This is Tommy. 

He is a growing human boy. Like all humans, 

he will develop, which means change. His 

body and his mind will develop together. His 

development will never end. Psychology is 

the study of the mind. Let us watch Tommy 

develop, and learn psychology.  

Physical Development

This is Tommy eating. He was born knowing how to eat 

with his mouth. When babies are born they already 

know how to do things, these things are reflexes. 

Babies all have reflexes but still have a lot to learn! 

Tommy will have to wait until he develops to do other 

things:

   9 months: Tommy can sit

   1 year: Tommy can walk

   2 years: Tommy can run and talk too

   4 years: Tommy can do things like tie his shoes

   6 years: Tommy can tell animals apart, go Tommy!

Social Development

Tommy loves his parents! All babies have emotional ties 

to their parents, this is called attachment. Tommy's 

parents love him and give him what he needs so his 

attachment to them has become strong and secure. 

When babies have a secure attachment, they trust 

their parents and go to them for support and comfort. 

Having a secure attachment is good for Tommy, it 

means when he grows up he will feel good about himself, 

have great relationships with people, and be able to 

share his feelings when he needs to. He is smiling and 

he is happy because his social development is going well!

Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget is a Psychologist who knows how Tommy will think as he 

grows! He says his thinking will develop in stages:

Sensorimotor: This is where Tommy is and will be until he is 2. He 

explores the world through through his eyes, nose, hands, ears, and 

his mouth! So he likes toys like that truck.

Preoperational [2-6]:   This is where Tommy can name things. When 

he is older, he will have a word for that truck. He can also pretend 

the truck is something else like a shoe!

Concrete Operational [7-11]: When Tommy turns 7 he is going to 

start thinking a lot, with logic! He will understand that even if things 

look different, they are the same. He will also be good at math, yay 

for Tommy!