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.

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