Emotional Development and Well-Being

This chapter reviews and discusses the literature related to the effects of emotions on successful development and well-being. Operation definitions of emotion are presented, and structural and functional approaches to the study of emotional development are discussed. Other areas discussed include continuity and change in emotions from infancy through adolescence, and how emotions are related to positive development. Factors affecting the promotion of positive emotional development include promoting positive affect, promoting emotion understanding, and promoting emotional regulation. It is suggested that in order to address limitations of the current knowledge base, integration of research across multiple domains, including the physiological system, cognitive structures and the self-system, will be necessary.