Physical, Cognitive and Social-Emotional Human Development

The three areas of human development are physical, cognitive and social-emotional. These areas are different in many ways, but they also influence one another.

Physical development is characterized by patterns of physical growth and maturation. Other forms of physical development occurs in the genetic basis for some human characteristics and abilities, neurological
(brain) development, the acquisition of motor skills. Physical developments also manifest themselves in the form of healthy and unhealthy behaviors.

Cognitive development is associated with the changes in a person's reasoning. Cognitive developments are also reflected by a change in language. Developments of the cognitive sort also refer to memory, and concepts. An example of this is how a child's answers to a simple question may be very simple and an adult's answers are more complex, and use stronger vocabulary.

Social-emotional developments relate to the changes that occur in a person's feelings, ability to handle feelings and situations, and moral ideas. These developments also occur in relation to a person's social relationships. An increase or decrease in self confidence is a direct example of a social-emotional development.

It may appear that all of these areas are separate, but they are extremely closely related. For example "physical development (e.g., neurological growth) allows cognitive advancements to take place, and increases in the ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives (a cognitive ability) make possible more effective social
relationships" (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004, p. 6).

Imagine Johnny is a five-year-old boy attending his first year of school. Johnny will be changing and growing a lot in his first year of school. Physically he will be growing and getting taller. His motor schools will improve and he will be able to use his hands much better. Emotionally he will be learning how to interact in a controlled environment. He will be learning social skills such as sharing, and working together. He will also learn how to deal with emotions in group settings. Cognitively he will begin processing more information and learning the rules of the classroom environment. Johnny will be learning rights and wrongs and how to make decisions based on them.

As Johnny changes, this will cause an impact on his behavior in the classroom. Johnny will be growing and may be bigger or smaller than most kids. This may cause Johnny to be shy or it may cause him to be more confident. Johnny may struggle with the emotions of dealing with many other children and this may cause him to act out or become timid. There are many possibilities that can occur in a school setting and it is important for a teacher to be aware of the different areas of development in order to nurture the student correctly.

Reference:

McDevitt, T., & Ormrod, J. (2004). Child Development: Educating and Working with Children and Adolescents (2nd ed.). : Prentice Hall