Emotional Development

 

3.4 Emotional Development

3. Emotional Development

1. Emotional Development During Infancy:- At birth, the child does not posses any emotions. He experiences andresponds to sensations only. This is because of sensation that the child begins to experience some measure of pain within the first month of its existence. The feeling of pleasure also arises from sensation. Bridges studied emotions in children and in 1932 demonstrated that emotions display themselves in the following orders:

Emotional Development

Serial No. Age Emotions

1. 1. Birth excitement
   2. 1 month distress, pleasure
   3. 3 months anger
   4. 4 months worry
   5. 5 months fear
   6. 10 months affection
   7. 15 months jealousy
   8. 2 year happiness

Almost all emotions become fully developed by the age of fwo years. Psychologists accepts three main emotions- (i) Love, (ii) Fear, and (iii) Anger.
2. Emotional Development During Childhood:- In childhood, the child expresses the emotions developed in infancy. But, in addition, the chUd-also develops the tendency to repress others and to oppose them. When forbidden by his parents from doing something, the child avoids doing it in their presence. He does not even speak of it, but does it when he is not being watched. On being caught, he begins telling lies.
Cole and Bruce stated childhood a peculiar stage of emotional development. Stability comes during this period. Child tries to control over fear and anger and starts sociability.
3. Emotional Development During Adolescence:- Adolescents find it difficult to control their emotions. Their emotional development is influenced by their very significant bodily growth in this period. Adolescents with healthy bodies do not exhibit any marked emotional instability. However, it remains a fact that, in adolescence, the individual is neither a child nor an adult. The adults do not count him as one of themselves, the children consider him too old to share with their activities, and in consequence, he faces continuous problems of adjustment. Adolescents show a marked tendency to become angry quickly. They are often seen quarrelling with their parents, companions and other people. Interestingly, the patriotic sentiment, too, is at its peak at this stage of life.