Comparison between Social and Personality Development | Essay

Running head: COMPARE AND CONTRAST
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
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COMPARE AND CONTRAST
The different stages of development are defined by social institutions, laws as well as
customs. The boundaries of an infant, preschool, middle school and adolescent child are
malleable. The ideas of society about the developments changes with time. The essay aims to
compare and contrast between different stages of life according to the cognitive, physical,
socio-emotional growth in these stages.
The social and personality development in infancy develops through biological
maturation, interaction and the representation of the child with the self. Emotional
attachments form the emotional bond during infancy with those who care for them.
Psychologists believe that these attachments are biologically natural. They develop an
emotional bonding due to a sense of security they have on their parents and caregivers (Steele
et al., 2018). On the other hand, in the psychosocial development, according to Erik Erikson
of a preschool child, he/she tries to be self-sufficient and independent. At this stage, the
children start imagining and broaden their skills. According to Erikson if the child cannot
fulfil the above goals, then he will feel socially excluded and limit himself. Furthermore, for
infants, the experiment Strange Situation is about a brief separation from the caregivers.
Depending on the emotional bonding of the child with their caregivers, the former may either
reject or welcome the parent. Safety and security are required for the emotional and
personality development of the infants (Meins, Bureau & Fernyhough 2018). The preschool
child, on the other, develops a sense of morality where, according to Piaget, the child morally
understands their parent's control on them. They start thinking from distributive justice,
where all goods should be shared equitably. They know the moral consequences of their
actions that will lead to the punishment that is not possible in infancy. According to the
objects-relations theory of Melanie Klein, the personality of an infant is formed due to the
first relationship with his mother whereas Freud stated that it was the child's fear from father
that developed his character. In this theory, the girls can adjust quickly than the boys. Social

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COMPARE AND CONTRAST
deprivation can have negative consequences on the child's personality and emotional
development. On the other hand, the social development of a preschool child is formed by
interaction with other children, where they try to express their thoughts and feelings. They
also understand others and welcome strangers and interact with them, unlike an infant (Stern,
2018). The recent scientific finding states that a mother's attachment with the infant increase
oxytocin hormones in the child. The head odours from an infant, according to scientists, show
the olfactory importance in infants that enables them to recognise their kins (Cortez et al.,
2018). On the other hand, the scientific discoveries of preschool child state that parentese is a
style of speaking that draw's the attention of a child. This way, the child quickly learns
language skills than others. Another discovery shows that while a child plays with their
parents, their brains interact with one another (Shumovskaya et al., 2019). Both experience a
familiar brain activity. The most common similarity between the two is that children in both
these stages need the support of their parents to grow and develop quickly.
The physical development of a preschool child includes an increase in height, growth
of muscles and bones as well as an increase in weight. They are taller as well as leaner
compared to toddlers. The physical growth of a preschool child improves the cardiovascular
fitness of the child and helps in developing efficient motor, thinking as well as concentration
skills. The physical development also includes dancing, hopping, jumping and walking. On
the other hand, the physical development of a middle school child includes athletic
appearance where both male and female look similar. They appear to be more awkward, and
their muscles and bones start to broaden. There is an increase in nutritional demands. Their
development is slower than a preschool child. Their brain and nervous system development
and their motor skills are better than a preschool child. Furthermore, the physical growth in
adolescents is rapid, and they enter the puberty stage, where there are a lot of hormonal
changes in the body. They experience the highest rate of physical development than the other