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102 Personal Growth Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Personal growth is an essential part of life that allows individuals to become the best version of themselves. It involves self-reflection, self-improvement, and the willingness to step out of one's comfort zone. Writing personal growth essays can help individuals explore their own thoughts and experiences, and can also serve as a tool for self-discovery and growth. If you're looking for inspiration for your next personal growth essay, here are 102 topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• The importance of setting and achieving personal goals
• Overcoming fear of failure
• Learning to embrace change
• The power of positive thinking
• How to cultivate a growth mindset
• Dealing with setbacks and challenges
• The benefits of stepping out of your comfort zone
• Finding your passion and purpose in life
• Building self-confidence and self-esteem
• The role of self-care in personal growth
• Practicing gratitude and mindfulness
• Learning to forgive yourself and others
• Overcoming self-doubt and imposter syndrome
• Developing healthy habits and routines
• The importance of self-reflection and introspection
• Cultivating resilience and perseverance
• Embracing vulnerability and authenticity
• Finding balance in your personal and professional life
• The impact of positive relationships on personal growth
• How to overcome procrastination and improve productivity
• The benefits of seeking out feedback and constructive criticism
• The role of mentorship and guidance in personal growth
• Learning to let go of perfectionism and control
• Exploring your values and beliefs
• The power of self-compassion and self-acceptance
• Overcoming negative self-talk and limiting beliefs
• The importance of continuous learning and growth
• Finding meaning and fulfillment in your work
• Cultivating empathy and compassion for others
• The impact of gratitude journaling on personal growth
• How to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors
• The benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation
• Learning to set boundaries and prioritize self-care
• The role of resilience in overcoming adversity
• Developing emotional intelligence and self-awareness
• Overcoming perfectionism and fear of failure
• The importance of self-compassion in personal growth
• Cultivating a growth mindset in the face of challenges
• The benefits of seeking out new experiences and opportunities
• Learning to embrace uncertainty and take risks
• Overcoming limiting beliefs and self-imposed barriers
• The power of visualization and goal-setting
• Finding inspiration and motivation in your daily life
• How to overcome self-doubt and build self-confidence
• The impact of positive affirmations on personal growth
• Learning to practice self-care and prioritize your well-being
• Cultivating a sense of purpose and direction in life
• The role of resilience in bouncing back from setbacks
• Overcoming fear of rejection and failure
• The benefits of practicing gratitude and mindfulness
• How to develop a growth mindset and embrace challenges
• Finding balance and harmony in your life
• Learning to overcome negative self-talk and self-limiting beliefs
• Embracing vulnerability and authenticity in your relationships
• Building resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity
• The role of positive relationships in personal growth
• Overcoming perfectionism and the need for control
• The impact of continuous learning and growth on personal development
• Developing healthy habits and routines for success
• Learning to let go of past mistakes and regrets
• The power of positive thinking and visualization
• How to cultivate a growth mindset and embrace change
• Practicing gratitude and mindfulness in your daily life
• Overcoming fear of failure and rejection
• The importance of self-care and prioritizing your well-being
• Cultivating resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges
• Finding balance and harmony in your personal and professional life
• How to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors and negative habits
• The power of positive affirmations and self-talk
• Cultivating a growth mindset and embracing challenges
• The importance of self-compassion and self-acceptance
• Overcoming negative self-talk and self-limiting beliefs
• How to let go of past mistakes and regrets
• Cultivating empathy and compassion for yourself and others

These are just a few examples of personal growth essay topics that you can explore. Feel free to mix and match ideas, or come up with your own unique topics based on your own experiences and interests. Remember, personal growth is a lifelong journey, and writing about it can be a powerful tool for self-discovery and transformation. Happy writing!

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The Path to Personal Growth

Growth is about overcoming our tendency to respond quickly or negatively..

Posted June 13, 2021 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• Steps to personal growth include learning how to respond better to situations and finding those we can learn from on our journey.
• Reframing our mindset to be more solution-focused than reactive can ultimately help make our lives happier. 
• It is important to find a teacher whose teachings and philosophy resonate with you, and to apply their principles to your own life.

Many people are focused on achieving fleeting things like wealth, success, or fame. While they may bring about temporary happiness , the feeling is often fleeting. I believe that out of all of the things we can work towards, pursuing personal growth is the best choice to achieve lifelong happiness and contentment. Today, we’ll learn why.

We don’t have much control over things in the external world. For example, we didn’t choose the place we were born, our family, or our natural talents. The one thing we do have control over is how we respond to the world, more specifically to adversity. Personal growth is about overcoming our natural tendency to respond quickly or negatively to situations. When we’re able to control our reactions, or our internal selves, a world of possibilities opens up.

In today’s post, I want to discuss the two ways we can achieve personal growth and how we can better respond to the world around us. This will help us find inner peace no matter what’s happening in our external world. This may sound hard for some of us, and it is. But when we change how we see the world and how we respond to the world, there is an unlimited amount of potential for achieving happiness and peace.

The first aspect of personal growth is learning how to respond better to situations that we have historically struggled with. Let’s use self-confidence as an example. When we’re having a particularly low day, we may look in the mirror and think, “I don’t like the way I look.” To combat these thoughts, we can develop skills to accept our appearance and even begin to like the way we look. This acceptance stems from the realization that there are some things that are out of our control. Once we internalize this fact, we can begin to accept what is, and eventually love what is.

The second key ingredient to personal growth is finding a teacher or teachers that we can learn from on our journey. The reason this is a key ingredient is that it’s helpful to have an expert in the subject who can help us understand these principles more deeply.

Let’s dive deeper into both of these concepts.

The first aspect of personal growth is focused on re-framing our struggles. What I mean by this is, the next time we face a problem, the best way to overcome it is to see it differently. For example, the next time we wake up anxious , are upset at a friend, or have an interaction that causes us to stress , we can choose to see these as opportunities to make our lives better.

Something I have repeated throughout my podcast is that there is a solution to every single problem we face. One of life’s purposes is to find these solutions. We have the power to adjust our typical responses to situations that bring on intense emotions, whether that is shame , anger , depression , etc. We now can begin to say, “I’m struggling with this. There must be something that I’m doing that is causing me to struggle, because there are other people who have also faced this problem and they’re doing well. This means there must be a solution.” Instead of criticizing ourselves, or hating our lives, we can reframe our mindset to be more solution-focused than reactive. This will guide us towards finding a way to solve our problems and ultimately make our lives happier.

Let me use an example to explore this point. Studies have shown that about 80% of people are unhappy at work. For the purpose of this example, let’s say we’re in that 80%. In order to change our circumstances, or find a solution, we must ask ourselves what can we do to make our situation better? We can perhaps leave our job, but that would have consequences since we’re responsible for supporting our family. Maybe we can look into other career paths, but seeking out more education may take a long time. Or we can say, maybe I can reduce my living expenses so I don’t need to keep up with the lifestyle I’ve created for myself. With these reduced expenses, I can now work a little less or find a job that will be more fulfilling. Happiness is about enjoying our day all day long, so we want to make sure that our job makes us feel happy and fulfilled.

There are so many ways to tackle this problem. One solution that many of my clients have reached over the years is to work less. A lot of people have flexibility in their work already that they may not be taking advantage of. For example, one of my clients gets three weeks of vacation a year but is tempted to skip out on the vacation because they get paid out on those days at the end of the year. In response, I asked them, is it worth not taking your vacation to have a little more money? When they examined the option more closely they decided that no, it wasn’t worth giving up the opportunity to recharge and decompress. My goal is to help folks reframe what life is about. I believe that it’s about enjoying the journey and for most people who work regularly, taking a vacation is necessary to maintain our happiness.

Remember that this is just an example. Your story and your struggles may look completely different. The overarching point here is that we often have some control over situations that may seem out of our control. And when we take the opportunity to make some changes, we will find that happiness is within our reach. We can look at life’s challenges as an opportunity for personal growth, rather than an inconvenience or hassle. The best part is, when these challenges re-emerge later, we’ll know how to handle them.

The second aspect of personal growth is to find a teacher whose teachings and philosophy resonate with you. When you do find the right teacher, it’s important to apply their principles to your own life. This step may seem less important but it is just as important as step number one. Our parents or caretakers were the people who taught us how to respond to the world and if we want to change that, we need someone who is better aligned to our current belief system than the one we had when we were younger. We also don't necessarily have to access these teachings in person. We can listen to them on audiobooks, watch them on youtube, or read about their beliefs in a book. And if you reach a point where their teachings are no longer serving you, there are always other people out there who can guide you through your path to self-discovery

Working on ourselves is no easy task. It involves unlearning and practicing different responses to problems, over and over again. But we must remember that we are capable of real change, and these changes can help us live beautiful lives. When we look at problems in a different light and follow a teacher with whom we resonate, we’ll grow exponentially.

Robert Puff, Ph.D. , is host and producer of the Happiness Podcast, with over 16 million downloads.

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Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth Essay

Positive psychology is a concept, which is actively discussed in modern society due to the advantageous potential influence on the lives of people. This science can be defined as the psychological discipline, which emphasizes the ability of people to remain successful and reach wellbeing and prosperity (Weiten, Dunn and Hammer 511). Nowadays, it is gaining popularity and consists of various principles, which are in high correlation with the presence of positive emotions (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 511). The primary goal of this essay is to discuss the core concepts of positive psychology by focusing on emotions, flow experiences, mindfulness, posttraumatic growth, and positive institutions while evaluating the effects of positive emotions with the assistance of personal experiences and additional research. In the end, the drawbacks and unclear matters are presented.

Firstly, positive subjective experiences are discussed, as the reading reveals that, positive emotions tend to eliminate the consequences of stress and negative feelings and increase the ability to think critically and openly (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 518). For instance, the study related to the influence of the psychology of the practice extends the impact of positive emotions while increasing the level of hope and significance of positive communications and gratitude (Leontopoulou 113). As for me, I agree with this concept, as I tend to read motivational quotes and watch comedies to overcome stress. It helps me feel relaxed, and I can focus on the task and perform it successfully. However, this approach does not apply to some of my friends since viewing the success of others makes them depressed while losing hope for accomplishment.

Another aspect is the flow experiences, as they tend to increase the positive effects on the individual by a high involvement and excitement (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 518). In turn, several studies revealed that the flow experiences are the primary reasons for the emotional growth, as they attribute to the expansion of personal traits and help forget about the problems (Hanin 151). I highly agree with the correlation between flow experiences and positive emotions. As for my personal experience, I actively play various board games and sports with my friends. I can freely claim that enthusiasm and participation in the process assist me in forgetting about the problems. Additionally, I understand that flow experiences have an advantageous influence on my personality, as now; I cherish relationships with my friends and family. In turn, I consider challenges positively since I associate them with the positive experience of the games.

In turn, mindfulness meditation is vehemently used as a tool to upsurge people’s ability to feel the world and be present in the current moment (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 522). This approach increases the awareness of the current processes and enhances the ability to feel the emotions while extending personal traits (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 522). Furthermore, the presence of this practice could be considered as one of the definers of the development of positive emotions (Robinson, Watkins, and Harmon-Jones 468). Consequently, positive emotions have an advantageous influence on attention while expanding their scope (David, Boniwell, and Ayers 19).

In this instance, I have not tried the mindfulness meditation previously, as I do not have enough time to perform this practice. In this case, the potential influence of this phenomenon is unclear to me due to the lack of awareness and knowledge. Nonetheless, some of my friends tried to perform this meditation and felt relaxed and happy after the completion of the process. The meditation was the primary source of the arousal of the positive emotions, and the positivity and refreshment contributed to the ability to reach the desired goals during the day. This trend existed due to the development of intensified attention.

Additionally, posttraumatic growth contributes to the understanding and reevaluation of the ideals of life while discovering strengths (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 526). In this instance, people determine difficulties as positive events, and their lives and behavior change in a positive direction (Weiten, Dunn and Hammer 526). Various publications tend to support the outcomes of the posttraumatic growth and highlight the phenomenon’s ability to affect the prioritization of the changes and increase the involvement in the spiritual life (Tedeschi and Calhoun 1). Nonetheless, the reflection of these findings has to be depicted about the positive emotions and the presence of these matters in my life. Speaking of my knowledge, I have never experienced the events, which were the primary causes of negative attitudes and depression. In this instance, I have no practical information concerning the potential impact of the ability of posttraumatic growth on the changes in attitudes. It could be said that this matter is the primary concern, as it does not have a presence in my personal life.

Additionally, the positive institutions are the principal sources of positive feelings and emotions, which utilize the cultivation of gratitude and spirituality as crucial concepts (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 527). In this case, these entities encourage an advantageous growth of the individuals while supporting their development (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 527). It remains apparent that the existence of the organizations has an impact on the people’s wellbeing, personal development, and essentiality of social values. In this instance, these institutions are represented by families, educational establishments, and religious entities (Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer 527). In this case, my family had a systematical effect on my emotional development, as it formed my perception of life. Additionally, the respect of interrelationships contributed to the enhancement of the interactions while interacting in society and the ability to view the difficulties positively. In turn, communications within my family tend to generate positive emotions, but this approach is not applicable while evaluating the relationships in the families of my friends.

Despite having a profound analysis of positive psychology discussed in the selected publication, some questions remained unsolved due to the lack of particular information. In this case, it is unclear whether the teachings and findings of positive psychology have an actual advantageous influence on the emotional wellbeing, as the outcomes of the previous researches tend to be biased (Simmons, Nelson and Simonsohn 1359). Additionally, the reading provides a universal formula for reaching success, but it is uncertain whether these techniques are suitable for everyone. In turn, some of the psychological notions cannot be evaluated based on the practical experience, as the particular events were absent in my life. In this instance, a combination of these matters is the primary reason for the generation of doubt, as the efficiency of the particular approaches has a tendency to exist only in theory or has unsuitable logical support.

Works Cited

David, Susan, Ilona Boniwell and Amanda Ayers. Oxford Handbook of Happiness , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.

Hanin, Yuri. Emotions in sport , Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2000. Print.

Leontopoulou, Sophie. “A Positive Psychology Intervention with Emerging Adults.” The European Journal of Counselling Psychology 3.2 (2015): 113. Print.

Robinson, Michael, Edward Watkins and Eddie Harmon-Jones. Handbook of Cognition and Emotions , New York: The Guilford Press, 2013. Print.

Simmons, Joseph, Leif Nelson and Uri Simonsohn. “False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as significant.” Psychological Science 22.11 (2011): 1359-1366. Print.

Tedeschi, Richard, and Lawrence Calhoun. “Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence.” Psychological Inquiry 15.1 (2004): 1-18. Print.

Weiten, Wayne, Dana Dunn and Elizabeth Hammer. Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21 st Century , Belton: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2020, August 24). Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-psychology-emotions-mindfulness-growth/

"Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth." IvyPanda , 24 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/positive-psychology-emotions-mindfulness-growth/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth'. 24 August.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth." August 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-psychology-emotions-mindfulness-growth/.

1. IvyPanda . "Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth." August 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-psychology-emotions-mindfulness-growth/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Positive Psychology: Emotions, Mindfulness, Growth." August 24, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-psychology-emotions-mindfulness-growth/.

Towards a Strong Foundation: Social and Emotional Development in Young Children

Nurturing relationships provide the context for human development and are an essential source of resilience for children and adults (e.g., Luthar, 2006; Rutter, 1987). Resilience refers to the capacity to weather and bounce back from both everyday challenges and significant adversity and trauma -- like that we’ve all experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is influenced by foundational social and emotional skills and competencies (e.g., Masten, 2009).

In this short essay we describe children’s early social and emotional skills, show how they are linked to early caregiving and are influenced by stress and vulnerability, and highlight some programs, practices, and strategies that foster them. 

Social and Emotional Development and Foundational Relationships

Social and emotional development refers to the processes whereby children learn to identify and express emotions, focus attention and manage impulses, successfully navigate relationships with peers and adults, develop a positive self-concept, make responsible decisions, and solve problems (e.g., Jones, McGarrah, & Kahn, 2019). 

Over many decades researchers from an array of disciplines, e.g. human development and psychology, neuroscience, education and economics, have described how these essential skills are deeply intertwined with other areas of development, such as cognitive and physical. These developments in the brain and in behavior all work together to influence school and life outcomes, including higher education, physical and mental health, economic well-being, and civic engagement (Jones & Kahn, 2018). 

During development, social and emotional skills grow and change like building blocks. Early skills lay the foundation for more complex skills that emerge later in life. For example, during early childhood, children learn and grow in the context of relationships with parents and other caregivers at home and in childcare and preschool settings. Through responsive, nurturing interactions these relationships shape the growth of basic executive functions, self-regulation and emotional competencies, which are the salient social and emotional skills of early childhood. 

These skills encompass young children’s emerging capacity to:

Understand their emotions, communicate about them, and read those of others around them. For example, use feeling words when frustrated, angry, or excited. 

Be aware of and begin to manage impulses and behavior. For example, wait for a snack or dinner when hungry or for the chance to share news in the classroom, or remember and follow the routines of bedtime. 

Focus and shift attention in explicit ways and imagine the perspectives of another person. For example, move from one activity to another in the classroom, or engage in basic social back and forth and play. 

Basic skills like these set the stage for more complex skills later in life such as planning and problem solving, critical thinking and decision making, forming and maintaining sophisticated friendships, and coping skills, among others (Bailey & Jones, 2019). 

The Role of Experience and Context Including Stress and Vulnerability

Importantly, these early skills are highly susceptible to stress and vulnerability. Research shows that the prefrontal cortex – which is responsible for executive function and self-regulation -- is closely linked to other brain regions that signal emotions like fear, anger, and anxiety. 

These brain regions are connected through the stress response system, which alerts the body to react in times of danger (e.g., Arnsten, 1998). But responding and adapting to stress can come at a cost. When stress is chronic or takes over, it can inhibit children’s early social and emotional skills, resulting in dysregulated, reactive, and sometimes withdrawn behavior, and this is true for young children and adults (e.g., Arnsten, Mazure & Sinha, 2012). 

Critical to this dynamic is that predictable, nurturing relationships are protective. They operate as a buffer between stress and strain on the one hand, and children’s healthy development on the other (Center on the Developing Child, 2014). 

Research on children’s wellbeing during the pandemic illustrates how these processes can play out. For example, Harvard education researcher Emily Hanno (2021) examined data about a sample of young children and families before and after COVID-19 shut down U.S. childcare centers and preschools in 2020. They found that as parents experienced more stress, households grew more chaotic, and parent-child conflict increased, children displayed more challenging behaviors and fewer adaptive ones. 

Another large-scale study, the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development–Early Childhood (RAPID)https://rapidsurveyproject.com/), documented that high levels of material hardship that families experienced in the first year of the pandemic, coupled with ongoing week-to-week unpredictability, had detrimental effects on both caregivers’ and children’s well-being (Liu, et al 2022). Studies on how poverty, disasters, bereavement, armed conflict, and displacement affect children and adults have produced similar findings.

Supporting Family Well-Being and Social and Emotional Development

Supporting children’s social and emotional development demands coordinated child, family, and education-based efforts. Some examples of these are described here.

As noted above, social and emotional development, indeed successful early childhood development more generally, requires nurturing care. This has been defined as health, nutrition, security and safety, responsive caregiving, and opportunities for early learning (Black, et al, 2016). 

Globally, this concept has been advanced through The Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development ( https://nurturing-care.org/ ) .

The Nurturing Care Framework was developed by WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank Group, in collaboration with the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the Early Childhood Development Action Network and many other partners, and launched alongside the 71st World Health Assembly in May, 2018. It takes a comprehensive approach by outlining important strategies to address the integrated needs of the developing child.

The wellbeing of caregivers is the enabling environment for responsive care. The promotion of social emotional development depends on policies and practices that take a whole family approach, assuring that those who care for young children have the support they need to be successful as caregivers, including adequate housing, income, childcare, education, health, and mental health supports.

A relevant and recently launched innovation focused on parents is the Global Initiative to Support Parents ( https://ecdan.org/global-initiative-to-support-parents/ ) . This unique partnership launched by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, WHO, UNICEF, End Violence Against Children, and Parenting for Lifelong Health includes the ultimate vision that all families worldwide have universal access to evidence-based parenting support.

Early childhood services designed for parents and children have for decades been understood to play an important role in offsetting the impact of vulnerability and adversity on healthy growth and development and to be an important setting for cultivating emerging social and emotional skills. A hallmark of these efforts is that they provide families with information, resources, and support that enables those nurturing, connected interactions, and helps all parents navigate the stress that inevitably comes with raising young children (Jones, Bailey & Partee, 2017). 

In the early classroom context, there are a large number of curricular and strategy-based approaches that educators can embed in their instructional and caregiving routines. The most effective of these programs typically combine direct teaching of social and emotional skills with structures and routines that provide young children with lots of opportunities to practice emerging skills, as well as support for adult caregivers to proactively manage young children’s behavior (e.g., Jones, Bailey & Jacob, 2014).

As noted above, children across the world have been impacted by the uncertainty, isolation and stress caused by the pandemic. In response, The LEGO Foundation teamed up with HundredED, to identify education innovations from across the world focused on improving social and emotional learning. In 2021, they published Spotlight Social and Emotional Learning which presented 13 innovations from 10 countries. These inspiring examples provide promising solutions that can help respond to the needs of children and offer ideas about how to foster caring and nurturing relationships. Some of these innovations can be found here: https://hundred.org/en/collections/social-emotional-learning-sel .

In summary, research and practice focused on children’s early social and emotional development tells us that these skills: 

Develop in the context of primary relationships and interactions. 

Are foundational to early learning, as well as important developmental milestones throughout life. 

Are optimized when children feel safe, secure, and supported.

Are influenced and shaped by experience, culture, and beliefs. 

Effective approaches to fostering and supporting these important skills are situated in families, leverage nurturing relationships and interactions at home and in early learning settings, and are rooted in community and family support.

Stephanie Jones

Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Child Development and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Co-Director, Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative

Joan Lombardi

Senior Fellow, Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, Georgetown University

Senior Advisor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford Center on Early Childhood

Arnsten, A. (1998). The biology of being frazzled. Science , 280 (5370), 1711-1712, DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5370.1711

Arnsten, A. Mazure. C.M. & Sinha, R. (2012). This Is Your Brain in Meltdown. Scientific American 306, 4, 48-53. DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican0412-48

Bailey, R., & Jones, S. M. (2019). An Integrated Model of Regulation for Applied Settings. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review , 22 (1), 2–23. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-019-00288-y

Black, M. M. et al. (2016). for the Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee. Advancing Early Childhood Development: from science to scale 1 , Early Childhood development coming of age: Science through the life course . www.thelancet.com , published online October 4, 2016

Center on the Developing Child (2014). Building adult capacities to improve child outcomes: A theory of change. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Hanno, E.C., Cuartas, J., Miratrix, L.W., Jones, S.M., & Lesaux, N.K. (2021). Changes in children’s behavioral health and family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000001010

Jones, S.M., Bailey, R. & Jacob, R. (2014). Social-emotional learning as a platform for effective classroom management. Phi Delta Kappan . https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721714553405

Jones, S.M., Bailey, R., & Partee, A. (2017). SECURe Families: Interrupting Intergenerational Cycles of Stress and Poverty , The Aspen Journal of Ideas , Aspen Institute.

Jones, S. M., & Kahn, J. (2018). The Evidence Base for How Learning Happens: A Consensus on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development. American Educator , 41 (4), 16-21.

Jones, S.M., McGarrah, M. & Kahn, J. (2019). Social and emotional learning: A principled science of human development in context. Educational Psychologist .

Liu, S., Zalewski, M.,Lengua,L., Gunnar, M., Giuliani, N., Fisher, P. A. (2022) Material hardship level and unpredictability in relation to U.S. Households’, family interactions and emotional well-being: Insights from the C0VID-19 pandemic . Social Science & Medicine, 115173 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622004798?dgcid=author

Luthar, S. S. (2006). Resilience in development: A synthesis of research across five decades. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.),  Developmental psychopathology: Risk, disorder, and adaptation  (2nd ed., pp. 739–795). New York: Wiley.

Masten, A. S., & Wright, M. O’. D. (2009). Resilience over the lifespan: Developmental perspectives on resistance, recovery, and transformation. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. S. Hall (Eds.),  Handbook of adult resilience  (pp. 213–237). New York: Guilford Press.

Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American journal of Orthopsychiatry , 57, 316—331.

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Personal Growth Essay | A Winning Essay Writing Strategy

EssayEdge > Blog > Personal Growth Essay | A Winning Essay Writing Strategy

Personal Growth. Perhaps this topic is the most popular one since it delves into the heart of what the admissions essay is all about: helping the college gain better insight into an applicant’s personality and character. Some schools ask targeted questions — “What was the most challenging event you have ever faced, and how have you grown from it?” — while others leave the topic open: “Describe an event that has had great meaning for you. Explain why and how it has affected you.”

One of the most successful strategies is to use a past event as a lens through which you can assess who you were and the person you became, how you have grown and changed, your transformation. Most children are curious, but were you the one who asked your teacher what caused the change of seasons of the year and then created a solar system model and explained the concept to your classmates? Though you may think that your topic needs to be more grandiose, that is not necessary for an essay to be effective. Instead, success lies in painting an accurate and vivid picture of yourself — one that will show admissions officers that you have much to offer their school.

The most important advice we can give is to be honest, refrain from using clichés, and show maturity. College represents a radical change from high school, so you want your reader to realize that you are more than ready to take the next major step in your life.

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Teaching Students About Hotel Pennsylvania: A Journey Through Time and Hospitality

Teaching students about the stanley cup finals: a lesson in hockey history and culture, teaching students about xavier: renegade angel – an exploration into surreal animation, teaching students about flashdance cast: a creative approach to film history, teaching students about hellenistic culture and its impact, teaching students about stokely carmichael: civil rights, black power, and the legacy of a revolutionary, teaching students about blackadder: a timeless educational tool, teaching students about james mccartney: a comprehensive guide, teaching students about scott parker: inspiring the classroom through the life of a resilient sportsman, teaching students about foster brooks, emotional development essay topics.

Emotional Development Essay Titles

• Paradise of the Blind by Huong, Illustrates Human Emotional Growth and Natural Parallel Changes.
• The Impact of Poverty on Children’s Social and Emotional Development
• The Impact of Pretend Play on Children’s Social and Emotional Growth
• Learning to Get Along with Others and Feeling Safe in the World
• Focus on Social and Emotional Growth in Childhood: A Developmental Perspective
• The Bilingual Achievement Gap in Language and Emotional Development in Children
• The Emotional Growth of Romeo and Juliet in the Play
• Depression’s Emotional Origins
• The Impact of Abuse on an Infant’s Emotional Development
• Impact of Parental Interactions on Children’s Emotional Growth
• The Emotional Development of a Child Is Affected by Abuse in the First Years of Life
• The Role of Adults in a Child’s Emotional Development
• The Social and Emotional Life of Young Children: A Developmental Framework
• The Emotional and Social Developmental Lifespan
• Development of Children’s Brains and Emotions with the Help of Their Parents
• Consider the Effects of Poverty on a Kid’s Emotional and Social Growth.
• Technology’s Influence on Our Well-Being and Psychological Growth
• How Drama Can Help Kids Grow Emotionally
• Ways Divorce Affects a Kid’s Emotional Growth
• The Value of Play in Children’s Social and Emotional Growth

Essay Topics on Emotional Development

• Young Children’s Emotional Growth
• Children’s Social and Emotional Growth
• Children’s Challenging Behaviour
• According to Mindess, Chen, and Brenner, the Significance of Social and Emotional Growth in Our Lives Is Emphasized on Page
• The Role of Technology in Our Emotional Growth and Contentment
• John Bender’s Brain and Emotional Growth
• The Psyche of Kids’ Emotional and Social Growth
• Attachment in Infancy Plays a Crucial Part in Later Emotional Development.
• The Social and Emotional Learning Theory (Psych)
• A Nurturing Curriculum for Social and Emotional Growth
• Changes in Social and Emotional Development Caused by Non-traditional Families
• Positively Guiding Social and Emotional Growth and Development: A Statement of Competence
• Hangs Emotional Growth and the Parallel Alterations in Nature
• Relationship between a Child’s Language, Communication, and Emotional Growth During the Toddler Years
• Reasons Why Play Is Crucial to Children’s Emotional and Cognitive Growth
• The Importance of the Family in a Child’s Psychological and Cognitive Growth
• Changes in Autistic Children’s Social and Emotional Development Due to the Use of Emotional Support Animals
• Adolescents’ Emotional and Social Growth
• Teachers Significantly Affect Their Students’ Academic, Social, and Emotional Growth, Which Leads Us to Our Nineteenth Point.
• Peer Influence in Social and Emotional Growth
• Impact of Down Syndrome on Cognitive and Emotional Growth The Various Phases of Emotional and Social Growth
• Methods for Developing Emotional Intelligence
• Understanding a Child’s Social and Emotional Development
• To Better Comprehend a Child’s Social and Emotional Growth, One Must First Be Aware of Its Effects.

Research Topics for Emotional Development

• Describe Emotional Growth and Give Some Instances
• To What Extent Did Erik Erikson Describe Children’s Emotional and Social Growth?
• How Does One Go Through Each Stage of Emotional Growth?
• Does Children’s Exposure to Technology Impact Their Health and Well-Being?
• Emotional Growth Shapes a Person’s Lifespan
• How Do Children Who Have Been Abused Develop Socially and Emotionally?
• What Role Does Emotional Growth Play in a Child’s Development?
• Emotional and Social Growth in Children and Teens: What Role Does Pet Ownership Play?
• Why and How Does Modern Technology Influence Our Well-Being and Personal Growth on an Emotional Level?
• What Factors Lead to an Individual’s Failure to Mature Emotionally, Number Ten?
• How Does Emotional Development Vary between the Sexes?
• How Can I Help My Kid Grow Emotionally?
• Ow, Do Kids Who Have Had Different Attachment Experiences Grow Up Emotionally?
• Which Extracurricular Foster Emotional Growth?
• Tell-tale Signs of Trouble with Emotional Development
• In What Ways Does One’s Emotional Growth Affect Their Development?
• The Impact of Emotional Growth on Academic Performance Is Discussed
• What Markers Do We Look for in Emotional Growth?
• Why Are Emotional Development and Regulation Related?
• How Do We Gauge Social and Emotional Growth?
• How Does the Differential Emotions Theory Explain Infant and Toddler Emotional Growth?
• In a State of Normal Emotional Development, Why Does the Depressive Position Exist?
• The Study of Emotional Growth: What Recurring Themes Have Researchers Noticed?
• What Are the Hallmarks of Infants’ Emotional Growth?
• What Marks the Stages of Infant Emotional Development?
• How Do Gifted Kids Grow Up Emotionally and Socially?

16 Ways to Encourage Students to Tell ...

Research topics about endangered species.

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author, interesting dracula topics essay topics, aztec essay topics, ancient history essay topics, most interesting life of pi essay topics, simple & easy infant essay topics, civil rights essay topics.

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How to Write the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay + Examples

What’s covered:.

• What is the Overcoming Challenges Essay?
• Real Overcoming Challenges Essay Prompts
• How to Choose a Topic
• Writing Tips

Overcoming Challenges Essay Examples

• Where to Get Your Essay Edited

While any college essay can be intimidating, the Overcoming Challenges prompt often worries students the most. Those students who’ve been lucky enough not to experience trauma tend to assume they have nothing worth saying. On the other hand, students who’ve overcome larger obstacles may be hesitant to talk about them.

Regardless of your particular circumstances, there are steps you can take to make the essay writing process simpler. Here are our top tips for writing the overcoming challenges essay successfully.

What is the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay?

The overcoming challenges prompt shows up frequently in both main application essays (like the Common App) and supplemental essays. Because supplemental essays allow students to provide schools with additional information, applicants should be sure that the subject matter they choose to write about differs from what’s in their main essay.

Students often assume the overcoming challenges essay requires them to detail past traumas. While you can certainly write about an experience that’s had a profound effect on your life, it’s important to remember that colleges aren’t evaluating students based on the seriousness of the obstacle they overcame.

On the contrary, the goal of this essay is to show admissions officers that you have the intelligence and fortitude to handle any challenges that come your way. After all, college serves as an introduction to adult life, and schools want to know that the students they admit are up to the task. 

Real “Overcoming Challenges” Essay Prompts

To help you understand what the “Overcoming Challenges” essay looks like, here are a couple sample prompts.

Currently, the Common Application asks students to answer the following prompt in 650 words or less:

“The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”

For the past several years, MIT has prompted students to write 200 to 250 words on the following:

“Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?”

In both cases, the prompts explicitly ask for your response to the challenge. The event itself isn’t as important as how it pushed you to grow.

How to Choose a Topic for an Essay on Overcoming Challenges

When it comes to finding the best topic for your overcoming challenges essays, there’s no right answer. The word “challenge” is ambiguous and could be used to reference a wide range of situations from prevailing over a bully to getting over your lifelong stage fright to appear in a school musical. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when selecting an essay subject.

1. Avoid trivial or common topics

While there aren’t many hard-and-fast rules for choosing an essay topic, students should avoid overdone topics.

These include:

• Working hard in a challenging class
• Overcoming a sports injury
• Moving schools or immigrating to the US
• Tragedy (divorce, death, abuse)

Admissions officers have read numerous essays on the subject, so it’s harder for you to stand out (see our full list of cliché college essay topics to avoid ). If events like these were truly formative to you, you can still choose to write about them, but you’ll need to be as personal as possible. 

It’s also ideal if you have a less traditional storyline for a cliché topic; for example, if your sports injury led you to discover a new passion, that would be a more unique story than detailing how you overcame your injury and got back in the game.

Similarly, students may not want to write about an obstacle that admissions committees could perceive as low stakes, such as getting a B on a test, or getting into a small fight with a friend. The goal of this essay is to illustrate how you respond to adversity, so the topic you pick should’ve been at least impactful on your personal growth.

2. Pick challenges that demonstrate qualities you want to highlight

Students often mistakenly assume they need to have experienced exceptional circumstances like poverty, an abusive parent, or cancer to write a good essay. The truth is that the best topics will allow you to highlight specific personal qualities and share more about who you are. The essay should be less about the challenge itself, and more about how you responded to it.

Ask yourself what personality traits you want to emphasize, and see what’s missing in your application. Maybe you want to highlight your adaptability, for example, but that isn’t clearly expressed in your application. In this case, you might write about a challenge that put your adaptability to the test, or shaped you to become more adaptable.

Here are some examples of good topics we’ve seen over the years:

• Not having a coach for a sports team and becoming one yourself
• Helping a parent through a serious health issue
• Trying to get the school track dedicated to a coach
• Having to switch your Model UN position last-minute

Tips for Writing an Essay About Overcoming Challenges

Once you’ve selected a topic for your essays, it’s time to sit down and write. For best results, make sure your essay focuses on your efforts to tackle an obstacle rather than the problem itself. Additionally, you could avoid essay writing pitfalls by doing the following:

1. Choose an original essay structure

If you want your overcoming challenges essay to attract attention, aim to break away from more traditional structures. Most of these essays start by describing an unsuccessful attempt at a goal and then explain the steps the writer took to master the challenge. 

You can stand out by choosing a challenge you’re still working on overcoming, or focus on a mental or emotional challenge that spans multiple activities or events. For example, you might discuss your fear of public speaking and how that impacted your ability to coach your brother’s Little League team and run for Student Council. 

You can also choose a challenge that can be narrated in the moment, such as being put on the spot to teach a yoga class. These challenges can make particularly engaging essays, as you get to experience the writer’s thoughts and emotions as they unfold.

Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to have succeeded in your goal for this essay. Maybe you ran for an election and lost, or maybe you proposed a measure to the school board that wasn’t passed. It’s still possible to write a strong essay about topics like these as long as you focus on your personal growth. In fact, these may make for even stronger essays since they are more unconventional topics.

2. Focus on the internal

When writing about past experiences, you may be tempted to spend too much time describing specific people and events. With an Overcoming Challenges essay though, the goal is to focus on your thoughts and feelings.

For example, rather than detail all the steps you took to become a better public speaker, use the majority of your essay to describe your mental state as you embarked on the journey to achieving your goals. Were you excited, scared, anxious, or hopeful? Don’t be afraid to let the reader in on your innermost emotions and thoughts during this process.

3. Share what you learned 

An Overcoming Challenges essay should leave the reader with a clear understanding of what you learned on your journey, be it physical, mental, or emotional. There’s no need to explicitly say “this experience taught me X,” but your essay should at least implicitly share any lessons you learned. This can be done through your actions and in-the-moment reflections. Remember that the goal is to show admissions committees why your experiences make you a great candidate for admission. 

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the g arb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading. 

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward. 

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essay Edited

The Overcoming Challenges essay is one of the trickier supplemental prompts, so it’s important to get feedback on your drafts. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, any tips for writing about a difficult or emotional experience in my college essay.

I want to share a deeply personal and emotional experience in my college essay, but I'm not sure how to approach it without sounding too negative or oversharing. Do you have any suggestions on how to write about challenging topics while still making a strong impression?

Writing about difficult or emotional experiences can be both impactful and challenging. The key is to focus on personal growth and learning that came as a result of the experience. Here are some tips to help you navigate through the process:

1. Be honest and genuine: Share your true emotions and experiences surrounding the situation, but be mindful of striking a balance between vulnerability and oversharing.

2. Emphasize growth and resilience: Highlight your personal development, how you have overcome the challenge, and what you've learned from the experience. This is a critical component of your essay, as it shows strength in the face of adversity.

3. Use descriptive language: This helps readers feel more connected to your story, allowing them to visualize and empathize with your experience. Just be cautious not to dwell too much on the negative aspects.

4. Wrap up with a positive tone: When concluding your essay, leave the reader with an understanding of how this difficult experience has shaped you into a stronger, more self-aware individual.

Good luck and remember that your story is uniquely yours and has the potential to make a strong impression on admissions officers!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Mia Belle Frothingham

Author, Researcher, Science Communicator

BA with minors in Psychology and Biology, MRes University of Edinburgh

Mia Belle Frothingham is a Harvard University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Sciences with minors in biology and psychology

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and relationships. It involves being aware of emotions in oneself and others and using this awareness to guide thinking and behavior. Emotionally intelligent individuals can motivate themselves, read social cues, and build strong relationships

Some researchers propose that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others argue it is an inborn characteristic.

The ability to express and manage emotions is essential, but so is the ability to understand, diagnose, and react to the emotions of others. Imagine a world in which one could not understand when a friend felt sad or a classmate was angry.

Why is Emotional Intelligence Critical?

Emotional Intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990).

Having a higher level of emotional intelligence allows one to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially aware. How people respond to themselves and others impacts all types of environments.

Living in this world signifies interacting with many diverse kinds of individuals and constant change with life-changing surprises.

Being emotionally intelligent is key to how one reacts to what life throws. It is furthermore a fundamental element of compassion and comprehending the deeper reasons behind other people’s actions.

It is not the most intelligent people who are the most prosperous or the most fulfilled in life. Many people are academically genius and yet are socially incompetent and unsuccessful in their careers or their intimate relationships.

Intellectual ability or intelligence quotient (IQ) is not enough on its own to achieve success in life. Undoubtedly, IQ can help one get into university, but your Emotional Intelligence (EI) will help one manage stress and emotions when facing final exams.

IQ and EI exist in tandem and are most influential when they build off one another.

Emotional intelligence is also valuable for leaders who set the tone of their organization. If leaders lack emotional intelligence , it could have more far-reaching consequences, resulting in lower worker engagement and a higher turnover rate.

While one might excel at one’s job technically, if one cannot effectively communicate with one’s team or collaborate with others, those specialized skills will get neglected.

By mastering emotional intelligence, one can positively impact anywhere and continue to advance one’s position and career in life. EI is vital when dealing with stressful situations like confrontation, change, and obstacles.

Emotional intelligence helps one build stronger relationships, succeed at work or school, and achieve one’s career and personal goals, as well as reduce group stress, defuse conflict, and enhance job satisfaction.

It can also help connect with one’s inner feelings, turn purpose into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to oneself.

During these times, it is essential to remember to practice kindness, and being in touch with our emotions can help us do just that.

Examples of Emotional Intelligence

How does one become emotionally intelligent? Below we will discuss what one can do to learn to improve the skills that are behind emotional intelligence (EI).

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize the meanings of emotions and to reason and problem-solve based on them (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999).

By working on and improving these skills, one can become more emotionally intelligent and, therefore, more successful!

Emotional Awareness and Understanding

Self-awareness, or the ability to recognize and comprehend one’s own emotions, is a vital emotional intelligence skill. Beyond acknowledging one’s feelings, however, is being conscious of the effect of one’s actions, moods, and emotions on other people.

According to research by Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist, 95% of individuals believe they are self-aware. Still, only 10 to 15 percent genuinely are, which can cause problems for the people one interacts with.

Being with people who are not self-aware can be frustrating and lead to increased stress and decreased encouragement.

To become self-aware, one must be capable of monitoring one’s emotions while recognizing different emotional reactions and correctly identifying each distinct emotion.

Self-aware individuals also can recognize the connections between the things they feel and how they act.

These individuals also acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, are open to new data and experiences, and learn from their exchanges with others.

Furthermore, people who maintain self-awareness have a fine sense of humor, are confident in themselves and their capabilities, and know how others perceive them.

Here are some tips on improving one’s self-awareness:

Ask for constructive feedback from others.

Keep a journal of one’s thoughts and feelings.

Practice mindfulness – try meditating.

Pay careful attention to one’s thoughts and emotions.

Pursue one’s passions and do what makes one happy.

Learn new skills and set goals for oneself.

Reflect on one’s experiences and be grateful.

Use positive self-talk daily.

Work on building a growth mindset.

Emotional Self Regulation (Managing Emotions)

In addition to being aware of one’s own emotions and the impact one has on others, emotional intelligence requires one to regulate and manage one’s emotions .

This does not mean taking emotions out of sight and essentially “locking” them away, hence hiding one’s true feelings. It just means waiting for the right time and place to express them. Self-regulation is all about communicating one’s emotions appropriately in context. A reaction tends to be involuntary.

The more in tune one is with one’s emotional intelligence, the easier one can transition from an instant reaction to a well-thought-out response. It is crucial to remember to pause, breathe, compose oneself, and do what it takes to manage one’s emotions.

This could mean anything to oneself, like taking a walk or talking to a friend, so that one can more appropriately and intentionally respond to tension and adversity.

Those proficient in self-regulation tend to be flexible and acclimate well to change. They are also suitable for handling conflict and diffusing uncomfortable or difficult situations.

People with healthy self-regulation skills also tend to have heightened conscientiousness. They reflect on how they influence others and take accountability for their actions.

Here are some tips on improving one’s self-regulation:

Look at challenges as opportunities.

Be mindful of thoughts and feelings.

Build distress and anxiety tolerance skills.

Work on accepting reflections and emotions.

Find ways to manage difficult emotions.

Practice communication and social skills.

Recognize that one has a choice in how one responds.

Use cognitive reframing to change emotional responses and thought patterns.

Social Empathy (Perceiving Emotions)

Empathy , or the capability to comprehend how other people are feeling, is crucial to perfecting emotional intelligence.

However, it involves more than just being able to identify the emotional states of others. It also affects one’s responses to people based on this knowledge.

How does one respond when one senses someone is feeling sad or hopeless? One might treat them with extra care and consideration, or one might make a push to lift their mood.

Being empathetic also allows one to understand the authority dynamics that frequently influence social relationships, especially in the workplace.

This is essential for guiding one’s daily interactions with various people. In fact, it is found that empathy ranks as the number one leadership skill.

Leaders proficient in empathy perform more than 40% higher in coaching, engaging others, and decision-making. In a different study, researchers found that leaders who show more empathy toward their co-workers and constructive criticism are viewed as better performers by their supervisors.

Those competent in this element can recognize who maintains power in different relationships. They also understand how these forces impact feelings and behaviors. Because of this, they can accurately analyze different situations that hinge on such power dynamics.

Here are some tips on improving social empathy:

Be willing to share emotions.

Listen to other people.

Practice meditation.

Engage in a purpose like a community project.

Meet and talk to new people.

Try to imagine yourself in someone else’s place.

Social Skills (Using Emotions)

The ability to interact well with others is another vital aspect of emotional intelligence. Solid social skills allow people to build meaningful relationships with others and develop a more robust understanding of themselves and others.

Proper emotional understanding involves more than just understanding one’s own emotions and those of others. One also needs to put this information to work in one’s daily interactions and communications.

In the workplace or professional settings, managers benefit by being able to build relationships and connections with employees.

Workers benefit from developing a solid rapport with leaders and co-workers. Some prefer to avoid conflict, but it is crucial to address issues as they arise correctly.

Research shows that every unaddressed conflict can waste almost eight hours of company time on unproductive activities, damaging resources and morale. Essential social skills include active listening , verbal communication, nonverbal communication, leadership , and persuasiveness.

Here are some tips on improving social skills:

Ask open-ended questions.

Find icebreakers that will help start conversations.

Practice good eye contact.

Practice active listening with the entire body.

Notice other people’s social skills.

Show interest in others and ask them personal questions.

Watch one’s body language and that of others.

In The Workplace

Emotional intelligence includes showing genuine compassion, empathizing with the needs of individuals, and encouraging the ongoing personal growth of individuals.

When a leader takes into account the emotions of their followers, they then learn how to best engage with them.

1. Lending a Compassionate Ear to a Frustrated Co-Worker

Employees will inevitably get upset, have bad moods, argue, and just generally have bad days. In practice, compassion, understanding, and awareness are definite signs of emotional intelligence.

Awareness of and reacting to other people’s emotional states shows an understanding that all humans experience intense emotions and says that a person’s feelings matter.

2. Listening to Others Respectfully

Ever been to a conference when it seems like everyone is speaking over each other, trying to get the last word?

This is not only an indication of egos taking over and a lack of consideration for others; these are also indications of there being a lack of emotional intelligence.

When individuals are allowed to speak, and others listen without persistent interruptions, it is a good sign of EI. It shows reciprocal respect between parties and is more likely to lead to a productive conclusion in meetings.

3. Being Flexible

Flexibility is a critical term in organizations today. Building flexibility into how people function can be the difference between keeping the best workers and drifting out the door.

Emotionally intelligent leaders comprehend the changing needs of others and are ready to work with them rather than attempting to impose rigid restrictions on how people go about their work.

They do not expect everyone to work the hours they do, hold the same priorities, or live by precisely the same values.

In Healthcare

1. being patient with hurting individuals.

When in healthcare, it is expected that doctors and nurses will have to manage people in pain. Emotional intelligence not only allows for better patient care but also for better self-care.

For instance, if a patient is lashing out, and one can see that they are in pain, one will be far less likely to take their combativeness personally and treat them better.

2. Acting as the Effective Leader

In healthcare, there is a necessity to have influential leaders, a trusting environment with a helpful team, critical thinking, and quality patient and family-centered care.

A higher emotional intelligence will allow healthcare professionals to respond and react better to patients. Studies have shown a correlation between emotional intelligence and positive patient outcomes.

3. Responding Better to Stressful Situations

Multiple occasions in healthcare involve an urgent situation involving a life or death scenario. Doctors and nurses must check their own emotions.

Being in healthcare is a highly emotional career, and being aware of your feelings when they come up is key to effective self-care.

Interacting with patients can cause overwhelming joy or deep sadness, and these fluctuations can be utterly exhausting.

The ability to deal with these feelings, take breaks, and ask for help when you need it is another example of good emotional intelligence that nurses should practice.

Tips for Improving EI

Be more self-aware.

Awareness of one’s emotions and emotional responses to others can significantly improve one’s emotional intelligence. Knowing when one is feeling anxious or angry can help process and communicate those feelings in a way that promotes healthy results.

Recognize how others feel

Emotional intelligence could start with self-reflection, but measuring how others perceive one’s behavior and communication is essential. Adjusting one’s message based on how one is being received is an integral part of being emotionally intelligent.

Practice active listening

People communicate verbally and nonverbally, so listening and monitoring for potentially positive and negative reactions is essential. Taking the time to hear others also demonstrates a level of respect that can form the basis for healthy relationships.

Communicate clearly

Solid communication skills are critical for emotional intelligence. Knowing what to express or write and when to offer information is crucial for building strong relationships.

For instance, as a manager in a work environment, communicating expectations and goals is required to keep everyone on the same page.

Stay positive

A positive attitude is incredibly infectious. Emotionally intelligent people comprehend the power of positive words, encouraging emails, and friendly gestures. When one can also remain positive in a stressful situation, one can help others stay calm. It can also encourage further problem-solving and collaboration.

Thinking about how others might be feeling is an essential quality of emotional intelligence. It means you can empathize with feelings that one may not be feeling oneself and respond in a way that is respectful and relaxing to others.

Be open-minded

Emotionally intelligent people are comfortable to approach because they are good listeners and can consider and understand other viewpoints. They are also receptive to learning new things and embracing novel ideas.

Listen to feedback

It is essential to be the type of person who can hear feedback, whether it is positive on a recent presentation or more critical advice on how you should commission tasks more efficiently.

Being receptive to feedback means taking responsibility for one’s actions and being willing to improve how one communicates with others.

Stay calm under pressure

It is essential to approach stressful situations with a calm and positive attitude. Pressures can quickly escalate, primarily when people are operating under deadlines, so keeping steady and concentrating on finding a solution will help everyone complete their goals.

History of Emotional Intelligence

In the 1930s, psychologist Edward Thorndike explained the concept of “social intelligence” as the ability to get along with other individuals.

During the 1940s, psychologist David Wechsler suggested that different practical elements of intelligence could play a critical role in how successful people are in life.

In the 1950s, the school of thought was known as humanistic psychology, and scholars such as Abraham Maslow concentrated attention on how people could build emotional strength.

Another critical concept to arise in the development of emotional intelligence was the concept of multiple intelligences . This idea was put forth in the mid-1970s by Howard Gardner, presenting the idea that intelligence was more than just a single, broad capacity.

Emotional intelligence did not come into our vernacular until around 1990. The term “emotional intelligence” was first utilized in 1985 as it was presented in a doctoral dissertation by Wayne Payne.

In 1987, there was an article written by Keith Beasley and published in Mensa Magazine that used the term emotional quotient or EQ.

Then in 1990, psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey published their milestone article, Emotional Intelligence , in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality .

They described emotional intelligence as the capability to monitor one’s and others’ feelings and emotions, discriminate among them, and use this knowledge to guide one’s thinking and actions.

Salovey and Mayer also initiated a research study to develop accurate measures of emotional intelligence and explore its significance. For example, they found in one investigation that when a group of people saw an upsetting film, those who ranked high on emotional clarity, or the ability to recognize and label a mood that is being experienced, recovered more quickly.

In a different study, people who scored higher in the ability to perceive accurately, understand and appraise others’ emotions were sufficiently capable of responding flexibly to changes in their social environments and building supportive social networks.

But despite it being a relatively new term, attraction to the concept has grown tremendously. In 1995, the concept of emotional intelligence was popularized after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s book  Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is emotional intelligence important in the workplace.

Researchers have indicated that emotional intelligence influences how excellently employees interact with their colleagues, and EI is also considered to play a role in how employees manage stress and conflict.

It also affects overall performance on the job. Other studies have connected emotional intelligence with job satisfaction.

Studies have shown that workers with higher scores on measures of EI also tend to be ranked higher on criteria of interpersonal functioning, leadership abilities, and stress management.

While standard intelligence was associated with leadership success, it alone was not enough. People who are prosperous at work are not just brilliant; they also have a high EI.

But emotional intelligence is not simply for CEOs and senior executives.

It is a quality that is essential at every level of a person’s career, from university students looking for internships to seasoned workers hoping to take on a leadership role.

Emotional intelligence is critical to success if one wants to succeed in the workplace and move up the career ladder.

Can emotional intelligence be taught?

As it turns out, the question whether emotional intelligence can be learned is not a straightforward one to answer.

Some psychologists and researchers claim that emotional intelligence is a skill that is not quickly learned or improved. Other psychologists and researchers, though, believe it can be improved with practice.

One key to improving EI is sustained practice – especially in high-stakes situations. Referring back to the above tips, one could read them and say those guidelines are pretty straightforward.

But, the challenging task is to do these practices in real-time and consistently. It takes practice to develop these skills. Then as you acquire them, you have to rehearse them under stress.

Can emotional intelligence be measured?

Several different assessments have arisen to gauge levels of emotional intelligence. These trials typically fall into one of two types: self-report tests and ability tests.

Self-report tests are the most abundant because they are the quickest to administer and score. Respondents respond to questions or statements on such tests by rating their behaviors.

For example, on a comment such as “I sense that I understand how others are feeling,” a test-taker might describe the statement as strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree.

On the other hand, ability tests involve people responding to situations and assessing their skills. These tests often require people to demonstrate their abilities, which a third party rates.

If one is taking an emotional intelligence trial issued by a mental health professional, here are two measures that could be used: Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI).

What is the dark side of emotional intelligence?

The dark side of emotional intelligence is using one’s understanding of emotions manipulatively, to deceive, control, or exploit others.

High emotional intelligence can mask hidden agendas, enabling insincere charm or feigned empathy, potentially leading to deceitful or self-serving actions.

Boyatzis, R. E., & Goleman, D. (2011). Emotional and social competency inventory (ESCI): A user guide for accredited practitioners.  Retrieved December ,  17 , 2019.

Eurich, T. (2018). What self-awareness really is (and how to cultivate it).  Harvard Business Review , 1-9.

Gardner, H. E. (2000). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century . Hachette UK.

Goleman, D. (1996).  Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ . Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence.  Intelligence, 27 (4), 267-298.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1993). The intelligence of emotional intelligence.  Intelligence, 17 (4), 433-442.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (2007).  Mayer-Salovery-Caruso emotional intelligence test . Toronto: Multi-Health Systems Incorporated.

Payne, W. L. (1985). A study of emotion: developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire.

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence .  Imagination, cognition and personality ,  9 (3), 185-211.

Thorndike, R. L., & Stein, S. (1937). An evaluation of the attempts to measure social intelligence.  Psychological Bulletin ,  34 (5), 275.

Wechsler, D., & Kodama, H. (1949).  Wechsler intelligence scale for children  (Vol. 1). New York: Psychological corporation.

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Promoting Young Children’s Social and Emotional Health

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In a preschool classroom, some of the 3- and 4-year-old children smile, laugh, and giggle during free play; are curious about what happens next during story time; ask what and why questions while doing hands-on activities; and use words to express feelings and needs. In the toy area, Tom and Juan both reach for a small blue car. Tom says, “May I please have it first, then you have it later?” Juan replies, “You have it for five minutes and then I have it for five minutes.” Noticing this exchange, their teacher says, “Tom and Juan, you are talking about taking turns. What a great way to play together!”

Tom, Juan, and their classmates are a model of social and emotional health in preschool. Children who are socially and emotionally healthy tend to demonstrate, and continue to develop, several important behaviors and skills (adapted from McClellan & Katz 2001 and Bilmes 2012). They

• Are usually in a positive mood
• Listen and follow directions
• Have close relationships with caregivers and peers
• Care about friends and show interest in others
• Recognize, label, and manage their own emotions
• Understand others’ emotions and show empathy
• Express wishes and preferences clearly
• Gain access to ongoing play and group activities
• Are able to play, negotiate, and compromise with others

Why social and emotional health matters

Teachers can promote children’s social and emotional health in many ways, for example, by organizing a material-rich environment to stimulate social interactions among children. This article focuses on two of the most important practices: building trusting relationships and conducting intentional teaching.

Establish trusting relationships

Young children develop and learn in the context of relationships. A trusting and caring teacher–child relationship is essential for children’s optimum development (Raikes & Edwards 2009). Children who have trusting relationships with their teachers are, on average, more willing to ask questions, solve problems, try new tasks, and express their thinking than their peers without such relationships (O’Connor & McCartney 2007). In her work supervising student teachers, Ho (the first author) often sees children developing positive social and emotional health as a result of close relationships with their teachers. For example, children learn to use words to express their feelings—such as Amy saying to Emily, “I am sad when you use hurting words!”—and to show empathy—as when Arjun gently pats Brian’s head and says, “Are you okay? Do you want to hold the teddy bear?”

Children benefit socially, emotionally, and academically when teachers intentionally create close, trusting relationships (Palermo et al. 2007). But gaining the trust of every child is not as simple as being nice and engaging. How can teachers create trusting relationships with all of the children? Consistently offering warmth, affection, respect, and caring is essential.

Showing warmth and affection consistently

Warmth and affection—even on bad days and when children are misbehaving—are critical to children’s well-being in early education settings (Ostrosky & Jung 2005). They contribute to developing secure relationships between children and adults, provide models of gentle behavior, and are linked with children’s ability to interact positively with peers (Twardosz 2005). The preschoolers we observed used gentle hands and kind words and positively interacted with peers most of the time. Their social and emotional well-being was nourished by their teachers’ warmth and affection, which is shown in the following examples:

• Ms. Johnson displays a pleasant facial expression throughout the day. She smiles when greeting children in the morning, says goodbye in the afternoon, and acknowledges children’s appropriate behaviors.
• Mr. Logan uses the appropriate tone of voice at all times. His speech is at normal pitch and volume; his tone is relaxed and soft. Even when he has to redirect a child’s behavior, he remains calm and warm to convey that his concern is with the behavior—not the child.
• Ms. Aragon gives appropriate touches when necessary, such as a pat on the back, a handshake, hugs, and brief tickles.
• Ms. Lizama moves physically close to the children and bends or crouches to be at the children’s eye level while talking to them.
• Mr. Sharma often uses loving comments to show he cares: “I am so happy to see you this morning!,” “I missed you yesterday,” “I love seeing your smile!” And he is careful to make such comments to all of the children in his classroom.

Respecting and caring about every child

Showing respect is a key way to connect with children and strengthen positive relationships. It helps children feel more confident and competent to explore and learn (Dombro, Jablon, & Stetson 2011). Ms. Carnes establishes and maintains close personal bonds with every child in her classroom by consistently acting in respectful and caring ways. Specifically, she

• Listens with full attenti on and restates what children say (often also seizing the opportunity to expose the children to new vocabulary).  Jason, a 4-year-old, says, “Look, I made a truck with lots of Legos!” Ms. Carnes replies, “Oh, I see, Jason. You built a truck with dozens of Legos.” Jason adds, “I use this truck to deliver apples and bananas to the grocery store.” Ms. Carnes responds, “Using a truck to deliver nutritious fruits to the grocery store is helpful.” Listening to children attentively and reflectively enhances their self-worth and confidence. When teachers actively listen to children, they convey that they care about what the children have to say, and the children are more likely to share their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and stories.  
• Accepts and reflects children’s feel ings.  Frowning, Jasper says to the teacher, “Michael has all the big blocks!” Ms. Carnes responds, “Jasper, you seem upset that there are no more large blocks to build with right now. It is difficult to wait!” Amy says with enthusiasm, “We are about to go outside!” Ms. Carnes answers, “The sparkles in your eyes tell me you can hardly wait to go outside. You are excited.” When they accept and reflect children’s feelings, teachers exhibit sensitivity and caring in a way children understand. Teachers’ acknowledgments make children feel heard and accepted (Duffy 2008). As a result, children feel safe to express their emotions—and receive support in identifying, labeling, and better understanding their emotions.  
• Spends private, quality time with individual chi ldren through one-on-one activities, such  as story reading and game pla ying.  Emily is sad when her mom leaves. Ms. Carnes reads her a book in a cozy corner with soft pillows and stuffed animals. Afterward, Emily is ready to explore and play in the classroom. Judy complains that no one wants to play with her at the tactile table. Ms. Carnes sits at the table and plays with Judy until another child joins the play. In addition, Ms. Carnes spends quality time with individual children by putting aside other work, moving to the child’s level, and conversing openly with the child. Ms. Carnes keeps track to ensure that she speaks with each child regularly, which deepens their relationship and builds trust (Gartrell 2007). Ms. Carnes finds time for these conversations throughout the day, especially during greeting, free play, snack, lunch, and departure time.

Teach social and emotional skills intentionally

Helping children develop social and emotional skills is the heart and soul of any good program for young children (Gordon & Browne 2014). Teachers (and all caregivers) play key roles in helping children develop social and emotional competence (Kostelnik et al. 2015). Teachers can intentionally support children’s social and emotional health by using children’s books, planning activities, coaching on the spot, giving effective praise, modeling appropriate behaviors, and providing cues.

Warmth and affection—even on bad days and when children are misbehaving—are critical to children’s well-being in early education.

Using children’s books

To connect the characters and situations in the book with the children’s experiences, Ms. Coz plans to read the book at least twice and also add it to the classroom library. During the second reading, she asks meaningful questions: “What do you think the characters are feeling?,” “How would you solve the problem?,” “Can you use words from the story to explain how you feel when you . . .?,” “What could we do differently if this happens in our classroom?” These open-ended questions enable children to talk about their own experiences, learn new vocabulary words, and practice social and emotional skills.

Planning activities

To extend and apply what children learn from reading stories, Ms. Coz plans follow-up activities, such as hands-on crafts, games, and songs. She often uses Book Nook guides, created by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning ( http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html#booknook ). These guides help her embed social and emotional development activities into daily routines, including read-alouds. (See “ Activities for Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning ” for some ideas adapted from Book Nook guides.)

Coaching on the spot

When they coach children on the spot, teachers help children realize what they are doing, understand how their actions affect others, and choose positive alternatives (Riley et al. 2008). For example, when Ryan and Ethan build a firehouse in the block area, Ethan grabs the fire truck from Ryan, and Ryan cries. Ms. Coz crouches down at Ethan’s level to look into his eyes; calmly and warmly, she says, “Ryan was still using the truck. When you took it away from him, he got upset. What could you do to make Ryan feel better?” After Ethan says he is sorry and gives back the fire truck, Ms. Coz says, “Next time if you want to play with the toy Ryan is using, could you ask if he will share?” Ms. Coz follows up by observing Ethan and providing immediate positive feedback on his desirable behavior.

Giving effective praise

Meaningful feedback pertinent to the task at hand in the form of effective praise is a powerful strategy for fostering children’s social and emotional development (Kostelnik et al. 2015). To make praise effective, teachers describe specifically what they see—without generalizing, evaluating, or making comparisons. When Emily finishes her drawing, Ms. Coz notices her picture and her smile. Ms. Coz says, “I see a blue sky, a yellow sun, and green grass around the big brown tree. This picture makes you happy, doesn’t it?” This praise is effective because Ms. Coz offers detailed, positive comments immediately after desirable behavior occurs. Noticing Ethan asking Ryan politely for a policewoman figure, Ms. Coz says, “Ethan, you used the magic words  May I plea se?  to ask for that policewoman while you and Ryan were building the firehouse together. Great job!” Smiling, Ethan responds, “We are friends and we can share things.”

Modeling appropriate behavior

Children learn by observing other people, getting ideas about how new behaviors are formed, and using the ideas to guide their actions (Bandura 1977). Many studies have found that modeling—or demonstrating appropriate behaviors—teaches and enhances children’s social and emotional skills (Katz & McClellan 1997; Hyson 2004). This research-based conclusion is evidenced in Ms. Coz’s and Ms. Carnes’s classes. Both teachers implement several noninvasive strategies—including modeling—that their center administrators created to support teachers in promoting socially and emotionally healthy behaviors. They display the strategies on the classroom wall and put them into action by

• Moving closer to children, when needed, as a nonverbal cue to rethink behaviors
• Modeling appropriate warm and respectful behavior throughout the day and at specific moments when a gentle reminder is needed
• Using nonverbal gestures and contact (e.g., nodding the head, giving thumbs-up signs, and touching children gently on the shoulder) to send messages
• Employing simple language (e.g., “Walking feet, please” and “Use gentle hands”) to set expectations and give reminders
• Acknowledging a kind act on the spot or praising a group effort for a job well done
• Placing a hand—gently—on a child’s hand to redirect attention and behavior

When children see teachers demonstrate these noninvasive strategies, they often smile, use their gentle hands, say please and thank you, give hugs and high fives, and use words to express their feelings.

In addition to being role models, the teachers use the children’s appropriate behaviors to model social and emotional skills. They carefully observe and record details about how children apply the target skills, and they share their observations with the children through puppet shows during circle time. Using puppets to demonstrate children’s appropriate behaviors helps children learn social and emotional skills meaningfully.

Providing cues

Providing cues to engage children in appropriate social behavior has been shown over time to improve their social behavior with their peers (Bovey & Strain 2005). Ms. Coz and Ms. Carnes often provide verbal cues to help some children participate in activities. Before playtime, for example, Ms. Carnes asks, “James, who are you going to ask to play with you at center time?” During playtime, she suggests, “Saanvi, can you ask Anna to build an airplane with you?” To teach sharing and turn taking, Ms. Coz asks Steven, who has been waiting to play with a toy dolphin for a while, “What magic words could you use to have a turn with the dolphin John is using?”

Both Ms. Coz and Ms. Carnes prominently display visual cues in their classrooms to assist children’s social and emotional interactions. For example, they provide teacher-made hand puppets to guide children to use quiet voices, helping hands, and walking feet. To help children calm down, they also created a “push wall”—a designated spot on the wall to push anger out—and use puppets to demonstrate the strategy. These puppets, demonstrations, and explanations are essential for clarifying and modeling appropriate behavior—and the visual cues are essential for reminding the children to practice what they have learned. Long-term visual cues function like a third teacher in the sense that children use the cues to remind one another of solutions and appropriate actions.

Children’s Books for Teaching Social and Emotional Skills 

• Can You Be a Friend?,  by Nita Everly 
• Care Bears Caring Contest,  by Nancy Parent, illus. by  David Stein 
• Fox Makes Friends,  by Adam Relf 
• How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?,  by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague 
• How I Feel Frustrated,  by Marcia Leonard 
• I Can Do It Myself  (a Sesame Street Series), by Emily Perl Kingsley, illus. by Richard Brown 
• I’m in Charge of Me!,  by David Parker, illus. by Sylvia Walker 
• Mouse Was Mad,  by Linda Urban, illus. by Henry Cole 
• My Many Colored Days,  by Dr. Seuss, illus. by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher 
• Sharing: How Kindness Grows,  by Fran Shaw, illus. by Miki Sakamoto 
• When I’m Feeling Sad,  by Trace Moroney 
• When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry,  by Molly Bang

Activities for Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning 

Helping hands chain : Trace and cut out multiple hands for each child. Place them in a pocket or baggie that is easily accessible. As you recognize a child’s helping hand behavior, have the child get a hand from their pocket and connect it to the class’s helping hand chain. The hands can be placed on the wall to wrap around the room. On a regular basis, celebrate how long the helping hand chain is getting! 

Hand puppets : Create character puppets by having children color or paint the pictures, cut them out, and glue them to craft sticks. Once dry, children can bring their puppets to circle time and act out the story while you read the story aloud. Later, they can take the puppets to the story area or puppet center. 

Moving to music : Choose songs with lyrics that encourage movement. Before you start, remind the children that they need to listen closely to the words so they know what actions to take. Classic songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” work well. Many children’s CDs have great songs that involve following directions (try “My Ups and Downs,” and “Hands Are for Clapping,” by Jim Gill). Do the motions with the children as you listen to the songs. After listening to each song several times, children will build confidence and know which motions to do on their own. Point out to the children that they know what to do because they are being such good listeners.

Pass the feeling bag : Place an assortment of scenario picture cards in a bag. As music plays, the children pass the bag. When the music stops, one child picks out a card and identifies it. Have the child talk about how each scenario or item makes him feel and why. Allow children to take turns pulling out picture cards. 

Feeling faces collage : Have children cut out different feeling faces from magazines. Mix nontoxic glue and water together in a small bowl. The children put the pictures on top of a piece of paper, take a paintbrush and dip it in glue solution, and paint over their pictures. They can hang their feeling faces collages on the wall. 

Share box : Create a special share box that is only introduced during circle time. Children can decorate the box with primary colors or with a bold pattern. Inside the box, place items that can be shared, such as musical instruments, a box of chunky sidewalk chalk, playdough, or several sensory bottles.

Singing : After a story about sharing with friends, sing “Share, share, share your toys; share them with a friend. Share, share, share your toys, let’s all play pretend,” to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” After a story about feelings, sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” with a variety of emotions and body gestures. 

Note: Adapted with permission from Book Nook, created by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. To use Book Nook guides at no cost, visit http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html#booknook .

Bandura, A. 1977.  Social Learning Theory . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bilmes, J. 2012.  Beyond Behavior Manage ment: The Six Life Skills Childre n Need,  2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf.

Bovey, T., & P. Strain. 2005. “Strategies for Increasing Peer Social Interactions: Prompting and Acknowledgment.” Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. What Works Briefs. http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/briefs/wwb17.pdf .

Dombro, A.L., J. Jablon, & C. Stetson. 2011.  Powerful  Interactions: How to Connect with   Children to Extend Their Learning.  Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Duffy, R. 2008. “Are Feelings Fixable?”  Exchange  30 (6): 87–90.

Gartrell, D. 2007.  A Guidance Approach for the Encouraging Classroom,  4th ed. Florence, KY: Thomson Delmar Learning.

Gordon, A.M., & K.W. Browne. 2014.  Beginnings and Beyond: Foundati ons in Early   Childhood Education,  9th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage.

Hyson, M. 2004 . The Emotional Development of Young Chil dren: Building an Emotion-Centered Curric ulum,  2nd ed .  New York: Teachers College Press.

Katz, L.G., & D.E. McClellan. 1997.  Fostering Children’s Social Competence: The Teacher’s Role.  Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Kostelnik, M.J., A.K. Soderman, A.P. Whiren, M.L. Rupiper, & K.M. Gregory. 2015.  Guiding Children’s Social Development and L earning: Theory and Skills,  8th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage.

McClellan, D., & L.G. Katz. 2001. “Assessing Young Children’s Social Competence.” Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED450953.pdf .

O’Connor, E., & K. McCartney. 2007. “Examining Teacher–Child Relationships and Achievement as Part of an Ecological Model of Development.”  American Educational R esearch Journal  44 (2): 340–69.

Ostrosky, M.M., & E.Y. Jung. 2005. “Building Positive Teacher–Child Relationships.” Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. What Works Briefs. http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/briefs/wwb12.pdf .

Palermo, F., L.D. Hanish, C.L. Martin, R.A. Fabes, & M. Reiser. 2007. “Preschoolers’ Academic Readiness: What Role Does the Teacher–Child Relationship Play?”  Early Childhood Research Quarterly  22 (4): 407–22. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856866 .

Raikes, H.H., & C.P. Edwards. 2009 . Exte nding the Dance in Infant and Toddler Caregiving: Enhancing Attachment and Relationships . Baltimore, MD: Brookes.

Riley, D., R.R. San Juan, J. Klinkner, & A. Ramminger. 2008.  Social and Emotional   Developm ent: Connecting Science and Practice in Early Childhood Settings . St. Paul, MN: Redleaf; Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Roberts, S.K., & P.A. Crawford. 2008. “Real Life Calls for Real Books: Literature to Help Children Cope with Family Stressors.”  Young Children  63 (5): 12–17.

Twardosz, S. 2005. “Expressing Warmth and Affection to Children.” Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. What Works Briefs. http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/briefs/wwb20.pdf .

Photographs: © Getty Images; courtesy of Geneva Day School

Jeannie Ho , EdD, is a professor and early childhood education program coordinator at Montgomery College, in Rockville, Maryland. Her teaching and research focus is teaching practices and children’s social and emotional development.  [email protected]

Suzanne Funk , MSEd, is director of Geneva Day School, in Potomac, Maryland, and is an adjunct professor in early childhood education at Montgomery College. She works with local child center directors to enhance the quality of services available for young children.  [email protected]

Vol. 73, No. 1

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Human Growth and Development

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Theoretical foundations of human growth and development, physical development, cognitive development, social and emotional development, environmental and genetic influences on human growth and development, lifespan development.

• Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. Standard Edition, 7, 123-255.
• Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
• Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. New York: International Universities Press.

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Developmental stages of social emotional development in children.

Fatima Malik ; Raman Marwaha .

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• Continuing Education Activity

To apply knowledge regarding human growth and development, healthcare professionals need to be aware of 2 areas: (1) milestone competencies, for example, growth in the motor, cognitive, speech-language, and social-emotional domains, and (2) the eco-biological model of development, specifically, the interaction of environment and biology and their influence on development. This activity reviews the developmental stages of social-emotional development and discusses the role of the interprofessional team in educating parents on when they should expect children to achieve each milestone.

• Identify milestone competencies in children.
• Implement the eco-biologic model of development in children.
• Assess social-emotional development in children.
• Communicate the developmental stages of social-emotional development and the role of the interprofessional team in educating parents on when they should expect children to achieve each milestone.
• Introduction

To understand human growth and development, healthcare professionals need to understand and learn about 2 areas:

• Knowledge of milestone competencies:  Growth in the motor, cognitive, speech-language, and social-emotional domains
• The eco-biological model of development:  The interaction of environment and biology and their influence on development  [1] [2]  

This topic reviews the developmental stages of social-emotional development. It also discusses the role of the interprofessional team in identifying the cause of social-emotional problems and, therefore, intervening effectively. 

Social-emotional development covers 2 important concepts, including the development of self or temperament and relationship to others or attachment. Clinicians can identify and intervene to resolve social-emotional problems in early childhood if they have a better understanding of these concepts. 

Temperament

Temperament is an innate attribute that defines the child's approach to the world and his interaction with the environment across 9 dimensions, which are activity level, distractibility, the intensity of emotions, regularity, sensory threshold, and the tendency to approach versus withdrawing, adaptability, persistence, and mood quality. We can define temperament as the child's "style" or "personality," which is intrinsic to a child. It influences child behavior and interaction with others. Based on the above attributes that define temperament, researchers have categorized young children's temperament into 3 broad temperamental categories:

• Easy or flexible: This category includes children who are friendly and easygoing, comply with routines such as sleep and mealtimes, adapt to changes, and have a calm disposition.
• Active or feisty:  Fussy children do not follow routines, have irregular feeding and sleeping schedules, are apprehensive of a new environment and new people, have intense reactions, and get easily upset.
• Slow to warm up or cautious: Children who may be less engaged or active have a shy disposition toward new situations and new people and may withdraw or react negatively. They become more comfortable and warm up with repeated exposure to a new environment or person.

This classification is for ease of discussion, and all temperaments do not fit into 1 or other categories exactly. Discussing temperament with parents and caregivers can better identify the child's strengths and needs. Based on this, caregivers can adapt their management and caregiving styles to match the child's temperament. This can mold a child's behavior and facilitate the child's successful interaction with the environment, defined as "goodness of fit." [3]

The social-emotional development begins with parental bonding with the child. This bonding allows the mother to promptly respond to the child's needs and soothe their newborn. The consistent availability of the caregiver results in the development of "basic trust" and confidence in the infant for the caregiver during the first year of life. Essential trust is the first psychosocial stage described by Erickson. This allows the infant to seek parents or the caregiver during times of stress, known as attachment. [4]

Even before acquiring language, babies learn to communicate through emotions. One may argue that knowing emotional regulation and impulse control may determine later success in life more than IQ. There is a rapid growth in social and dynamic areas of the brain during the first 18 months of life. The nonverbal parts of the right brain, including the amygdala and the limbic system, receive, process, and interpret stimuli from the environment that produce an emotional response and build the body's dynamic and stress regulatory systems.

The lower limbic system

The lower limbic system, outside the cortex, dictates most of our spontaneous, automatic emotional responses, like fear resulting in a racing heart or weak knees.

The upper limbic system

The upper limbic system part of the cerebral cortex, known as the limbic cortex, controls conscious awareness of emotions and refines the responses according to the environmental culture of the individual.

The amygdala

The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure that lies at the junction of the cortex and subcortical areas of the brain. It plays a pivotal role in sensing emotions and connects them to higher and lower limbic structures.

During the second half of infancy, emotional information from the more inadequate limbic system moves up and becomes part of the babies' consciousness. Frontal lobe activity increases, and myelination of the limbic pathways also begins during this time. With this gain in the limbic system, a caregiver's soothing and consistent response to the child's emotions develops into the child's attachment to the caregiver, usually the mother. Attachment is regarded as a pivotal event in a person's emotional development. It lays the foundation of a child's security, harbors self-esteem, and builds emotional regulation and self-control skills.

In healthy children, social-emotional stages develop on an expected trajectory, and monitoring these milestones is an imperative part of preventative health supervision visits. The caregiver's sensitive and available supportive role is essential to establish attachment and the skill set that follows.

Three distinct emotions are present from birth: anger, joy, and fear, which are revealed by universal facial expressions. Cognitive input is not required for emotional response at this stage. During the brief periods of alertness in the newborn period, newborns may return a mother's gaze. Soon after, infants begin to explore their faces.

1 to 2 Months of Age

The first measurable social milestone is around 1 to 2 months of age: infants begin to smile socially in response to parental high-pitched vocalizations or smiles. They recognize the smells and voices of their caregivers and respond to gentle touch. Infants can use a distinct facial expression to express emotions in an appropriate context after 2 months of age.

2 to 3 Months of Age

In the first 2 to 3 months, infants learn to regulate physiologically and need smooth routines. They progressively know how to calm themselves, give a responsive smile, and respond to gentle calming.

4 to 5 Months of Age

Sensitive cooperative interaction with caregivers helps infants learn how to manage tension. Around 4 months of age, turn-taking conversations (vocalizations) begin. Infants then learn to manipulate the environment. They let their caregivers know whether taking away their toy upsets them or if they are happy when held. A sensitive but firm response from the caregiver helps infants manage emotional stress. They can recognize the primary caregiver by sight at around 5 months of age. 

6 to 12 Months of Age

In between 6 to 12 months effective attachment relationships establish with a responsive caregiver. Stranger anxiety emerges as infants distinguish between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Infants become mutually engaged in their interactions with caregivers and seek a caregiver for comfort, help, and play. They show distress upon separation. Around 8 months of age, joint attention skills develop. Infants look in the same direction as their caregivers and follow their gaze. Eventually, they look back at the caregiver to show that they share the experience.

12 to 18 Months of Age

Between 12 to 18 months, infants learn to explore their environment with support from a caregiver. By 12 months of age, proto-imperative pointing emerges; in other words, infants request by pointing at the object of interest and integrating it with eye contact between the object and the caregiver. Proto-declarative pointing follows at 16 months of age when children point with eye-gaze coordination to show interest. Around 18 months of age, children bring objects to show or give to the caregiver.

Around 12 months of age, the child takes part in interactive play like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. They use gestures to wave bye-bye and communicate their interests and needs. At around 15 months of age, empathy and self-conscious emotions emerge. A child reacts by looking upset when they see someone cry or feel pride when applauded for doing a task. The child imitates his environment, helps with simple household tasks, and explores the environment more independently.

18 to 30 Months of Age

Between 18 and 30 months, individuation (autonomy) emerges. The confidence in the child-parent relationship and continued firm parenting help the child face environmental challenges on his own more persistently and enthusiastically. The child's temperament manifests itself more, and they are aggressive and reserved or friendly and cooperating. Around 18 to 24 months, they learn to pretend-play, such as talking on a toy phone or feeding a doll and playing next to or in parallel with another child. they may imitate other child's play and look at him but he cannot play in a cooperative, imaginative way with another child yet. During preschool years, they learn to manipulate their subjective emotions into a more socially accepted gesture. He uses a "poker face", and exaggerates or minimizes emotions for social etiquette. For example, they say thank you for a present he didn't like. The child refers to himself as "I" or "me," and possessiveness, "mine," and negativism "no" emerge.

30 to 54 Months of Age

Between 30 and 54 months, impulse control, gender roles, and peer relationship issues emerge. A caregiver plays a major role in helping preschoolers define values and learn flexible self-control. Testing limits on what behaviors are acceptable and how much autonomy they can exert is an expected phenomenon. Thoughtful parenting with a balance between setting limits and giving choices successfully establishes a child's sense of initiative and decreases anxiety from guilt or loss of control. At 30 months, pretend play skills emerge, and the child shows evidence of symbolic play, using an object as something different, like pretending a block to be a telephone or a bottle to feed a doll. The play scenarios become more complex with themes and storylines. By 3 years of age, the child engages more in interactive play, masters his aggression, and learns cooperation and sharing skills. They can play with 1 or 2 peers, with turn-taking play and joint goals. Imaginative and fantasy play begin by pretending to be a cat, and role-play skills develop. The child, however, cannot yet distinguish between reality and imagination, and it is common to be afraid of imaginary things. They master this skill to differentiate between real and imaginary around 4 years of age. They enjoy playing tricks on others and are worried about being tricked themselves. Imaginary scenarios and play skills are developing and becoming more complex. They can play with 3 to 4 peers, with more complex themes and pretend skills.

5 and 6 Years of Age

At 5 and 6 years of age, the child can follow simple rules and directions. They learn adult social skills like giving praise and apologizing for unintentional mistakes. They like to spend more time in peer groups and relate to a group of friends. Imaginative play gets more complex, and he likes to play dress, and act out his fantasies.

7 and 8 Years of Age

At 7 and 8 years of age, the child fully understands rules and regulations. They show a deeper understanding of relationships and responsibilities and can take charge of simple chores. Moral development furthers, and he learns more complex coping skills. At this age, a child explores new ideas and activities, and peers may test his beliefs. Children identify more with other children of similar gender and find a best friend in common.

9 and 10 Years of Age

At 9 and 10 years of age, peer and friend groups take precedence over family. Children at this age show increasing independent decision-making and a growing need for independence from family. Parents can use responsibilities and chores to earn time with friends. A positive, nurturing relationship with a caregiver with praise and affection and setting up a reasonable balance between independence and house rules builds self-confidence and self-assurance. Promoting supportive adult relationships and increasing opportunities to take part in positive community activities increases resilience.

Greater independence and commitment to peer groups drive the transition to adolescence. This includes indulging in risky behavior to explore uncertain emotions and impress peer groups. Social interactions include complex relationships, disagreements, breakups, new friendships, and long-lasting relations. Normally adolescents learn to cope with these stresses with healthy adult relationships and guidance to make independent decisions. As young adulthood approaches, school success and work-related activities become important. For a healthy transition to adulthood, positive and supportive adult guidance and opportunities to take part constructively in the community play a pivotal role.

• Issues of Concern

The inability to reach age-appropriate milestones can be a manifestation of psychosocial disturbance and needs further exploration. Examples of early childhood social-emotional disturbance include autism, reactive attachment disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder, bullying, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others.

• Clinical Significance

A failure to follow the expected trajectory of social-emotional development can lead to undetected mental and emotional health problems. Adverse childhood experiences can alter development significantly. Thus, alongside screening for child development, actively screening for family dysfunction and supporting families in establishing a healthy, nurturing environment is vital. By having a thorough knowledge of developmental pathways and adverse childhood experiences, and having a close follow-up established with families in the medical home, pediatricians and medical professionals are in a prime position to identify risk factors and developmental delays timely.

Medical professionals taking care of children should begin with identifying and addressing the family's concerns, asking open-ended questions regarding social-emotional milestones, and intentionally observing parent-child interaction and the child's interaction with the environment, including themselves. While examining the patient, they should observe age-appropriate developmental interaction.  should give teenagers the opportunity to engage in health visits in a private and safe environment without a caregiver. Also, should be able to address questions about parenting advice. These include advice on temper tantrums and defiant behaviors, child care and preschool guidance, referring to parent training management when appropriate, and counseling on temperament differences and "goodness of fit" models. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents emphasize active screening for developmental delays and environmental risk factors on top of clinical surveillance. This includes the use of standardized screening tools for social-emotional development and for environmental risks appropriate to the risk level of the population you serve. Environmental risk factors should include caregiver and family functioning, caregiver mental health, socio-economic stress, refugee or immigrant status, safety concerns, caregiver drug addiction, etc. AAP recommends screening for autism spectrum disorder at both the 18- and 24-month health supervision visits, and whenever concerns are raised. When using screening tests, one should be cognizant of some potential limitations including the inability to administer and score the screening tool correctly, using it as a diagnostic tool, failure to incorporate other available clinical data, and using a linguistic or culturally inappropriate tool. [5]  

If screening identifies any risk factor or delays, it should always follow with further assessment and evidence-based interventions. Screening for maternal depression, especially during the first year of childbirth, is important. Identifying and intervening for maternal depression early on can avoid attachment and social-emotional problems in the child later. With clear delays in social and language development, it is important to initiate services even before a confirmed diagnosis, as early intervention is the key. If the child is younger than 3 years should be referred to local early intervention services. A child 3 years of age or older should be referred to their school district. Anticipatory guidelines should include evidence-based strategies for age-appropriate behavioral interventions, such as the management of temper tantrums for toddlers. Implementing the use of developmental screening tools in clinical practice has shown an encouraging trend though still, a wide gap in practice remains. [6]  Practices that have successfully established screening are struggling with coordinating referrals and monitoring progress. [7]  We need further research to identify barriers to the use of standardized tools and the coordination of services and interventions.

Standardized Screening Instruments

Caregiver functioning

• Adverse Childhood Experience Score
• Parenting Stress Index-Short Form
• Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale
• Patient Health Questionnaire-2
• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening
• Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale                                        
• Carey Temperament Scales

Infancy to early childhood

• Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional 
• Survey of Well-Being of Young Children
• Communication and Symbolic-Behavior Scale
• Developmental Profile, Infant Toddler Checklist
• Brief Infant-Social Emotional Assessment

Early childhood to adolescence

• Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist
• Pictorial Pediatric Symptom Checklist

Multidimensional

• Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment
• Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training ( NCAST) Parent-Child Interaction Feeding and Teaching Scale
• Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment
• Behavior Assessment Scale for Children Second Edition
• Connors Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales
• Child Symptom Inventories-4
• Vanderbilt Parent and Teacher Assessment Scales

Single-dimension attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder

• Conners Third Edition
• Attention Deficit Disorders Scale
• Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales

Single-dimension anxiety or depression

• Beck Youth Inventories

(Adapted from Duby JC, Social and Emotional Development. In: Voigt RG, Macias MM, Myers SM, eds. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2011:241–248)

• Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

Optimal child growth and development need to orchestrate enhanced communication between the pediatrician/primary care provider and various medical specialties, including but not limited to the mother's obstetrician, nursery or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams, nursing staff, psychology, psychiatry, child life, and social work. Twenty percent to 25% of children seen in primary care clinics experience social-emotional problems that are clinically significant. Access to mental health services, parenting classes, and education is limited due to stigmatization, cost, and availability. In 2004, the AAP organized a Task Force on Mental Health to enhance identification and intervention for social-emotional problems in primary care pediatric practice. One of the key findings in its report was having integrated models of care with collaboration with psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and others in the community to formulate a comprehensive care plan. 

With help from other professionals, primary care practice should be able to put together a list of clinical and family concerns, coach the family on self-management techniques, and create a resource list including professionals involved in care, community partners available to the family and child, and treatment goals and strategies. [8]  Building a comprehensive system of care with a focus on prevention and early intervention can address the unmet needs of social-emotional development and behavioral problems in children. To achieve such a system, it is imperative to establish training models with an integrated system of care. Such a model will encourage and train professionals to collaborate mutually to prevent, identify, consult, educate, and plan treatment for patients. [9]

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Disclosure: Raman Marwaha declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

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• Cite this Page Malik F, Marwaha R. Developmental Stages of Social Emotional Development in Children. [Updated 2022 Sep 18]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-.

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Emotional Development in Children

How it works

Emotional development is a complex process beginning in childhood and continuing into adulthood. Joy, anger, sadness, fear and surprise are the first emotions that can be recognized in babies. Later, as children develop a sense of self, more complex emotions emerge, such as jealousy, empathy, embarrassment, pride, shame, and guilt. This sense of self and the emotional capacity it produces generally occurs at some point after 18 months of age (Santrock, 2016).

There are many things that influence the way a child expresses their emotions through both words and behavior.

Some of these influences can be: family values and beliefs about appropriate and inappropriate ways emotions are expressed (learned primarily from parents but also family, peers, teachers, and other adult figures in the child’s life). How well the emotional needs of a child are met, general temperament of a particular child, and learned emotional behaviors from observation. Family stressors can also play into these factors (Santrock, 2016).

In chapter 10 crying is specifically covered; it’s explained that an infant’s cry can indicate multiple causes. Often, caregivers can distinguish their infant’s cries. I have found this to be true in my own experiences; I know when a cry means hurt feelings, injury, or anger. One important aspect of emotional development is having caregivers that model healthy emotion regulation. I’m in a unique position to understand the ramifications of learned emotional behavior that is unhealthy. I grew up with an absent parent who engaged in frequent emotional outbursts. As a consequence, I have always struggled with emotion regulation. Although it’s been a work in progress for many years it’s likely that my own emotion regulation deficits would affect my children as these family values, beliefs, and habits can spread across generations.

I have seen first-hand the all too familiar anger outbursts from my 7-year-old daughter. Rather than ask for help, my daughter is prone to explosive tantrums in which she will break things and then cry that she broke them. Both the explosive rage and immediate intense regret indicate a problem regulating emotions. With a lot of talking and therapy things have improved for my daughter who, albeit a little late, can successfully identify most of her emotions and chooses to ask for help before reacting. One factor other than observational/modeled learning that could have had an impact was too little response to her emotions; crying, specifically. Many people and even researchers have believed that being too responsive to an infant’s cries can reward the behavior thereby increasing it.

After a long era of ‘cry it out’ and ‘self-soothing’ latest research on the topic finds that emotionally responsive parents produce more emotionally healthy children (Vanderbilt University, 2017). I was a cry it out parent who believed children needed to learn to self-sooth. Combine that belief with subconscious tendencies to avoid big emotions in myself and in others, and we have the perfect storm for developing emotional dysregulation. On the flip side, with my second child I was an older (wiser) mother who consistently responded to cries. I had the awareness to make a concerted effort to validate and ‘name’ emotions. While my son has more developmental challenges than my daughter (both Autistic) interestingly, his emotional development has been much more on par with average children.

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Emotional Development in Children. (2021, Nov 20). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/emotional-development-in-children/

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"Emotional Development in Children," PapersOwl.com , 20-Nov-2021. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/emotional-development-in-children/. [Accessed: 28-May-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2021). Emotional Development in Children . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/emotional-development-in-children/ [Accessed: 28-May-2024]

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