WJEC GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare

Learning to speak is a key part of intellectual development during infancy. A baby is born with the ability to communicate through crying, babbling and using facial expressions. Infants acquire a better understanding of the world around them quite quickly as they begin to explore their surroundings and interact with their main carers. By the time they are two years old most children can name familiar objects when they see them (‘dog’ or ‘bus’, for example) and will join a few simple words together (‘go park’ or ‘shoes on’, for example). Childhood Children become less reliant on physical learning (seeing, touching and holding things) to understand the world as they move into childhood. Thinking about concepts is necessary for children to learn to read, write and tell the time, for example. Intellectual development during childhood results in huge improvements in a child’s thinking and language abilities and in their communication skills . In early childhood, children ask lots of questions in an attempt to understand more about their environment and the society in which they live. Learning the difference between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is an important part of every child’s intellectual development. Children learn to base their judgements about moral issues on rules they learn from authority figures, such as their parents and teachers. Children will generally obey rules that keep them from being punished or which lead to rewards. This lasts until late childhood or early adolescence, when making a moral judgement becomes a more sophisticated process. Adolescence Abstract thinking skills are a key feature of adolescents’ intellectual development. This involves being able to think in a theoretical or hypothetical way. For example, mathematical equations involve abstract thinking as does thinking about what you would like to do in the future. Children do not usually have these thinking skills. This means they can’t plan ahead or solve everyday life problems in the same way as adolescents. Abstract thinking is considered to be the final stage of thought development. However, a person’s intellectual development is not completed in adolescence. This is because we gain and use experience during early, middle and later adulthood to improve our thinking, understanding and decision-making. Adulthood Adults are generally capable of abstract thought, have very good memory skills and can think very quickly. Acquiring new knowledge and skills is necessary during adulthood to cope with the challenges and changes that frequently occur in a person’s personal or work life. People who want to progress in their jobs or be promoted will need to undertake some additional learning to achieve their goals. However, younger adults lack the experience of older people and therefore may not always make good decisions or have the same depth of knowledge. Many middle-aged people also use hobbies, their social life or take evening classes or online courses to continue their intellectual development. Some people retrain for new careers or pursue new directions in their personal life during their middle age. Did you know? Did you know? With childhood comes the ability to think about objects and concepts (such as numbers, letters and colours) that are not actually present. A person typically achieves their highest career position during middle age when they are able to combine intellectual abilities developed during adolescence and early adulthood with experience gained throughout their adult working life. Communication skills The ability to convey information and ideas to others. Abstract thinking The ability to think about objects, principles, and ideas that are not physically present. Key terms 22 1.1 Human development across the life cycle