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Emotional Development
Emotion is a feeling or affect that involves a mixture of physiological arousal (e.g. fast heartbeat) and overt
behaviour (e.g. a smile or grimace).
Positive affectivity (PA) refers to a range of positive emotions, from high energy, enthusiasm, and excitement, to
calm, quiet and withdrawn. Joy, happiness, and laughter involve PA.
Negative affectivity (NA) refers to emotions that are negatively toned such as anxiety, anger, guilt and sadness.
PA and NA are independent dimensions in that a child can be high along both dimensions (e.g. enthusiastic,
high-energy state yet angry).
Functions of Emotions
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Adaptation and survival
(e.g. fear of the dark is adaptive as there are clear links between feared event and possible danger).
Regulation
(e.g. emotions influence the information we select from the perceptual world and our behaviour - those feeling
happy are more like to attend to what they are studying and learning than those who are sad).
Communication
(e.g. smiling to communicate pleasantness).
Emotions are the first language that parents and infants communicate with before the infant acquires speech.
Crying is the most important mechanism newborns have for communicating with the world. Smiling is another
such basic emotion. Researchers have identified three different types of cries and two types of smiles in babies (see
table below).
basic cry
Crying
angry cry
pain cry
Smiling
is a rhythmic pattern that usually consists of a cry, followed by a briefer silence, then a shorter
inspiratory whistle that is of somewhat higher pitch than the main cry, and another brief rest
before the next cry.
is a variation of the basic cry. In the angry cry more excess air is forced through the vocal
chords. The angry cry gets its name from mothers who infer exasperation or rage from it.
is stimulated by high-anxiety stimuli, differs from other types of cries in that there is a sudden
appearance of loud crying without preliminary moaning and a long initial cry followed by an
extended period of breath holding.
reflexive
smile
appears during the first month after birth, usually during irregular patterns of sleep, not when
the infant is in an alert state; and it does not occur in response to external stimuli.
social smile
occurs in response to an external stimulus; early in development it typically is in response to a
face.
Behaviourists like John Watson and Jacob Gerwitz argue that soothing response to crying increased subsequent
crying.
Bowlby and Ainsworth believe that caregiver’s quick, comforting response to an infant’s cries is an important
ingredient in the development of secure attachment.
What do you think?
Developmentalist increasingly argue that an infant cannot be spoiled in the first year life and should be soothed
promptly rather than be unresponsive to develop a sense of trust and secure attachment.
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Emotional Milestones
Carol Izard devised the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System (MAX) to code infant’s facial
expressions related to emotions. In this slow motion and stop-action videotape recordings are used to analyse
emotions. For instance, the following are some of the stimuli used to elicit emotional responses:
• giving an infant an ice cube,
• putting tape on the back of the hand,
• handing a favourite toy and taking it away,
• separating and reuniting with mother,
• having a stranger approach,
• retraining infant’s head,
• placing a ticking clock next to ear,
• popping a balloon to face,
• giving a camphor to sniff, giving lemon juice to taste etc.
Based on such studies the following emotions have been determined to emerge at different age levels:
EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION
APPROXIMATE TIME OF EMERGENCE
Interest,
Neonatal smile (sort of half smile that appears for no apparent reason)
Social smile
Anger, surprise, sadness
Fear
Shame/ shyness
Contempt, guilt
Present at birth
4-6 weeks
3-4 months
5-7 months
6-8 months
2 years
Temperament
Temperament is an individual’s behavioural style and characteristic way of responding. Some people are extremely
active while others are tranquil; some respond warmly to people others fuss and fret.
Dimensions of Temperament
A widely debated issue in temperament research is just what the key dimensions of temperament are.
1. Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas believe there are 3 basic types:
Easy child
Difficult child
Slow-to-warm-up
child
is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new
experiences
tends to react negatively and cry frequently, and engages in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept
new experiences
has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, shows low adaptability, and displays a low intensity of
mood
2. Arnold Buss and Robert Plomin suggest that temperament is composed of 3 basic categories:
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Emotionality (tendency to be distressed);
sociability (tendency to prefer the company of others to being alone); and
activity level (involves tempo and vigour of movement).
In general, the following five dimensions are often used to talk about temperament:
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Activity level
Irritability/ negative emotionality
Soothability
Fearfulness
Sociability
Typical pace/ vigour of one’s activities
How easily/ intensely upset one becomes
Ease with which one calms after becoming upset
One’s wariness of intense/ highly unusual stimulation
One’s receptiveness and social stimulation
Influences on Temperament
Genetic Influence. Researches suggest a moderate influence of heredity.
Environmental Influence. Temperament becomes more malleable with experience. However, it may be that
behaviour indicators of temperament are more difficult to spot as child grows older.
The consistency of temperament depends, in part, on the “match” or “fit” between the child and parent’s nature.
Parents and infants influence each other. Parents may withdraw from or punish a difficult child, while easygoing
parents may have a calming effect on difficult children.
Some implications of temperamental variations for care-giving are: Caregivers should
(1)
be sensitive to the individual characteristics of the child,
(2)
be flexible in responding to these characteristics, or structure the child’s environment according to their
temperament and
(3)
avoid assigning negative labels to the child.
Some Common Emotional Problems
1. Stress
Stress is the response of individuals to circumstances and events (stressors) that threaten them and tax their
coping abilities.
What Causes Stress?
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Life events (e.g. divorce, death in family etc.)
Daily hassles (e.g. living in poverty)
Acculturation (e.g. moving to a completely new place)
What is stressful to children depends on
• Cognitive appraisal (how they appraise and interpret events as harmful or threatening; and whether they have
the resources to effectively cope with it.)
• Pessimistic thinking (Pessimistic children believe that there are permanent reasons why bad things happen to
them while optimists see bad experiences as temporary. Optimists blame their behaviour which can be
changed while pessimists attribute it to innate qualities.(e.g. Optimist may say “ I got C because I did not study
hard enough”; while a pessimist might say “ I got C because I am stupid”.)
Teachers can model optimistic ways of dealing with events, and provide explanations that encourage further effort when
they falter.
Some characteristics reflected in the lives of resilient children:
• Temperamental factors
• Families marked by warmth, cohesion, and presence of caring adult
• Source of external support.
2. Depression
Depression is a mood disorder in which the individual is unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored. The
individual does not feel well, loses stamina easily, often has a poor appetite, and is listless and unmotivated.
Causes
a)
Some cases are endogenous – it is a response to unknown genetic, biochemical or other biological factors.
For instance, a correlation between parental depression and children’s depression has been clearly seen.
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b)
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Others are apparently reactive – it is a response to environmental events such as death of a loved one,
academic failure etc. Child abuse, parental psychopathology, family conflict are often linked to depression.
Depressed parents may provide models for depressed behaviour and create home atmosphere conducive to
depression through family interactions (unreasonable expectations, few reinforcements for achievement,
emphasize punishment, use non-contingent reinforcement/ punishment).
Depressed children often lack of social skills necessary to obtain reinforcement.
They attribute failure to highly predictable, internal factors and inability to recognize that they are not
responsible for all negative events, and can change what will happen to them.
Types of behaviour indicating possible depression:
Affective:
Usually sad, lonely, and apathetic.
Cognitive:
Makes negative comments about oneself, low self-esteem, excessive guilt, and pessimism.
Motivational:
Often avoids demanding tasks and social experiences, show little interest in normal activities,
seem not to be motivated by ordinary or special consequences.
Often complains of fatigue or illness, problems with sleeping or eating.
Physiological:
Depression in Adolescence
Disorder
Depressed mood
Depressive syndrome
Major
depressive
disorder
(MDD
Clinical
depression
Dysthmic
disorder
Symptoms
refers to periods of sadness or unhappy mood that can last for a brief or extended period of
time, as a result of the loss of a significant relationship or failure on an important task.
cluster of behaviour and emotions that include both anxiety and depression; symptoms
include feeling lonely, crying, fear of doing bad things, feeling the need to be perfect, feeling
unloved, feeling worthless, nervous, guilty or sad and worrying.
Five or more of the following symptoms for at least two week period at a level that differs
from previous functioning:
(a) depressed mood or irritable most of the day,
(b) decreased interest in pleasurable activities,
(c) changes in weight or failure to make necessary weight gains, (d) sleep problems,
(d) psychomotor agitation or retardation,
(e) fatigue or loss of energy
(f) feelings of worthlessness or abnormal amounts if guilt,
(g) reduced concentration and decision-making ability, and
(h) repeated suicidal ideation, suicide attempts or plans of suicide.
at least one year in which they have shown depressed or irritable mood every day without
more than two symptom-free months. Further, it requires the presence of at least two of the
following symptoms:
(a) eating problems,
(b) sleeping problems,
(c) lack of energy,
(d) low self-esteem,
(e) reduced concentration or decision-making,
(f) feelings of hopelessness.
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Emotional Intelligence
Good teachers are emotionally intelligent. Being emotionally intelligent means the following:
Emotional Self-Awareness
• Being good at recognizing own emotions.
• Being good at understanding the causes of own feelings.
• Being good at separating feelings from actions
Managing Emotions
• Being good at tolerating frustrations.
• Being good at managing anger.
• Having positive feelings about oneself.
• Being good at coping with stress.
• Not having one’s emotions interfering with ability to focus and accomplish goals.
• Having good self-control and not being impulsive
Reading Emotions
• Being good at taking the perspectives of others (such as students and parents).
• Being able toshow empathy and sensitivity to others’ feelings.
• Being good at listening to what other people say.
Handling Relationships
• Being good at analysing and understanding relationships.
• Being good at solving problems in relationships.
• Being assertive (rather than passive, manipulative, or aggressive) in relationships.
• Having one or more close friendships.
• Being good at sharing and cooperating.
If you are emotionally intelligent, your students will benefit considerably from this. You likely will be
an emotionally intelligent model for your students.
Some Strategies for Helping Students Cope Effectively
One aspect of emotional intelligence is being able to cope effectively with stressful circumstances. What
are some good strategies teachers can use to help students cope more effectively? They include these:
1.
Don’t avoid students’ stress, especially when it impinges on the classroom. Students’ stress can
provide excellent learning opportunities. Work with students so they look at stress as a challenge
rather than a threat.
2.
Work cooperatively with student’s other teachers and with his or her parents. You might notice
stress in a child whose parents aren’t aware of it. If you do talk with the parents about the stress,
evaluate what is causing it, and develop a cooperative plan to deal with it.
3.
Help remove at least one stressor from the student’s life. For example, Lisa had been coming to
school hungry each morning. Her teacher arranged for Lisa to have a hot breakfast at school each
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morning, which improved her concentration in class. This in turn helped Lisa take her attention
away from her anxiety about her parents’ impending divorce.
4.
Work with students to help them discard ineffective coping strategies and learn new ones that
are more effective. Monitor students under stress to see if they are using ineffective coping
strategies such as taking the stress out on others, keeping feelings to themselves, refusing to
believe what is happening, and or trying to reduce tension by acting out. Encourage students to
develop new ways to cope, such as establishing an optimistic outlook. This can be established by
helping students challenge their self-defeating thoughts and keep themselves wallowing in selfpity.
5.
Evaluate the resources available to help students cope with stress. These might include parents,
extended family, friends, a mentor, a school counsellor, or various agencies. Contact the
resources you believe can help students cope more effectively.
[Source: Santrock, J.W. (2001). Educational psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp.116-117]
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