What did Gesell suggest about maturation?
Gesell’s Maturation Theory focused on the physical and mental development of children. He suggested that children will go through the same stages of development, in the same sequence but each child will go through the stages at their own rate.
What is Gesell’s theory of development?
Gesell’s theory is known as a maturational-developmental theory. Gesell observed and documented patterns in the way children develop, showing that all children go through similar and predictable sequences, though each child moves through these sequences at his or her own rate or pace.
What was Gesell’s 3 main assumptions?
Gesell based his theory on three major assumptions, the first one is development has a biological basis, the second is good and bad years alternate, and the third is body types are correlated with personality development .
How does Gesell’s maturation theory link to the nature or nurture debate?
B1 – The nature/nurture debate related to factors Gesell noted that each child moved through the sequence of ‘norms’ or ‘milestones’ at their own pace. Maturation is the genetically programmed sequence of change we all go through in life.
What did Gesell say about the process of maturation?
Gesells Concept of MaturationGesell said that the childs growth or development is influenced by two major forces: The environment and the action of the genes. Gesell called this process maturation (Crain, 2005). He observed that a childs development occurred in a fixed order through a series of stages.
How does the Gesell theory of growth work?
Gesell emphasized that growth always progresses in a pattern through predictable stages or sequences. Sequential development begins within the embryo and continues after birth. While an individual progresses through these stages at his or her own pace, the sequence remains the same.
How did Gesell contribute to our understanding of developmental milestones?
This research influenced what we know about developmental milestones. Children develop through similar and predictable sequences. However, Gesell noticed that they did so at their own pace, and suggested this development starts to occur before the child’s birth.
What are the six stages of Gesell Development?
Gesell’s cycles of development are divided into six well-defined stages which are repeated throughout life. One cycle includes the following stages: Smooth, Break-Up, Sorting Out, Inwardizing, Expansion, and Neurotic “Fitting Together”. See figure below of the cycles of development.