Question

Updated Question: We have learned that domains of development interact, influencing each other. How might this apply to emotional development? Consider interactions between cognition and emotion. How might information processing theory, for example, influence aspects of emotional development? Identify examples of how physical development (e.g., motor development) influences emotional development.

Answer 1

Emotional learning begins at a very young age, as children discover a wide range of emotions, and evolves as they grow. This topic aims to provide a better understanding of the key stages of emotional development, its impacts, interrelated skills, and the factors that influence emotional competence.

Child development entails the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. It is a continuous process with a predictable sequence, yet having a unique course for every child. It does not progress at the same rate and each stage is affected by the preceding developmental experiences. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development. Related terms include developmental psychology, referring to development throughout the lifespan, and pediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children. Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Developmental psychologists aim to explain how thinking, feeling, and behaviors change throughout life. This field examines change across three major dimensions: physical development, cognitive development, and socioemotional development. Within these three dimensions are a broad range of topics including motor skills, executive functions, moral understanding, language acquisition, social change, personality, emotional development, self-concept, and identity formation. Developmental psychology examines the influences of nature and nurture on the process of human development, and processes of change in context and across time. Many researchers are interested in the interactions among personal characteristics, the individual's behavior, and environmental factors, including the social context and the built environment. Ongoing debates include biological essentialism vs. neuroplasticity and stages of development vs. dynamic systems of development. Developmental psychology involves a range of fields, such as educational psychology, child psychopathology, forensic developmental psychology, child development, cognitive psychology, ecological psychology, and cultural psychology.

The relationship between cognition and emotion has fascinated important thinkers within the Western intellectual tradition. Historically, emotion and cognition have been viewed as largely separate. In the past two decades, however, a growing body of work has pointed to the interdependence between the two. Cognition refers to processes such as memory, attention, language, problem solving, and planning. Many cognitive processes are thought to involve sophisticated functions that may be unique to primates. They often involve so-called controlled processes, such as when the pursuit of a goal (e.g., maintaining information in mind) needs to be protected from interference (e.g., a distracting stimulus). A prototypical example of a neural correlate of a cognitive process is the sustained firing of cells in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as a monkey maintains information in mind for brief periods of time.

Attachment to a protective caregiver helps infants to regulate their negative emotions in times of stress and distress and to explore the environment, even if it contains somewhat frightening stimuli. Attachment, a major developmental milestone in the child's life, remains an important issue throughout the lifespan.

Factors that affect Emotional Development

1. Hereditary factors

It has been seen that some similarities are found between the emotional development of parents as well as children.

2. Maturation

As the child develops mentally, he also gets emotionally matured. It has been proved through experiments by psychologists that development of emotions of the child depends upon the level of maturation the child.

3. Training

Watson has proved that children learn through conditioning. He did an experiment on a nine months-old baby. The baby was shown a rat and in the background a loud sound was made. After some time it has seen that the baby started crying at the sight of the rat.

Thus it was proved that young children’s emotions are influenced by conditioning. Through experiments, it was seen that children start getting scared of the things with which their mothers feels frightened when the parents expresses affection he also starts responding in the same manner. If there is expression of physical love in the family, he also kisses hugs and expresses love by touching.

4. Health

Children with sound health are able to control their emotions in a better way. Children who are weak remain irritable, easily excitable and emotionally unstable.

5. Intelligence

Children who are intelli­gent are emotionally stable. Children with low intelligence quotient are emotionally unstable.

6. Family relation

Relation of family members with each other and how they express their emotions affects the emotional behaviour of the child. If the behaviour of the parents is stable and they express their emotions in a subdued and balanced manner, the child will also learn to express his emotion in a balanced manner.

If the parents shout in anger, show violent behaviour, the baby also adopts the same behaviour and shows temper tantrums. He will throw his toys and other things in a fit of anger. Over pampering makes the child obstinate and indiscipline. Parents who are not able to give time to their children or somehow don’t show any affection, their children become submissive or introvert.

7. Social environment

Just like family, neighbourhood, school, society members exert influence on the emotional development of the child. If the environment of the society is tense and emotionally charged the child will also become emotionally unstable. If people around are emotionally stable, they express their emotions in a socially approved way. If people have control over their emotions the child also imitates and follows the same pattern regarding his emotions. He will learn better control over his emotion and will always try to confirm the socially approved way of expressing his emotions.

8. Control over emotions

To main­tain physical and mental health, it is very necessary to have control over emotions. At the time of emotional state, body undergoes many changes like change in blood circulation, pulse rate, breathing, effect on digestive system, stretching of eyes, closing of fists, etc. When these emotional states are created in the body frequently and intensely, it affects the body badly.

That is why it is very necessary to exercise control over emotions and they should be expressed in a socially approved manner so that the person and the people around him can live in peace and harmony.