Editing Mind (section)

=== Individual ===
Besides the development of mind in general in the course of history, [[Developmental psychology|individual human minds also develop]] in the course of their lifetime. Some of the individual changes vary from person to person as a form of learning from experience, like forming specific memories or acquiring particular behavioral patterns. Others are more universal developments as psychological stages that all or most humans go through as they pass through [[early childhood]], [[adolescence]], [[adulthood]], and [[old age]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=171, 202, 342–343, 384}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=171–172, 184}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132, 240}} }}</ref> These developments cover various areas, including intellectual, sensorimotor, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral developments.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Yeomans|Arnold|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mDL1eR1VrcIC&pg=PT31 31]}} | {{harvnb|Oakley|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iSOCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1]}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132}} }}</ref> Some factors affect the development of mind before birth, such as nutrition, maternal stress, and exposure to harmful substances like alcohol during pregnancy.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Coall|Callan|Dickins|Chisholm|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg3QBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 57–58]}} | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=345–346}} | {{harvnb|Abel|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j77OEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 231–232]}} }}</ref>

Early childhood is marked by rapid developments as [[infant]]s learn voluntary control over their bodies and interact with their environment on a basic level. Typically after about one year, this covers abilities like walking, recognizing familiar faces, and producing individual words.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=342–344, 347–348, 384}} | {{harvnb|Packer|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=V5NBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7–8]}} | {{harvnb|Smitsman|Corbetta|2011|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8WrqZaqtzgUC&pg=PA169 Action in Infancy – Perspectives, Concepts, and Challenges]}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132}} }}</ref> On the emotional and social levels, they develop attachments with their primary caretakers and express emotions ranging from joy and surprise to fear and anger.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Packer|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=V5NBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7–8]}} | {{harvnb|Freeman|1975|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TFjf4mUHqv4C&pg=PA114 114]}} | {{harvnb|Driscoll|Easterbrooks|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cOPNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 256]}} | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=384}} }}</ref> An [[Piaget's theory of cognitive development|influential theory]] by [[Jean Piaget]] divides the cognitive development of children into four stages. The sensorimotor stage from birth until two years is concerned with sensory impressions and motor activities while learning that objects remain in existence even when not observed. In the preoperational stage until seven years, children learn to interpret and use symbols in an intuitive manner. They start employing [[logical reasoning]] to physical objects in the concrete operational stage until eleven years and extend this capacity in the following formal operational stage to [[Abstract and concrete|abstract ideas]], [[Probability|probabilities]], and possibilities.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=349–350}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=566–572}} | {{harvnb|Khatoon|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ha1KBZm9CXQC&pg=PA308 308–311]}} }}</ref> Other important processes shaping the mind in this period are [[socialization]] and [[enculturation]], at first through primary caretakers and later through peers and the schooling system.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=384}} | {{harvnb|Harrell|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lQDFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA478 478–479]}} }}</ref>

Psychological transformations during adolescence are provoked by physiological developments and by being confronted with a different social situation in the form of new expectations from others. An important factor in this period is change to the [[self-concept]], which can take the form of an [[Existential crisis#Teenage|identity crisis]]. This process typically involves developing individuality and independence from parents while at the same time seeking closeness and conformity with friends and peers. Further developments in this period include improvements to the reasoning ability and the formation of a principled moral viewpoint.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=384–385}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=619–620, 625–626}} | {{harvnb|Berman|Weems|Stickle|2006|pp=285–292}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=124–125, 131–132}} }}</ref>

The mind also changes during adulthood but in a less rapid and pronounced manner. Reasoning and problem-solving skills improve during early and middle adulthood. Some people experience the mid-life transition as a [[midlife crisis]] involving an inner conflict about [[personal identity]], associated with anxiety, a sense of a lack of accomplishments in life, or an awareness of mortality. Intellectual faculties tend to decline in later adulthood, specifically the ability to learn complex unfamiliar tasks and later also the ability to remember. At the same time, people tend to become more inward-looking and cautious.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=385}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=633–638, 664}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=124–125, 131–132}} }}</ref>