 onwards; abstract reasoning).

Stages of life

Prenatal development has germinal, embryonic and fetal periods; teratogens such as drugs, alcohol, infections and radiation can harm the fetus.
Infancy and childhood see rapid physical, motor and language growth; attachment to caregivers is important for emotional security.
Adolescence (about 12 to 18–19) involves puberty, formation of identity (Erik Erikson: identity versus role confusion), egocentrism and peer influence; adulthood involves career and family; old age brings physical decline but can involve wisdom and adjustment.

Key terms

Development: lifelong pattern of progressive and orderly change
Maturation: biologically programmed changes that unfold with age
Object permanence: understanding that objects exist even when not seen
Egocentrism: inability to see things from another's point of view
Teratogen: an environmental agent that harms the developing fetus

Important questions with answers

Distinguish between growth and development.2 marks

Growth refers to an increase in body size, such as height and weight, and is quantitative. Development is broader and includes both quantitative and qualitative changes, such as changes in thinking, language and emotions, that continue throughout life.

What are the main features of adolescence?3 marks

Adolescence involves puberty with rapid physical and sexual development, the development of abstract thinking, the search for identity, increased importance of peers, greater independence from parents, and some adolescent egocentrism such as the 'imaginary audience'.

Explain Piaget's stages of cognitive development.5 marks

Jean Piaget proposed that children actively construct their understanding of the world and pass through four stages of cognitive development in a fixed order. In the sensorimotor stage (birth to about 2 years), infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions; they gradually develop object permanence, understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, and begin to use simple symbols. In the pre-operational stage (about 2 to 7 years), children use language and symbols and engage in pretend play, but their thinking is egocentric, unable to take another's point of view; they show animism, attributing life to objects, and centration, focusing on one aspect, and they cannot understand conservation. In the concrete operational stage (about 7 to 11 years), children think logically about concrete objects and events, understand conservation of number, mass and volume, can classify and order objects, and understand reversibility, but have difficulty with abstract ideas. In the formal operational stage (from about 11 years), adolescents think abstractly, reason hypothetically and systematically test possibilities, and can think about ideas such as justice. Piaget's theory has been very influential in education, though critics argue that children may achieve some abilities earlier than he suggested and that culture affects development.

Quick revision

Features of development; growth versus development.
Heredity, environment, maturation; Bronfenbrenner.
Piaget's stages.
Prenatal to old age.

Exam tips

Memorise Piaget's four stages with their ages and key features.
Remember Erikson's adolescent crisis: identity versus role confusion.

Practice MCQs

Understanding that objects exist even when not seen is
1. conservation
2. animism
3. egocentrism
4. object permanence
Show answer
Answer: (d) object permanence. It develops in the sensorimotor stage.
The first stage in Piaget's theory is the
1. pre-operational stage
2. formal operational stage
3. concrete operational stage
4. sensorimotor stage
Show answer
Answer: (d) sensorimotor stage. It lasts until about two years.
Agents such as alcohol and drugs that harm the fetus are called
1. hormones
2. neurotransmitters
3. genes
4. teratogens
Show answer
Answer: (d) teratogens. They cause birth defects.
The ability to understand that quantity stays the same despite change in shape develops in the
1. sensorimotor stage
2. pre-operational stage
3. concrete operational stage
4. infancy
Show answer
Answer: (c) concrete operational stage. This is conservation.
Erikson described adolescence as a conflict between
1. trust and mistrust
2. integrity and despair
3. identity and role confusion
4. intimacy and isolation
Show answer
Answer: (c) identity and role confusion. Teenagers seek a sense of self.
The theory describing layers of environment from microsystem to macrosystem was given by
1. Piaget
2. Freud
3. Bronfenbrenner
4. Skinner
Show answer
Answer: (c) Bronfenbrenner. It is the ecological theory.
A child believing that the moon follows her shows
1. egocentrism and animism of the pre-operational stage
2. conservation
3. formal reasoning
4. object permanence only
Show answer
Answer: (a) egocentrism and animism of the pre-operational stage. Thought is centred on self.
Development is called 'plastic' because
1. it is made of plastic
2. it never changes
3. abilities can change and improve with experience throughout life
4. it is fixed at birth
Show answer
Answer: (c) abilities can change and improve with experience throughout life. Plasticity allows growth.

All chapters of Class 11 Psychology

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.