Emotional development in children and adolescents: mental systems and driving processes

¶ … difficult to ignore the various challenges that children face in the 21 century -- which can be largely attributed to the long list of difficult situations that children today have to deal with from a very young age; namely, high divorce rates, child abuse, bulling, and child pregnancies, just to name a few. The conventional focus on cognitive development is, of course, important. However, it is imperative for the emotional development of a child to go hand in hand with their intellectual and social development; particularly because a child's healthy emotional state largely depends on their interaction with adults on all three levels. Specifically, the main focus should be on the emotional development of a child because children's emotions are central to their lives, and they are the ones that will determine their preparedness and ability to deal with the obstacles they are bound to encounter in different stages of life.

By definition, emotional development is the growth in a child's ability to differentiate between emotions, express then in socially acceptable ways, and identify as well as comprehend emotional content from other people's communication, based on their interactions. According to Wilson (2003), children are varied, which makes it difficult to assess emotional development. Nevertheless, understanding children's emotional perspectives entails understanding their social experiences, then making inferences that will provide an emotional account of the child. Therefore, inferences that explain the emotional development of a child are largely influenced by their upbringing. To further understand the process of emotional development in both children and adults, this text takes a look at emotions in detail and evaluated how they develop. It then analyzes the mental systems that are involved in emotional development and determines the main drivers of the process.

Emotion

While emotion is hard to define because of its intertwinement with other mental processes, Wilson (2003) summarizes it as a state of feeling that comes about because of what an individual perceives, thinks, learns, remembers, what motivates them, or a combination of all these processes. Emotions result in psychological and physical changes that will influence the child's behavior - and it frequently involves cognition. In children, emotion is always influenced by the child's ability to understand and evaluate the worth of different emotions, based on how much they remember and the meaning they attach to the same. Therefore, emotion is heterogeneous and includes a wide variety of psychological phenomena (Berk, 2009)

What are the different ways in which emotions vary?

Emotions may vary by interpretation, intensity, duration, function, and expression (Wilson, 2003). Children and adolescents, therefore, interpret emotions differently, some being positive and pleasurable emotions and others, negative and unpleasant emotions. Berk (2009) claims it is not, however, easy to classify emotion as either positive or negative. A good example is that of a child on a rollercoaster, where fear, often a negative emotion, is viewed in a positive aspect. The intensity and strength may also vary according to their duration. Some emotions in children, such as shock, may occur over a short period of time, while others, such as jealousy, may extend over longer periods.

Emotions also vary in terms of how they are expressed, with intense emotions being expressed frequently and others being subtle. According to Wilson (2003), the ability to control how an emotion is expressed is acquired during childhood and it is essential for harmonious social relationships in adulthood. Wilson also states that emotion can be used to communicate inner feelings, promote a desire to learn and control the environment, so as to facilitate instant responses to emergencies.

Other mental systems that are involved

Emotions cannot be accurately defined without inference to other mental systems (Wilson, 2003). To attach meaning to emotion, therefore, it is imperative to consider how it is linked to other element of children and adolescents' functioning. The three main systems involved in emotional development are: physiological concomitants, a subjective feeling, and the expression of emotion.

Physiological concomitants

In regard to physiological concomitants, the main focus is on neurological, visceral and dermal aspects. The neurological aspect refers to the fact that emotional intelligence is related to cognition, which is influenced by the neocortex in the brain. Wilson (2003) asserts that this cortex is important in the subjective experience of emotion and in infants, the brain is not fully developed, hence emotion is quite spontaneous and reliant on emotional expressions. However, as children become adults, the upper limbic cortical system of the brain allows a more subjective experience of emotion, which allows them to exercise control over feelings. Moreover, emotions are triggered by different events and the perception of these events is relayed from the mid brain to the thalamus (Wilson, 2003).

The autonomic nervous system facilitates the arousal of different emotions, and it is associated with the visceral and dermal systems. According to Wilson (2003), this is what makes the heart to race, breathing to quicken, faces to flush, and stomachs to have butterflies. More specifically, the emotion can be described as the brains explanation for bodily arousal.

Subjective feeling

Unlike cognitive processes, emotions are often uncontrollable, which differentiates it from other mental processes (Wilson. 2003). The motivations that arise from emotions are also unstoppable and they often necessitate action. As children are not conscious of their feelings, they are often unaware that they harbor different emotions.

Expressing emotions

Other mental systems are also involved in the expression of emotion. Physiological and neurological arousals, for example, often express underlying feelings that are linked to emotional expression. Emotions are then expressed using physiological processes such as weeping, laughing or shaking. Furthermore, Wilson (2003) claims that feelings may sometimes arise because of feedback from facial muscles to the brain. While strong emotions may occur in the absence of psychological changes, physiological reactions may also be evidence of a mixture of emotions. This emphasizes the importance of considering the expression of emotions when analyzing emotional development in children and adolescents.

Emotional Development

A child's future emotional, intellectual and social progress is founded at infancy (Wilson, 2003). An infant has to express their basic emotions to attract the attention of adults, who will then attend to their needs. A baby's responsiveness to others reactions to their needs also develops, which makes it easier for the adults to associate feelings and expressions of certain emotions such as discomfort, anger, or joy. After twelve weeks, the baby's awareness becomes more focused and, according to Wilson (2003), it this awareness that will lead to social, then emotional life. The early years also form the basis for emotional stability. For instance, if a child is mistreated at a young age, their feelings will be recorded at a subconscious level and emotional growth will be influenced in a negative direction.

Secondary emotions

After the awareness of a child's separate existence and that of others, secondary emotions such as love, fear, anger and anxiety begin to take new forms based on their increased cognitive capacity and their social interactions. Other secondary emotions such as shame, guilt, and pride manifest themselves by three years of age although they are still prototype emotions that come into development in later school years. According to Wilson (2003), pride and shame can be inferred from child's words, actions, or bodily posture. While shame may be portrayed by slacking shoulders and a general collapsed body position, pride may be evidenced by a walk where the neck and shoulders are held high. Secondary emotions, therefore, allow the children to recognize wrong doings by others, know when they transgress, communicate their feelings, and understand what is forbidden.

The drivers of the emotional development process

The main drivers of emotional development are satisfaction, frustration, and emotional development (Wilson, 2003).

Satisfaction

Satisfaction often develops once an infant is able to distinguish pleasant and unpleasant things and is displayed by feelings of happiness, joy, and delight. As the child grows and their cognitive capacity increases, their satisfaction becomes largely influenced by their ability to interpret different situations they may encounter. These meaningful interpretations then become a key part of emotional development as the child continues to develop a memory for experiences (Wilson, 2003).

Frustration

Frustration also develops from an infant's ability to tell the pleasant from the unpleasant. It, however, arises once a child becomes aware that they cannot change certain aspects of the environment, and it is often experienced by crying (Wilson, 2003). Frustration is also related to the meanings a child attaches to different things. For instance, they come to expect certain attention from caregivers and if not given to them, they become distressed and they start crying. Frustration is vital in emotional development because as children come to terms with certain aspects they cannot change, they develop new emotions start to evolve.

Perception of change

Goleman (as cited by Wilson, 2003) argues that "the ability to postpone satisfaction is a high predictor of success in life and may be more important than traditional measured intelligence." What this implies is that a child's perception of change is linked to their emotional development. As they grow, they become aware of the passage of time and this facilitates intense emotion. A good example is moving to another town, which may arouse emotions of insecurity and irritability in the first few days. Therefore, in agreement with Wilson (2003), children require security and once they are able to foresee events; their power of prediction influences the differentiation and growth of their emotions.

Conclusion

Emotional development is harder to pinpoint than physical development in children. However, a thorough comprehension of what develops, the mental systems involved, and the driving factors makes it easier to track emotional development in children. Emotion includes a wide variety of psychological phenomena that varies in terms of expression, interpretation, function, intensity and duration. It involves linked aspects such as neurological, visceral and dermal aspects, all of which involve the activation of different mental systems. Subjective feelings and their expression can also be studied to understand mental systems that are involved. Generally, the process of emotional development in children is demonstrated by the transition from basic emotions to secondary emotions in different stages in life. Its major drivers are the child's ability to express frustration, satisfaction, and to understand the perceptions of change; and these are largely influenced by daily interactions. Therefore, emotional development in children and adolescents is largely influenced by the way they are brought up and it has to go hand in hand with social and intellectual development to allow for holistic growth.