Affective Development

Affective Development

Affective development describes how children behave and feel. Social competence, emotional character, and personality develop in highly individualized patterns influenced by the interplay of nature (biological processes) and nurture (environmental influences). Over time and as children acquire language, their affective responses become less outwardly focusedon physical needs (e.g., crying when hungry, tired, or wet)and more internally focusedon emotional motivations such as pride, guilt, and wanting to belong. An ethic of sharing, caring, and moral reasoning develops as children gradually gain the ability to consider multiple perspectives and adapt to various forms of authority. Theories from many branches of psychology inform our understanding about the development of ego, personality, identity, empathy, and morality in young children (Charlesworth, 2004; Levine & Munsch, 2011) and lead to the different approaches that teachers use to guide children to function in socially acceptable ways.