Arnold Gesell’s maturation theory: what is it and what does it propose?

A theory of childhood development created by psychologist Arnold Lucius Gesell.

American psychologist and pediatrician Arnold Gesell proposed at the beginning of the last century a theory of how children develop behaviorally, which has been of great importance in the field of educational psychology and pediatrics.

The maturation theory of Arnold Gesell tries to explain the order in which the main learning and development of abilities take place during childhood, besides giving an explanation, from the physiological point of view, of why this specific order is given.

This theory, like so many others in developmental psychology, has not been exempt from criticism, although it must be said that practically a hundred years after its formulation, it still carries a lot of weight in this branch. Let us take a closer look at what it is all about.

The maturation theory of Arnold Gesell.

The maturation theory was introduced in 1925 by the American psychologist Arnold Lucius Gesell, who was also a pediatrician and educator. The studies carried out by Gesell were centered on development during childhood and adolescence, both in children with no psychopathology and in children with no psychopathology.Gesell's studies focused on finding out how development occurred during childhood and adolescence, both in children without any psychopathology and in those who showed a different learning and development pattern than expected.

During the more than fifty years in which Gesell conducted his observational research, mostly at the Yale Clinic of Child Development, this American psychologist and his collaborators described a series of more or less predictable behaviors in childhood.

According to his maturation theory, all children go through the same developmental stages in the same order, but not necessarily at the same time. but not necessarily presenting them at the same time. In other words, each child goes at his or her own pace, but it is expected that they will learn in the same sequence.

This theory, although quite classical considering that it was put forward almost a hundred years ago, has permeated many aspects of educational psychology, especially in terms of parenting methods.

Definition and direction of maturation

Arnold Gesell considered that genetics and the environment play a very important role in the development of a person. of the person, however his research focused especially on the physiological part of development. Using his language, the term 'maturation' for Gesell refers to a Biological rather than a social process, in which more weight is given to the influence of genes than to the environmental factors to which the person is exposed.

In the research carried out by this psychologist, he was able to observe that development occurred following a fixed sequence in terms of the formation of organs and physical development that occurred both as an embryo and during childhood. Physiological development always occurred from head to toe (cephalocaudal direction). (cephalocaudal direction), both before and after birth.

While still an embryo, the first organ to develop is the heart, followed by the central nervous system and then the more peripheral organs, such as lungs, liver, intestines and so on. Once they have arrived in the world, the first thing babies do is learn to control their mouth, lips and tongue. Later they begin to acquire better control of their saccadic movements, movements of the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, legs and feet.

As for more complex behavior, babies first learn to sit, then to stand without adult support, walk and finally run. All babies learn these skills in the same order according to theory, and the rationale for this is that it is because the nervous system develops in the same way in all people, albeit at different rates.

There are multiple environmental factors to which the child is exposed throughout his or her development, such as socioeconomic statusThe environmental factors to which the child is exposed throughout his development, such as the socioeconomic status of his family, relationships with his parents, types of food, among others, are multiple.

However, the theory holds that each infant has its own rate of maturation, which will be optimized if the social environment is aware of how the child is developing and provides the necessary social stimuli at the right time. It follows from the theory that Once the child has acquired the full development of his nervous system, he will be able to master multiple capacities, both individual and social. both individual and social.

Highlights of the theory

A series of aspects of Arnold Gesell's maturation theory can be highlighted which, although they have already been introduced in previous sections of the article, will be described in greater detail below.

1. Study of behavioral patterns

Throughout his professional career, Gesell studied the motor behaviors of infants.. Based on what he observed, he concluded that behavior was best studied not quantitatively but in terms of behavioral patterns.

By behavioral pattern is meant any behavior that is defined as having shape or size. That is, basically whatever the baby does, from a simple blink of an eye to throwing a ball with a baseball bat.

Thus, Gesell observed a series of behaviors that all babies manifest sooner or later, following the same pattern and sequence.following the same pattern and sequence.

This is quite remarkable in comparison with developmental models such as those of Jean Piaget and Erikson, who although they carried out part of their research in an observational way, most of the stages they proposed were more theoretical.

2. Reciprocal entanglement

This term proposed by Gesell, in English 'reciprocal interweaving', refers, both at the motor and personality level, to how the baby behaves in such a way that it seems to follow two antagonistic tendencieswith the intention of eventually finding a balance.

That is, if you look at young children, they are still in a state of personality formation, which makes their relationship with others ambivalent in many contexts, their dealings with some people are more extroverted, while with others they become more closed..

Thus, progressively, over the course of development, the child's personality reaches a balance between both extremes and his or her personality traits finally settle down.

This can also be seen at the motor level, with many children in the first months of life making a fairly balanced use of both hands, without being completely ambidextrous. Later, a greater lateralization is achieved in terms of their actions, becoming definitively right-handed or left-handed.

3. Self-regulation

This is possibly the most striking aspect of Arnold Gesell's theory, given that it that newborns are capable of regulating their own behavior, and are even able to determine their own sleep and feeding schedules.and are even able to determine their own sleep and feeding schedules.

His research suggests that they can also control their personality and behavioral and motor balance.

4. Generalization and individuality

Maturation theory holds, as mentioned above, that all children develop in the same sequence in terms of behavioral and physiological development, but it also points out that each child develops at his or her own pace.

Thus, there is a generalization as to how the main behavioral milestones are acquired during childhood, but it is not taken into account that each individual it is taken into account that each individual, due to individual differences, does so according to his or her own maturation.Each individual, due to individual differences, does so according to his or her own maturation.

How should children be cared for?

Arnold Gesell considered that each child had its own rhythm of development, although the main learning processes were developed based on the development of the nervous system, which followed the same pattern and order in all individuals.

However, in spite of generalizing about the acquisition of the main capacities during childhood, Gesell maintained that the immediate environment should become aware of the rhythm of their own child, and that the child's own development should be conscious of his or her own rhythm.Gesell also understood that the fact that his son or daughter did not develop at the same pace as other children of the same age did not necessarily mean a pathology or even a delay.

The best way to ensure that satisfactory maturation is acquired and that the individual acquires the behaviors that allow him or her to develop fully both socially and intellectually is to make the family aware of the speed at which this same maturation is taking place.. Parents must learn to recognize how their children's development is biologically programmed.

Criticisms to the theory

Although nowadays Gesell's maturation theory is quite extended and applied in the field of educational psychology, there are many critical voices who have pointed out some limitations of the model.

The main one is that Arnold Gesell focused too much on what he himself understands as physiological maturation, leaving aside aspects more related with the physiological maturation of the child.He left aside aspects more related to the environment and the multiple social stimuli that the infant will receive throughout his development.

A very remarkable environmental aspect that Gesell ignores in his theory is teaching, both at school and in the family, a very powerful stimulus in terms of the formation of the child's personality and intelligence.

Another aspect that has also been criticized is that it generalizes too much in terms of the order in which this maturation takes place.. Neither does he specify what variability is to be expected for each behavior and learning, nor whether there is the possibility that some of them may change their order of acquisition.

It is worth mentioning that Arnold Gesell's research has a very striking limitation, which is the fact that he the fact that he only investigated children coming from middle-class American and white families.. This means that his observations cannot be generalized either to other socioeconomic statuses or to other cultures.

From Gesell's model it can be erroneously interpreted that all children, sooner or later, will end up developing in the same way, so it is not necessary to give them educational support in case they are not developing in the same way as the rest of their peers. This is very detrimental in the event that the child has a real disorder, where early intervention is necessary to ensure that he or she develops as fully as possible.where early intervention is necessary to ensure that he or she develops as fully as possible.

Bibliographical references:

• Crain, W. (2011). Theories of development concepts and applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Daly, W. (2004). Gesell's Infant Growth Orientation: A Composite. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 31, 321-324.