Section 2:1 Growth Patterns
53
Emotional
Development
Emotional development refers to the
ability to experience and express emotions. It
also involves the ability to control emotional
behaviors.
You have many emotions. During the teen
years, they are continually changing. Sometimes
you feel loved and accepted. You may feel
happy, excited, and successful when others give
you positive comments and encouragement.
They may laugh at your jokes and invite you to
become part of their group. This makes you feel
successful.
Then there are times when you feel insecure,
left out, and alone. You may think no one really
cares about you. At times like these, you may feel
depressed, discouraged, and unhappy.
Emotions usually arise from your interactions
with others. Understanding how your
brain responds to emotional stimuli in your
environment can help you understand your own
emotions. It can also help you understand how to
control your emotional responses.
Your Brain and Your
Emotional Responses
When you see an event, you process your
emotional reaction to it through the limbic
system first. The connections between the limbic
system and your actions or responses are fast. It
is designed to provide protection to your body.
However, in times when you are not in danger,
you still may react before your brain has even had
a chance to send a response to the cortex. Some
people call this brain pathway the low road. The
brain pathways in the low road travel from the
senses to the limbic system to the brainstem and
result in quick actions that people may regret later.
Learning to control your emotions and the
responses that go with them takes practice. This
means getting the high road to function. Some
people refer to the connections between the
limbic system and the thinking cortex as the high
road. This brain pathway is a little slower than the
low road, so it means you have to force yourself
to stop and think—just for a few seconds—so
the information has time to get to your thinking
brain. As you learn to think about what you are
feeling before you respond, you will have a more
controlled reaction.
2-5
To reach intellectual maturity, seek ways to use all eight of your intelligences.
The Eight Human Intelligences
Type of Intelligence Description Examples
Linguistic (verbal)
Using words; communicating
through language
Edit, interpret, speak, read
Logical (mathematical) Using math concepts, logic skills, or
abstract reasoning
Analyze, calculate, propose theories
Musical Using sounds to create meanings;
hearing patterns in sounds
Compose, harmonize, sing, play an
instrument
Spatial (visual) Perceiving images and transforming
them; recreating images from
memory
Draw, design, map, sketch, sculpt,
create fine art
Kinesthetic (bodily) Moving the body in highly skilled
ways
Dance, mime, use complex tools
skillfully, show athletic talent
Intrapersonal Understanding oneself Reflect, set goals, improve behavior
Interpersonal Relating to other people Persuade, motivate, teach, inspire
Naturalist Classifying and using features of the
environment
Observe, discover, cultivate, harvest,
hunt
Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University