Editorial - Journal of Child and Adolescent Health (2021) Volume 5, Issue 1

Editorial note on Mental Developments

In this editorial the discussion is on Mental development includes such abilities as attending, perceiving, observing, remembering, imagining, thinking, solving problems and growth of intelligence as well as of language. These abilities change, grow and mature with age and decline in old age. The rates of change vary with age and special experiences.

There are five development areas:

The Five Areas of Development is a holistic approach to learning that strives to break down the silos in education and ensure the development of a learner in all Five areas of Development - Cerebral, Emotional, Physical, Social and Spiritual.

Mental development is another name for extending the intellectual horizon of the child. To begin with, the world is one large, “booming, buzzing confusion” to the child. Gradually, details are perceived and understood, differences are realised and experiences and knowledge are organised into new relations. This is made possible through processes of differentiation and organisation or integration.

The factors that affect mental development include maturation, learning and education. The kind of nervous system the human child inherits is an important factor. It helps him to co-ordinate various activities and responses. It regulates the activity of all the organs. The brain, an important part of the nervous system, plays a more significant role in the mental development of the individual than any other part. It helps in the perception of the surrounding world and perception is the basis of the mental activity – all thought and consciousness.

The study of intellectual development and its measurement historically has involved debate about several theoretical issues, all of which have implications for test design. One issue concerned the structure of intelligence, which was described as either a general global intellectual capacity, complex but unified, or a combination of many separate abilities. Developmental psychology examines the influences of nature and nurture on the process of human development, and processes of change in context across time. Many researchers are interested in the interactions among personal characteristics, the individual's behavior, and environmental factors, including the social context and the built environment. Ongoing debates in regards to developmental psychology include biological essentialism vs. neuroplasticity and stages of development vs. dynamic systems of development. 1 Researchers interested in memory development look at the way our memory develops from childhood and onward. According to Fuzzy-trace theory, people have two separate memory processes: verbatim and gist. These two traces begin to develop at different times as well as at a different pace. Children as young as 4 years-old have verbatim memory, memory for surface information, which increases up to early adulthood, at which point it begins to decline. On the other hand, our capacity for gist memory, memory for semantic information, increases up to early adulthood, at which point it is consistent through old age. Furthermore, one's reliance on gist memory traces increases as one ages.

Conclusion Development does not just involve the biological and physical aspects of growth, but also the cognitive and social aspects associated with development throughout life. By better understanding how and why people change and grow, we can then apply this knowledge to helping people live up to their full potential

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