After reading this article you will learn about Emotion:- 1. Meaning of Emotion 2. Characteristics of Emotions 3. Education of Emotion.
Meaning of Emotion:
The term emotion is derived from Latin term “emovere” which means to stir, to agitate, to move. Hence, an emotion is referred to as a stirred up state of the organism. We feel agitated or excited when we experience anger, fear, joy, grief, disgust, etc. An emotional state consists of feelings, impulses, physical and physiological reactions.
A feeling is the experience of pleasantness or unpleasantness. Every emotion is also accompanied by an impulse or inner drives towards action of one kind or another. The mode of expression depends upon the intensity of emotion. Physical and physiological components refer to the actual body movements. An emotion is always aroused by certain stimulus which may be any people, object or event.
Different persons may respond with different emotions to the same stimulus. So emotion stands for a wide range of behaviors like love, anger, jealousy, etc. There is a specific condition of the mind when one feels such thing like fear, anger or joy. Psychologists have termed these mental conditions as emotions.
Characteristics of Emotions:
The following are some of the characteristics of emotion:
(i) Emotion is a stirred up state of the organism.
(ii) It is a specific condition of the mind.
(iii) Emotion is a feeling of pleasantness and unpleasantness.
(iv) An emotion is always aroused by a certain stimulus.
(v) The same stimulus may arouse different emotions.
(vi) Maturation plays an important role in emotional development.
(vii) There are objective and subjective factors in the development of emotions.
(viii) Emotion is more intense than feeling.
Education of Emotion:
Emotions are very important for an individual as well as for the child. There are many things in home and in the school which makes the child more unhappy. This unhappiness will develop mental conflicts within the child. For full expression of emotions, opportunities at each stage of development are needed.
One of the aims of education is to promote due control over emotions. Parents and teachers have to see that at no stage of development the children’s emotions are repressed. Their attempts should be that where they can guide them to adopt suitable methods of their emotional expressions.
For each specific stage of development, suitable stories, books, poems, social activities. Field trips, excursions, study tours should be organized.
For children’s emotional balance following suggestions may be taken into considerations:
i. For acquiring emotional balance the causes of emotional outbursts should be eliminated.
ii. Children should be helped to express their emotions by organizing different activities in the school.
iii. Sometimes children are not permitted to express many of their emotional feelings due to social restrictions. So they should be given opportunities to verbalize their emotions.
iv. Education should be provided to the child not only to express his emotions but also to control them.
v. A child should be helped to develop a realistic understanding about the situation which creates unpleasant emotions.
Sometimes emotions may also interfere in a learning process. During the state of anger and emotion we are unable to learn or read properly. When we are excited or inactive, it becomes difficult for us to think or study. However, it is seen that due to fear of failure in the examination, the children labour hard for better performance. So this is clear that emotion interferes in learning.