Olaya Fernndez Guardia

Learning and Development I

UAB

IMPRESSIONS ABOUT THE READING EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Firstly, I would like to say that I really liked this reading. Maybe it is because the block,
that I personally found it very interesting and revealing, so I guess I have more curiosity
to know about it. On the one hand, it explains so many facts that I think that are obvious
or of common sense but the truth is that I have never thought about them, so it is
confusing how when you are told something you can think about how evident is but still,
you never thought or reached to that conclusion.
I believe it is very important for people to know how the process of understanding of
emotions start. It is said during the reading that is an evolutionary process that with time
will imply and involve more complex processes. Before babies develop the selfawareness of their own emotions or feelings, they search for social referencing,
therefore they rely on others emotional reactions in order to make their own one. By
saying emotional reactions it is included both facial and voice expressions. They look for
any clue that could tell them what to do or how to feel about it. Of course, this is not
always like that. As they develop the awareness of their own emotions thanks to
education and caregivers interventions that will explain what is an emotion and so,
children use the information they perceived with the observation in order to make the
best choice meanwhile defining the meanings and establishing differences among the
variety of emotions. The understanding of them starts with emphasizing in external
factors as the cause of emotions and progressively looking into internal ones. I found
very revealing the fact that is around preschool and school ages when children realize
that some emotions can be mixed, so it is not reliable to only focus on the exogenous
expressions in order to identify the cause of the emotion. In addition, it is observing the
mixed emotions, when children realize that peoples expressions might not reflect their
true feelings. It seems that school aged children are so young to understand this
complexity. It is also explained the school experience with emotions. Children get to be
aware of the fact that acknowledging others emotions and expressing their own,
enhance the quality of the relationship among peers.
On the one hand, in school ages emotions understanding develops quickly, therefore,
surroundings and interactions with peers and adults are a factor that will influence them
in later cognitive and social developments. For instance, the development of empathy
and sympathy. These two capabilities will be so important for their future and is in those
ages when it should be encouraged and fostered. Also, having those abilities can
determine one behaviour or another meaning that whether the children will promote
altruistic or prosocial responses or not. Empathy has an early development that should
increase while the emotions awareness rises and they acquire more understanding of

them. The development of those capabilities also rely partly on parenting and their
actions around expressiveness scope.
On the other hand, there are some individual differences that can provoke distinctions
among children in their reactions. One of the causes could be the temperament that is
explained with reactivity and self-regulation concepts. According to some studies that
measure it there are three types of children regarding their facility to adjust themselves
in the future.
The other part that the reading was focused on is the attachment development. It is
believed by Freud that the first bond that a baby establishes with their caregivers is due
to survival functions since they satisfy their needs. However, contemporary researchers
think that involves more, they say that later relationships are influenced not just by the
first attachment but also by the continuing quality of parent-childs relationship. In my
opinion, I think that this continuity is really important. Children need to have a real
referent of a secure base that prepares them for real life. It is also explained that children
out of the different phases of attachment that a child undergoes from birth to 2 years
and on, they construct the Internal Working Model that they can use as a secure base in
the parents absence. Later on, it talks about really interesting factor that can differ in
the outcomes. For example the culture. I agree with the fact of having a loving, secure
attachment with sensitive parents who encourage emotions expressiveness and so, but
however, some cultures do not foster the same values to their children due to their
society might give more importance to others. Furthermore, are plenty the factors that
can intervene in the attachment security, from the infant characteristics or availability
of a consistent caregiver to the parents internal working models. Nonetheless, the true
is that the attachment children establish with their caregivers will marked them for their
future relationships and for their own personality. It has been proved that a secure
attached baby grow up with good self-esteem, developed social skills and capabilities
like empathy, for instance.
To sum up, I would like to emphasize on the many things that contributes in our way of
being nowadays. So many things that we are not aware of and could explain somehow
how we act and why there can be so much differences among us. Emotional education
should be compulsory in all schools in order to cope some difficulties since earlies ages
when we are constructing ourselves. Also, it should be taught for adults to let them
know the process of emotional development and once they are conscious, they can
modify their parenting.