Social Development Theory - Three Stages of Development

Three Stages of Development

Society's developmental journey is marked by three stages which can be called physical, vital and mental. These are not clear-cut stages but overlapping ones. All the three elements will be present in any society at time. One of them will be predominant while the other two play subordinate roles. The term 'vital' denotes the emotional and nervous energies that empower society's drive towards accomplishment and express most directly in the interactions between human beings. Before the full development of mind, it is these vital energies that predominate in human personality and gradually yield the ground as the mental element becomes stronger. The speed and circumstances of social transition from one stage to another varies.

Read more about this topic:  Social Development Theory

Famous quotes containing the words stages and/or development:

    The four stages of man are infancy, childhood, adolescence and obsolescence.
    Art Linkletter (20th century)

    John B. Watson, the most influential child-rearing expert [of the 1920s], warned that doting mothers could retard the development of children,... Demonstrations of affection were therefore limited. “If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say goodnight. Shake hands with them in the morning.”
    Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)