Emotional Development: 3 beneficial strategies to ensure effective emotional development

Emotional Development

Emotional development is a crucial part of development in every individual.

Every person experiences emotions like anger, fear, happiness, hatred, love, and lust from time to time in their life. These emotions provide motivation to perform tasks. When emotions arise in a person, it  enables them to do tasks that would be impossible in normal circumstances. For instance, fighting and defeating a powerful person in anger or crossing deep pits.

Emotions relate to the emotional aspect of a person’s life. For example, feeling happy upon seeing something pleasant, getting angry when things don’t go as desired, or feeling pity upon seeing others suffer from poverty.

The emergence of emotions brings about changes in a person’s physical and mental state. Emotion is essentially a state of mental disturbance, where intellect and conscience lose control over behavior. For instance, committing a crime under the influence of sexual desire or behaving irrationally in anger.

The term “emotion” actually means “full of speed,” which refers to swift action.

Emotions

Emotion is derived from the English word Emotion. The word Emotion is derived from E – inside and Motion – motion, which means to move the internal emotions outwards.

The state in which behaviour is reflected which is free from the control of the reasoning process can be termed as emotion. Because we cannot think properly when we are angry, overwhelmed, sad etc.

Characteristics of Emotions:

1. Universality of Emotions: Emotions are found in all living creatures like animals and birds and in people of all countries, religions, castes and species.

2. Physical Changes: Emotions cause internal change and external change, such as Rapid breathing, increased heart rate, changes in voice, hindrance in digestion, difference in vision, and difference in the speed of movement of body parts.

3. Not Functioning of Thinking Processes: When a person acts under the influence of emotions, he is unable to think.

4. Individuality: A person reacts differently even in the same situation, in his own way.

5. Instability of Emotions: These emotions are temporary and the person soon comes back to normal condition.

6. Transfer of Emotions: For example, the angry father gets angry at the servant standing nearby as well because he asks him a question.

7. Relation with Instincts: Emotions are generated from basic instincts; surprise is generated due to curiosity, a basic instinct.

8. Conative Tendency in Emotions: Every emotion is related to some or the other conative tendency, like laughing in joy or running away in fear.

9. Inclusion of the feeling of pleasure and pain: Emotions contain either a feeling of pleasure or pain, like love-affection (feeling of pleasure), fear-hatred, jealousy (feeling of pain).

Kinds of Emotions

McDougall has mentioned 14 types of emotions. 

According to Indian psychologists, there are two broad types of emotions which are positive and negative in nature.

(i) Positive Emotions

a) Devotion, respect towards elders

b) Towards equals – love, friendship, Attachment

c) Towards the younger – affection, love, kindness

(ii) Negative Emotions

a) Towards elders – fear, hatred

b) Towards equals – envy, anger, jealousy

c) Pride, pride towards the younger ones

Another types of emotions are:-

1. Natural- fear, anger, surprise

2. Developed Jealousy, Love, Hatred

3. Pleasant – Affection, Love, Friendship

4. Sad – Fear, Anger, Hatred, Jealousy

Emotional development at different stages

(i) Emotional Development During Infancy

In the beginning, the emotional reactions of the child are only excitement but gradually emotions like fear, happiness, anger etc. start emerging in them.

1. A child expresses emotions from the time of birth like crying, shouting, waving hands and legs etc.

2. Emotional behaviour is unstable- a well-fed child becomes happy as soon as he gets sweets.

3. Gradually stability comes in it with increasing age.

4. Emotions are vague in the beginning but later become clear. The infant will cry then smile, then again cry in a few minutes.

5. According to Bridges, by the age of ten years all the major emotions are developed like excitement, pleasure and pain. By the end of infancy, anger, hatred, fear, affection, joy and jealousy emerge. [1]

 According to Freud: – In the beginning, the feeling of self-love (Narcissism) is dominant. [2]

(ii) Emotional Development During Childhood

A sense of sociality in the expression of emotions, control over expression, reduction in the intensity of emotions are the important characteristics of this stage:

1. Reduction in the intensity of emotions: Due to the influence of socialization, the child expresses emotions in a polite manner.
2.  Jealousy: The child starts feeling jealous of brothers, sisters, and friends when their rights are snatched away or when they find others in a better position.
3.  Fear: Fear related to future work and exam results arises.
4.  Frustration: The child feels frustrated due to disciplinary rules at home and school, leading to disappointment when desires are unfulfilled.
5. Curiosity: The child asks “why” and “how” questions about objects and events.
6. Anger: The child expresses anger through silence, sadness, quarreling, and throwing things.

1. Joy: Good marks, tasty food, and desired play materials bring delight.
2. Affection: The child shows affection towards people and things that bring happiness.

In childhood, emotions like fear, despair, affection, anger, and happiness are clearly visible.

(iii) Emotional Development in Adolescence

In this stage, rapid emotional changes occur:

1. Dominant Feelings: Kindness, love, anger, sympathy, and cooperation become stronger.
2.  Mood Swings: Different emotional states arise in the same situation at different times.
3. Sex Instinct: Love emotions increase due to the sex instinct, which becomes a central element of behavior. Auto-erotism, homosexuality, and heterosexuality express sexual instinct emotions.

1. Hero Worship: Adolescents choose heroes/heroines based on their ideals and interests and imitate their actions.
2. Self-Respect: The feeling of self-respect is strong; if hurt, it may lead to suicide, escape, or violent acts like murder.
3. Feeling of Independence: Due to this feeling, adolescents argue against societal and family rules, seeking an independent lifestyle.
4. Delinquency: As neither children nor adults, teenagers face emotional difficulties. Lack of love, disappointment, and desire for new experiences increase delinquency.
5. Anxious Behavior: Adolescents worry about appearance, health, respect, financial status, and employment.

Factors Affecting Emotional Development

1. Heredity: Traits received from lineage affect emotional development.

2. Health: Good health facilitates positive emotions.

3. Fatigue: Anger, displeasure, and irritability prevail in this stage.

4. Mental Ability: Highly intelligent children exhibit better emotional control.

5. Family Environment: Peaceful and affectionate environments foster balanced emotional development, while excessive conflict or fun intensifies emotions.

6. Parent’s Attitude: Excessive protection and interference hinder children’s activities, leading to unwanted and intense emotions.

7. Social and Economic Status: Children from lower socio-economic backgrounds experience more jealousy and hatred.

8. Social Acceptance: Lack of appreciation from others slows or intensifies emotional development.

9. School: Favorable school environments, curricula, programs, and teachers bring happiness, while failure, poor coordination, and old teaching styles  with rude behaviour of teachers generate fear, anger, irritation, and hatred.

Role of Education in Emotions

To control undesirable emotions and encourage desirable ones in emotional development through education, the following efforts should be made:

1. Channeling: Redirect emotions toward positive outlets, such as directing anger toward harmful or unjust situations. For example, a student angry about school pollution channels their anger into organizing a clean-up initiative.

2. Industriousness: Engaging in productive work helps control emotions. Rohan, heartbroken after a friend’s betrayal, focuses on rebuilding an old motorcycle, processing his emotions through this distraction.

3. Catharsis: Allow emotions to arise and provide opportunities for their healthy expression, rather than suppressing them. Leela writes poetry to cope with grief after losing a loved one, finding solace and healing through creative expression.