TOPIC FIVE: EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OBJECTIVES
By the end of the topic, the learner should be able to;
1. Explain the meaning of emotional development and
2. Explain the meaning emotional competence
3. Identify several components of emotional expressions
4. Discuss how positive emotions can affect learning
5. Explain how negative emotions affect learning.
6. Highlight factors that influence emotional development among learners
7. Describe the characteristics of emotional intelligence
Introduction
Emotional development involves learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how
and why they occur, recognizing your own feelings and those of others, and developing
effective ways of managing them.
As children and young people grow and are exposed to different situations, their emotional
lives also become more complex.
Developing skills for managing a range of emotions is therefore very important for their
emotional wellbeing and ability to interact successfully with others.
Children and young people who can understand and manage their feelings are more likely to
develop a positive sense of self and be confident and curious learners.
Emotional development begins at birth
Emotional development is a complex task that begins in infancy and continues into
adulthood. The first emotions that can be recognized in babies include joy, anger, sadness,
and fear.
As children’s sense of self develops, more complex emotions like shyness, surprise, elation,
embarrassment, shame, guilt, pride and empathy emerge.
School aged children and young people are still learning to identify emotions, to understand
why they happen and how to manage them appropriately.
Emotional expression includes several components:
 physical responses (like heart rate, breathing and hormone levels)
 feelings that children and young people recognize and learn to name
 thoughts and judgments associated with feelings
 Action signals (for example, a desire to approach, escape or fight).
Many things influence the ways that children and young people express emotions, both
through words and behavior.
Factors/these influences include:
 Values and beliefs about appropriate and inappropriate ways of expressing emotions that
children and young people learn from families and educators
 How effectively children and young people’s emotional needs are usually met
 Children and young people’s temperaments
 Cultural norms
 Emotional behaviors that children and young people have learned through observation or
experience
 Type of families or the extent to which families are under various kinds of stress.
The rate of emotional development in children and young people can vary from person to
person. Some children may show a high level of emotional skill development while quite
young, whereas others take longer to develop the capacity to manage their emotions well into
adolescence. Learning to regulate emotions is more difficult for some children and young
people than for others.

Theoretical Perspective
The theoretical perspective taken toward emotional development in childhood is a
combination of functionalist theory and dynamical systems theory 1: A child’s encounters with
an environment can be seen as dynamic transactions that involve multiple emotion-related
components (e.g., expressive behaviour, physiological patterning, action tendencies, goals
and motives, social and physical contexts, appraisals and experiential feeling) that change
over time as the child matures and in response to changing environmental interactions.
Emotional development reflects social experience, including the cultural context. Elsewhere I
have argued that emotional development should be considered from a bio-ecological
framework that regards human beings as dynamic systems embedded within a community
context.
Table 1 summarizes noteworthy descriptive markers of emotional development in relation to
social interaction.
Age Relationship
Regulation/Coping Expressive Behavior
Period Building
Infancy: Self-soothing and learning to Behavior synchrony with others Social games
0 - 12 mos. modulate reactivity. in some expressive channels. and turn-taking
Regulation of attention in Increasing discrimination of (e.g., “peek-a-
service of coordinated action. others’ expressions. boo”).

Reliance on caregivers for Increasing expressive Social

supportive “scaffolding” during responsiveness to stimuli under referencing.
stressful circumstances. contingent control. Socially
Increasing coordination of instrumental
expressive behaviors with signal use (e.g.,
emotion-eliciting “fake” crying to
circumstances. get attention).

Toddlerho Emergence of self-awareness Self-evaluation and self- Anticipation of

od: and consciousness of own consciousness evident in different feelings
12 mos.- emotional response. expressive behavior toward different
2½ years Irritability due to constraints accompanying shame, pride, people.
and limits imposed on shyness. Increasing
expanding autonomy and Increasing verbal discrimination of
exploration needs. comprehension and production others’ emotions
of words for expressive and their
behavior and affective states. meaningfulness.
Early forms of
empathy and
prosocial action.
Preschool: Symbolic access facilitates Adoption of pretend expressive Communication
2-5 years emotion regulation, but behavior in play and teasing. with others
symbols can also provoke Pragmatic awareness that elaborates
distress. “false” facial expressions can child’s
Communication with others mislead another about one’s understanding of
extends child’s evaluation of feelings. social
and awareness of own feelings transactions and
expectations for
Age Relationship
Regulation/Coping Expressive Behavior
Period Building

and of emotion-eliciting events. comportment.

Sympathetic and
prosocial
behavior toward
peers.
Increasing
insight into
others’ emotions.
Early Self-conscious emotions (e.g., Adoption of “cool emotional Increasing
Elementar embarrassment) are targeted for front” with peers. coordination of
y School: regulation. social skills with
5-7 years Seeking support from one’s own and
caregivers still prominent others’ emotions.
coping strategy, but increasing Early
reliance on situational problem- understanding of
solving evident. consensually
agreed upon
emotion
“scripts.”
Middle Problem-solving preferred Appreciation of norms for Awareness of
Childhood: coping strategy if control is at expressive behavior, whether multiple
7-10 years least moderate. genuine or dissembled. emotions toward
Distancing strategies used if Use of expressive behavior to the same person.
control is appraised as minimal. modulate relationship dynamics Use of multiple
(e.g., smiling while reproaching time frames and
a friend). unique personal
information
about another as
aids in the
development of
close
Age Relationship
Regulation/Coping Expressive Behavior
Period Building

friendships.
Preadolesc Increasing accuracy in appraisal Distinction made between Increasing social
ence: of realistic control in stressful genuine emotional expression sensitivity and
10-13 circumstances. with close friends and managed awareness of
years Capable of generating multiple displays with others. emotion
solutions and differentiated “scripts” in
strategies for dealing with conjunction with
stress. social roles.

Adolescen Awareness of one’s own Skillful adoption of self- Awareness of

ce: emotion cycles (e.g., guilt about presentation strategies for mutual and
13+ years feeling angry) facilitates impression management. reciprocal
insightful coping. communication
Increasing integration of moral of emotions as
character and personal affecting quality
philosophy in dealing with of relationship.
stress and subsequent decisions.

Table1. Noteworthy Markers of Emotional Development in Relation to Social Interaction

Note. From Saarni (2000, pp. 74-75). Copyright 2000 by Jossey-Bass. Reprinted by
permission of the author.
Recent Research Results
The Development of Emotional Competence
A productive way to look at emotional functioning is the degree to which it serves the
adaptive and self-efficacious goals of the individual.
The construct emotional competence has been proposed as a set of affect-oriented
behavioural, cognitive and regulatory skills that emerge over time as a person develops in a
social context.
Individual factors, such as cognitive development and temperament, do indeed influence the
development of emotional competencies; however, the skills of emotional competence are
also influenced by past social experience and learning, including an individual’s relationship
history, as well as the system of beliefs and values in which the person lives.
Thus, we actively create our emotional experience, through the combined influence of our
cognitive developmental structures and our social exposure to emotion discourse. Through
this process, we learn what it means to feel something and to do something about it.

SKILLS OF EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE

1. Awareness of one’s emotional state, including the possibility that one is experiencing
multiple emotions, and at even more mature levels; awareness that one might also not be
 consciously aware of one’s feelings due to unconscious dynamics or selective in
attention.
2. Skills in discerning and understanding others’ emotions, based on situational and
expressive cues that have some degree of consensus as to their emotional meaning.
3. Skill in using the vocabulary of emotion and expression in terms commonly available
in one’s subculture and at more mature levels to acquire cultural scripts that link emotion
with social roles.
4. Capacity for empathic and sympathetic involvement in others’ emotional experiences.
5. Skill in realizing that inner emotional state need not correspond to outer expression,
both in oneself and in others, and at more mature levels the ability to understand that
one’s emotional-expressive behavior may impact on another and take this into account in
one’s self-presentation strategies.
6. Capacity for adaptive coping with aversive or distressing emotions by using self-
regulatory strategies (e.g., “stress hardiness”).
7. Awareness that the structure or nature of relationships is in part defined by both the
degree of emotional immediacy or genuineness of expressive display and by the degree
of reciprocity or symmetry within the relationship; e.g., mature intimacy is in part
defined by mutual or reciprocal sharing of genuine emotions, whereas a parent-child
relationship may have asymmetric sharing of genuine emotions.
8. Capacity for emotional self-efficacy: The individual views herself- or himself as
feeling, overall, the way he or she wants to feel. One accepts one's emotional experience,
whether unique and egocentric or culturally conventional.
This acceptance is in alignment with the individual’s beliefs about what constitutes
desirable emotional “balance.”
In essence, one is living in accord with one's personal theory of emotion when one
demonstrates emotional self-efficacy that is integrated with one's moral sense.
Note.
The attachment relationship with caregivers is the initial context in which a child’s emotional
life unfolds. If the caregivers typically meet the infant’s needs, the infant comes to internalize
the notion that the world is a safe place and that others are trustworthy and responsive.
The infant is then secure in his or her attachment to the caregiver.
The caregiver-child relationship establishes the foundation for the development of emotional
skills, and sets the stage for future social relationships.
A secure attachment leaves the child free to explore the world and engage with peers.
Affirmation that the world is responsive, predictable and reliable aids in the child’s
developing ability to self-regulate.
In a study of preschoolers, Denham and her colleagues found a positive association between
security of attachment to mothers and security of attachment to teachers.
Furthermore, security of attachment to both mother and teacher related positively to emotion
understanding and regulated anger.
In contrast, a child who experiences the world as unpredictable, unresponsive and/or hostile
must expend a tremendous amount of energy self-managing emotional arousal. Insecure
attachment is associated with emotional and social incompetence, particularly in the areas of
emotion understanding and regulated anger.
Furthermore, perceptions of an indifferent or unfriendly social world influence subsequent
emotional responses and interpersonal behavior. For example, a child who experiences
maltreatment may develop primary emotional responses such as anxiety or fear. Ever
vigilant for signs of threat, the child may display aggressive or submissive behaviors as a
means of self-protection, and such behaviors may place the child at risk for future status as a
bully or victim. Cognitive-affective structures associated with maltreatment may promote
emotional constriction or peculiar emotional responsiveness, interfering with a child’s ability
to engage successfully with peers.
The development of emotional competence skills is a developmental process such that a
particular skill manifests differently at different ages. With young children, emotion
knowledge is more concrete, with heightened focus on observable factors.
Young children’s emotion expression and emotion regulation are less well-developed,
requiring more support and reinforcement from the social environment. Elementary school
children advance in their ability to offer self-reports of emotions, and to use words to explain
emotion-related situations.
As children mature, their inferences about what others are feeling integrate not only
situational information, but also information regarding prior experiences and history.
Older children are also more able to understand and express complex emotions such as pride,
shame or embarrassment.
By adolescence, issues of identity, moral character and the combined effects of aspiration and
opportunity are more explicitly acknowledged as significant by youth.
The skills of emotional competence do not develop in isolation from each other and their
progression is intimately tied to cognitive development. For example, insight into others’
emotions grows in interaction with expanding awareness of one’s own emotional experience,
with one’s ability to empathize and with the capacity to understand causes of emotions and
their behavioral consequences.
Furthermore, as children learn about how and why people act as they do, they grow in their
ability to infer what is going on for themselves emotionally.
Positive Development and Emotional Competence
Competent children and youth do not experience lives free of problems, but they are
equipped with both individual and environmental assets that help them cope with a variety of
life events. The skills of emotional competence are one set of resources that young people
bring to life’s diverse challenges.
As with development in other domains, mastery of early skills related to emotional
development, such as affective regulation, impacts a child’s ability to navigate future
developmental challenges.
Strengths in the area of emotional competence may help children and adolescents cope
effectively in particular circumstances, while also promoting characteristics associated with
positive developmental outcomes, including feelings of self-efficacy, prosocial behaviour and
supportive relationships with family and peers.
Furthermore, emotional competence serves as a protective factor that diminishes the impact
of a range of risk factors.
Research has isolated individual attributes that may exert a protective influence, several of
which reflect core elements of emotional competence, including skills related to reading
interpersonal cues, solving problems, executing goal-oriented behaviour in interpersonal
situations, and considering behavioural options from both an instrumental and an affective
standpoint.
THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN LEARNING.
1. Motivation
Our thoughts and emotions can strongly affect motivation. Motivation is a drive or desire that
compels us to do something. If we think we are a good singer, we will likely be motivated to
become a member of our church choir. If we think we can’t sing, we won’t.
Often students don’t seem to be motivated in school. They don’t want to do homework or
schoolwork and believe that they have no control over their grades. They believe that they are
dumb or stupid. Even though they put out effort, they are never successful and fail to achieve
their goals.
As a result, they begin to feel stressed out by school and start to feel helpless and hopeless. In
this situation, their thoughts affected or caused their negative feelings. Other times students
seem unmotivated because they are anxious or depressed. As a result, they have trouble
concentrating in school and can’t keep their mind on their work. They may think too much
about personal problems and focus on the negative. In this situation, their emotions affected
or caused their negative thoughts. In both situations, a lack of motivation prevents new
learning; it “turns off the switch”.
2. Emotional Intelligence
Dr. Daniel Goleman has written a book about “emotional intelligence”. He distinguishes the
ability to understand and manage our emotions from general intelligence or IQ. His concept
of emotional intelligence helps us understand why people with high IQ’s don’t always do as
well in life as those with more modest intellectual ability.
Dr. Goleman has identified five qualities that comprise emotional intelligence:
 knowing our emotions (self-awareness),
 managing our emotions (impulse control),
 motivating ourselves to achieve goals (persistence, zeal and self-motivation),
 recognizing emotions in others (empathy) and
 managing relationships with others (social skills).
He sees these as the steps necessary to achieve high emotional intelligence. Because
emotional intelligence is learned rather than inherited like general intelligence, it can be
nurtured and strengthened.
Therefore, parents and teacher’s play an important role in sculpting a child’s emotional
intelligence, contentment and success in life.
Deficits in emotional intelligence can create serious problems in our relationships and impact
our physical health.
Emotions influence how we perceive and react to life, which in turn, determines how content
and successful we are. We achieve emotional intelligence by attaining our goals and
managing negative emotions. Unmanaged, negative emotions take control of life. It is
impossible to manage our lives until we can manage our negative emotions.
Emotions are largely, but not entirely, controlled by our beliefs. Beliefs are really
attributions, which arise from our memories and reactions to events.
We can have rational or irrational beliefs. Rational beliefs are positive, constructive and
adaptive. For example, if a child believes that he is smart, when it is time to take a math test,
he believes that he will do well if he studies for the test.
This belief was formed by memories of doing well on previous math tests when he studied.
Positive thoughts like these increase his motivation to study and impel him toward his goal of
passing the test.
Rational beliefs help us to cope more effectively and gain contentment and enjoyment in life.
Irrational beliefs are negative, self-defeating and maladaptive. Irrational beliefs lead to
negative emotions like anxiety, anger and depression. For example, if the child taking the
math test believes that he will fail the test because he is not smart, he may refuse to study for
the test, “forget” that he has a test or become very anxious about the test.
These behaviors will cause him to do poorly on the test and lead to feelings of anxiety, anger
or depression. These irrational patterns of thinking are like bad habits. They are self-defeating
and difficult to change.
EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ON LEARNING
Externalizing Behaviors
Some children (and adults) have trouble managing negative emotions. In children, emotional
problems are usually manifested as behavioral problems. Some children tend to externalize or
under-control their emotions and behavior. They may act out their negative thoughts and
feelings by being impulsive or aggressive. Anger is the core emotion associated with
externalizing behaviors.
Frustration often leads to anger. Frustration occurs when our needs, efforts and plans are
blocked. We do not get what we want. Children who have a low tolerance for frustration
believe that the world is “too hard” and they can’t stand it.
Children with learning differences are often easily frustrated because tasks, such as learning
to read, are incredibly difficult for them. They try their best but don’t succeed regardless of
how hard they try. Children also respond with anger in situations that are perceived as
threatening to their self-esteem. If a child is being picked on in school because he can’t read,
he might react with anger.
Children who are angry are often unable to correctly identify the source of their anger. Anger
is not caused by an event; it is caused by the angry person’s thoughts and reaction to that
event. Angry children might be disruptive in class, annoy and bully other children or get into
fights.
They might resent rules and refuse to follow them.
They might also refuse to do homework or to do what their parents and teachers tell them to
do.
Sometimes they might even get suspended or expelled from school or get in trouble with the
law. Often children who act in these ways are not very happy and wish that they could be
different.
Their behavior problems only serve to make things worse. They feel bad about themselves
and lack self-confidence and self-esteem.
Expressing anger does not mean getting rid of it. In fact, the more you express anger, the
more likely you are to become angry in the future. It becomes another learned habit. Anger
usually has a negative impact on relationships and does not lead to contentment and success.
Replacing anger with assertiveness is more likely to achieve the desired goal.
Internalizing Behaviors
Other children who have trouble managing their emotions tend to over-control or internalize
their feelings. They may feel scared, unhappy, anxious or sad. They may be overly sensitive
and get their feelings hurt easily. They might also withdraw from other people and spend a lot
of time alone even though they don’t like to be alone. They might have trouble concentrating
and paying attention in school. These behaviors may lead to poor school performance, which
can reinforce feelings of anxiety, sadness and low self-esteem.
Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the most commonly felt emotions. It has been referred to as the “common
cold” of mental health. The core of anxiety is the emotion of fear. People who are anxious
may be fearful of specific things such as heights, snakes, lightening, flying or dentists.
In school, children may be fearful of tests. The only time the child becomes anxious is when
the “target stimulus” is present. Other children become anxious only in social situations.
They are extremely uncomfortable in situations where they feel they are being scrutinized or
evaluated. They fear they will be humiliated or embarrassed.
Some children are more pervasively anxious and worry about general things. They feel that
they are unable to control their worry. They may worry about how they did on a test, how
they look, whether other people like them or what will happen in the future.
Children who are generally anxious tend to feel irritable and tense. They may also have
trouble sleeping, concentrating and tire easily. Sometimes children that are anxious try to deal
with their anxiety by being a perfectionist. Of course, this is not possible and usually only
makes them feel worse when they are not perfect.
Some anxious children may even be obsess about certain things, such as cleanliness, safety,
their health or being the best at everything they do. They cannot get these thoughts out of
their minds even if they want to or try to. They may attempt to manage their anxiety and
prevent feared events from happening by engaging in compulsive behaviors such as hand
washing, checking, hoarding or superstitious behaviors.
Behaviors such as repeatedly checking to see if a door is locked, being unable to throw
anything away or having to repeat a ritual, such as touching a mirror seven times, over and
over, can be signs of problems managing anxiety. Although these compulsions are used to
reduce obsessive thoughts, they don’t work because they too are out of the child’s control.
Anxious children may also have panic attacks or episodes of intense fear or discomfort that
are accompanied by physical symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath or trembling
and a fear of going crazy or losing control. These attacks may be triggered by an external
event (test, elevator, airplane, crowd) or may be unexpected and come out of the blue.

Depression
Depression is another internalizing problem that is related to the emotion of sadness. Children
who are depressed feel sad and blue. They may also be irritable. They may lose interest or
pleasure in activities that they previously enjoyed. They may have trouble sleeping or sleep
too much. They may lose their appetite or eat more than usual. They are often agitated, tired
and have difficulty thinking or concentrating.
Depressed children may also feel worthless, hopeless, helpless, guilty and have low self-
esteem. They may even have thoughts of suicide.
When a child speaks of suicide, even casually, parents/teachers/adults should never ignore or
minimize the statement. Any suicidal thought should be taken seriously and requires prompt
professional attention.
Some children attempt to keep their emotions under control but they come out anyway.
Children who are anxious or sad may complain of physical problems such as headaches or
stomachaches when it is time to go to school, take a test or do homework. Often a medical
checkup fails to find a physical reason for these complaints. Many children miss school
because of these complaints, which only serves to reinforce them as ways to avoid something
unpleasant and increases school problems because of the time and material missed.
Other children become preoccupied with eating as a way to avoid negative feelings and feel
better. Some overeat because they are anxious or depressed.
When they put on weight, they feel bad about how they look. Others think that they are too
fat even when they’re not and keep trying to lose weight. They believe that if they are thin,
they will be perfect and everyone will like them. Children who focus too much on eating and
their body size usually don’t feel very good about themselves.
In the same way, children who smoke or use alcohol or drugs don’t usually feel very good
about themselves. Using drugs and alcohol may make them feel better for a while, but when
the effects of the drugs and/or alcohol wear off, the negative feelings return.
The use of drugs or alcohol to “treat” feelings of anxiety or depression is never successful
and usually causes additional problems that increase these negative emotions.
Conclusions
Emotions and learning occur in the brain. Learning means acquiring knowledge or skills.
Learning requires thinking. Our thoughts influence how we feel. How we feel influences how
we think. The connections between emotion and learning are bi-directional and complex.
When we think about a happy incident our mood improves.
When we think about an angry incident, we are likely to feel angry. Also, being in a happy
mood causes us to think happy thoughts; being in a sad mood brings sad and negative
memories and images to mind.
There is much research to support that our current mood influences the way we think,
perceive events, remember and make decisions. Being optimistic makes us think more
positively, be more creative and see and remember neutral events as positive.
Because we cannot see our emotions directly, we look to our behavior and that of others to
infer how we feel. So our emotions are determined by our interpretation, or what we think
about what we see. For example, if someone bumps into us while we are waiting in a line, if
we decide that the person who bumped us did this deliberately, we would react with anger.
If we conclude that the person tripped on something on the floor, we wouldn’t get angry or
take defensive action. Also what we expect to happen influences our emotional reaction. If
we expect to enjoy a movie, we probably will. If someone told us that we wouldn’t like it, we
likely won’t. Our expectations become our reality and are remembered as such.
Emotions are the relay stations between sensory input and thinking. When the input is
interpreted positively, we are motivated to act and achieve a goal. When the input is
interpreted negatively, we do not act and do not learn.
Negative emotions can be the cause or the effect of problems with learning. Anxiety,
depression and anger or frustration can interfere with learning and can result from problems
with learning, creating a maladaptive and self-defeating pattern of behavior, which prevents
learning and stunts mental/emotional growth.
Lack of success or failure to achieve our goals can be externalized as anger, frustration and
acting out, or internalized as anxiety and depression.
These emotions are toxic to our well-being and color our world in shades of black and gray.
Enjoyment colors our world in bright colors, motivates us to succeed and brings pleasure to
life. We cannot become emotionally intelligent if we are unable to learn to think rationally
and control our emotions.