Organismic development describes:

• A. Child passively influenced by environmental forces
• B. Brain development in early life
• C. Child actively approaches, explores, and influences the environment
• D. Growth is quantitative

Answer: (C)

Organismic development views the child as an active agent who seeks out experiences, explores, and influences the world around them. Development results from the ongoing, reciprocal interactions between the organism and its environment, with the child shaping what they experience as much as experience shapes them. This explains why the description emphasizes actively approaching and engaging with the environment, not passively being molded.

This perspective contrasts with a purely passive view of development, where the environment simply controls the child. It’s broader than just brain development in early life or growth that’s only about increases in size; it focuses on qualitative changes that come from the child’s own actions and choices, and how those actions alter opportunities and learning.