Development of Emotions and Emotion Regulation

The first book to examine emotional development from birth to adulthood, Development of Emotions and Their Regulation fills in significant gaps in the literature by integrating major developmental theories of emotion with robust research on emotion regulation in adults. Noted German psychologists Holodynski and Friedlmeier have written a work that takes on dominant theories such as the desomatization of emotion as people attain maturity, as well as more recent contextual models of emotional growth.

The authors define emotion in terms of attendant expression, feeling, and physical reaction, and describe its development in terms of both universal and culture-specific contexts. This trajectory is characterized first by the origination of emotions and later the move from interpersonal to intrapersonal emotion regulation, including:

- Processes that occur during emotional development, starting with infancy

- Links between children’s emotions and communication strategies

- The key role of caregivers’ communication in the child’s emotional development

- How emotions become nuanced and individualized during the school years

- The intricate relationship between emotional development and emotion regulation as the person reaches adulthood.

Surprising and often startling in its conclusions, Development of Emotions and Their Regulation is sure to spark controversy among students, researchers, and practitioners in the developmental field. It may also signal a paradigm shift in the making.