Developmental Milestones

Why This Matters

In Crime Human Development, you're being tested on how normal developmental processes—when disrupted or delayed—create pathways toward antisocial behavior, delinquency, and criminality. These milestones aren't just checkboxes on a pediatrician's chart; they represent critical windows where risk factors and protective factors interact to shape life trajectories. Understanding cognitive development, attachment formation, impulse control, and moral reasoning helps you explain why some individuals develop prosocial behaviors while others don't.

The exam will ask you to connect specific developmental failures to criminal outcomes. A child who doesn't develop secure attachment may struggle with empathy. An adolescent with poor executive function may act impulsively. A teen stuck in pre-conventional moral reasoning may only avoid crime when punishment is certain. Don't just memorize ages and stages—know what concept each milestone illustrates and what happens when development goes wrong.

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Cognitive Development Foundations

The brain's capacity for reasoning, planning, and understanding consequences develops in predictable stages. When cognitive development is delayed or disrupted, individuals may lack the mental tools needed to anticipate consequences, understand others' perspectives, or resist immediate gratification—all factors linked to criminal behavior.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor to preoperational stages (0-7 years)—children move from learning through physical interaction to developing symbolic thinking, though they remain egocentric and struggle with logical reasoning
• Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)—logical thinking about tangible events emerges, including understanding of cause and effect, a prerequisite for comprehending consequences of actions
• Formal operational stage (12+ years)—abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking develop, enabling moral reasoning about justice and rights

Theory of Mind

• Emerges around age 4-5—the understanding that others have thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives different from one's own
• Critical for empathy and social functioning—deficits in theory of mind are associated with difficulty understanding victim impact and reduced guilt
• Essential for effective communication—without it, individuals struggle to predict how others will react to their behavior, a key component of deterrence

Executive Function Development

• Core components include working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control—these processes govern decision-making and impulse management
• Develops gradually through adolescence—the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive function, isn't fully mature until the mid-20s
• Deficits predict delinquency—poor executive function is one of the strongest cognitive predictors of antisocial behavior and criminal involvement

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Emotional and Social Bonding

Early relationships create templates for how individuals relate to others throughout life. Attachment patterns established in infancy influence emotional regulation, trust in institutions, and the capacity for healthy relationships—all protective factors against criminality.

Attachment Theory and Bonding

• Secure attachment creates emotional security—children with responsive caregivers develop internal working models that others are trustworthy and they are worthy of care
• Insecure attachment increases risk—avoidant, anxious, or disorganized attachment patterns correlate with relationship difficulties, emotional dysregulation, and conduct problems
• Bowlby and Ainsworth's research is foundational—expect exam questions connecting early attachment disruption (neglect, foster care instability) to later antisocial outcomes

Social and Emotional Development

• Attachment formation (0-2 years)—the critical window for establishing secure bonds with primary caregivers, disruption during this period has lasting effects
• Emotional regulation (2-5 years)—learning to manage frustration, anger, and disappointment appropriately rather than through aggression or withdrawal
• Empathy development (5-7 years)—the capacity to understand and respond to others' emotions, which inhibits harmful behavior by making victims' suffering salient

Peer Relationships and Social Skills

• Social skills include communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution—deficits in these areas lead to peer rejection, which is a risk factor for delinquency
• Peer relationships intensify in importance during adolescence—rejected youth often gravitate toward deviant peer groups that reinforce antisocial norms
• Positive peer interactions build protective factors—social competence, self-esteem, and conventional bonds to prosocial institutions

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Moral Reasoning and Self-Control

The capacity to distinguish right from wrong—and to act accordingly—develops through predictable stages. Moral development interacts with self-regulation to determine whether individuals can resist temptation and conform to social norms, even when detection is unlikely.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

• Pre-conventional level (ages 4-10)—morality based on avoiding punishment and seeking rewards; individuals at this stage only refrain from crime when consequences are certain and immediate
• Conventional level (ages 10-16)—morality based on social approval and maintaining order; conformity to group norms drives behavior
• Post-conventional level (adolescence+)—morality based on abstract principles and personal ethics; many adults never reach this stage, and some offenders remain at pre-conventional reasoning

Self-Regulation and Impulse Control

• Defined as managing emotions, behaviors, and thoughts for long-term goals—Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime identifies low self-control as the primary cause of criminality
• Develops through practice and consistent guidance—harsh, inconsistent, or absent parenting undermines self-regulation development
• Critical for resisting criminogenic opportunities—individuals with poor impulse control act on immediate desires without considering consequences

Identity Formation

• Occurs during adolescence—exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals that define who one is and wants to become
• Influenced by social context—family, peers, culture, and community shape whether prosocial or antisocial identities develop
• Failed identity formation creates vulnerability—role confusion and lack of direction correlate with susceptibility to deviant peer influence and criminal lifestyles

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Brain Development and Critical Periods

Neuroscience reveals that the brain develops in stages, with certain capacities having optimal windows for development. Understanding neuroplasticity and critical periods explains why early intervention is more effective than later remediation—a key policy implication for crime prevention.

Brain Development and Neuroplasticity

• Rapid growth in early childhood—significant development in language, motor, and emotional regulation areas occurs before age 5, making this period crucial for intervention
• Neuroplasticity allows adaptation—the brain reorganizes in response to experiences, meaning both positive enrichment and negative trauma leave lasting marks
• Critical periods exist for key skills—language acquisition, attachment formation, and emotional regulation have windows where development is easiest; missing these windows doesn't prevent learning but makes it harder

Language Acquisition Milestones

• Cooing to first words (0-12 months)—early vocalizations indicate healthy brain development and caregiver responsiveness
• Two-word phrases (18-24 months)—demonstrates understanding of syntax, delays here may signal developmental problems requiring intervention
• Language skills predict academic success—which in turn is a protective factor against delinquency; language delays are overrepresented in justice-involved youth

Motor Skill Development

• Gross motor skills (0-2 years)—large muscle movements like crawling and walking indicate normal neurological development
• Fine motor skills (2-5 years)—hand-eye coordination and dexterity, including early writing and self-care abilities
• Motor delays may signal broader issues—often co-occur with cognitive or emotional developmental problems that increase crime risk

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Adolescent Transitions

Adolescence represents a period of dramatic change across physical, cognitive, and social domains. The gap between physical maturity and brain maturity—particularly in impulse control—helps explain the age-crime curve, where offending peaks in late adolescence and declines in adulthood.

Puberty and Adolescent Development

• Physical changes precede cognitive maturity—hormonal surges and physical development occur years before the prefrontal cortex fully matures, creating a control gap
• Cognitive changes include abstract thinking—adolescents gain capacity for hypothetical reasoning but may lack experience to apply it wisely
• Social changes involve identity exploration—increased importance of peer approval, independence-seeking, and risk-taking behavior

Academic Skill Development

• Foundational literacy and numeracy emerge early—school readiness at kindergarten predicts later academic success
• Critical thinking develops in later years—problem-solving and abstract reasoning build on earlier foundations
• Academic failure is a risk factor—school disconnection, grade retention, and dropout strongly predict delinquency; academic success provides conventional bonds and future orientation

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Erikson's Psychosocial Framework

Erikson's stages provide a comprehensive model for understanding how social and emotional challenges at each life phase shape personality and behavior. Each stage presents a crisis that, if resolved poorly, creates vulnerabilities that compound over time—a cumulative disadvantage model relevant to life-course criminology.

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

• Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 year)—infants who experience consistent, responsive caregiving develop basic trust; mistrust creates lasting suspicion of others and institutions
• Autonomy vs. Shame (1-3 years) and Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years)—successful resolution builds confidence and healthy assertiveness; failure produces shame, self-doubt, or excessive guilt
• Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years) and Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years)—mastery of skills and clear identity provide direction; failure at these stages correlates with delinquency and drift into criminal lifestyles

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two developmental concepts best explain why an adolescent might commit a crime despite knowing it's wrong? How do they interact?

2. Compare Kohlberg's pre-conventional moral reasoning with Gottfredson and Hirschi's concept of low self-control. How are they similar, and what does each emphasize that the other doesn't?

3. If an FRQ asks you to explain how early childhood experiences contribute to adult criminality, which three milestones would you discuss, and what specific disruptions would you describe?

4. How does the gap between puberty and executive function maturity help explain the age-crime curve? What policy implications follow from this developmental mismatch?

5. Compare secure attachment and positive peer relationships as protective factors against delinquency. At what ages is each most influential, and how might failure in one affect the other?