SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

OF HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS

Module 26:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
▪ At the end of the Module, you should be able to: describe the
socio-emotional changes in adolescents. describe how self-
image develops among teens. discuss causes and solutions
to socio-emotional problems of teenagers such as gender
and identity, autonomy and attachment, peer group,
friendships. Dating, juvenile delinquency, depression and
suicide. present an abstract of a recent research related to
socio- emotional development of adolescents. draw
implications of these socio-emotional developmental
concepts to high school teaching-learning and parenting.
INTRODUCTION:
▪During adolescence the teen develops social cognition
in the context of family structure, the school, the
community, and media. He also manifests emotions
which need to be regulated for success in school as
well as for his her own emotional well-being. In the
classroom, the teacher has the mandate for creating a
positive learning environment, while facilitating the
students' sound moral judgment. This Module will
describe the adolescent age trend in social behavior
as the student interacts with the school, the community
and the larger social environment.
ABSTRACTION:
HUMAN EMOTIONS
▪Generally emotions are commonly known as
human feelings that are manifested by varied
conscious or unconscious moods. A more
accurate description is that it is a subjective
reaction to internal or external stimulus that
involves physical change, action or appraisal.
Thus the child reacts to inner hunger for food
or comfort from surrounding environment.
▪The unique patterns of emotions are
(i) event that is strong or important
(ii) physiological changes in heart pulse rate,
brain activity, hormone levels and body
temperature
(iii) readiness for action often described as
"fight or flight"
(iv) dependence of the emotion on how the
stimulus is appraised or interpreted.
▪Biologists view that the part of the body
which controls emotional reactions is the
autonomic nervous system connected to
most of the glands and muscles in the
body. The system has two parts: the
sympathetic part which excites or arouses
and the parasympathetic part which
depresses body functions. These parts
coordinate for arousal or slowing down
amid the challenges of life.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
▪ Emotions function by focusing attention,
motivating and enabling the individual to face
a situation in life or withdraw and run away
from it. Positive emotions like interest and joy
motivate the individual to continue his/her
behavior. On the other hand, negative
emotions may cause withdrawal from what
may be perceived as bad or dangerous.
📌 For Charles Darwin there are six(6) basic
emotions, namely:
•interest •anger
•joy/happiness •disgust
•sadness •fear
Other scientists expanded the list to include
love, pride, hope, gratitude, compassion,
jealousy and anxiety.
 SOCIAL EMOTIONS
▪ Social emotions start to emerge as early as
the toddler years (15-24 months) comprised
by such feelings as envy, embarrassment,
shame, guilt and pride. Observable emotions
during these years may not be accurate, but
they can be a problem if not controlled. Even
among early learners, emotions affect
learning, since learners pay more attention to
things with emotional significance.
▪Emotions can also organize recall, such
that learners tend to remember details of
emotionally strong experiences. In time,
emotional competence can be developed
by the child and this means he/she gains
the ability to regulate emotions and
understand the emotions of other.
▪Girls are more skilled in regulating emotions, but they
are more likely than boys to be anxious, and twice as
likely to be depressed. Adolescent girls are more
likely than boys to have both negative and positive
interactions with family and friends...Adolescents
especially feel stress, usually from relationships with
parents, friends, sweethearts, also from pressure of
school work. Thus adolescents are stereotyped as
moody and negative, poor emotion control. Some
studies argue against stereotyping adolescents
pointing at other emotions among teens such as
feeling bored, tired, sleepy, social discomfort like
awkwardness and loneliness.
▪ Generally, adolescents are seen to tend to
emotions from social evaluation such as feeling
embarrassed when being looked at, also only
fairly happy most of the time. Other observations
are that most adolescents are not moody, while
some are frequently angry, anxious or sad. An
important lesson for high school teachers is:
you should not simply dismiss emotional
negativity as a normal phase, but should address
the needs of teenagers who are chronically
unhappy or moody.
 THE ADOLESCENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA
▪On the present-day profusion of media, the adolescent
has easy access to the culture of various media and
social media, inclusive of computers, cell phones, video
games, music iPods, FM radio and cable television.
Almost all household have television sets and about
three- quarters of adolescents’ homes have access to
the Internet. The total media exposure of the whole
populace has greatly increased, even as adolescents
have the highest rates of use of video games, texting,
social networking through Facebook, and portable
gadgets for music, mobile communication and virtual
reality games.
▪ Findings indicate that electronic communication
negatively affects adolescents' social development.
As face-to-face communication is replaced, social
skills are impaired sometimes leading to unsafe
interaction with those who use social media to
exploit others financially or sexually. Girls are
particularly vulnerable to online socializing, while
boys socializing in Internet cafes lower their
academic work and achievement. Socially insecure
teens become victims rather than beneficiaries of
the modern gadgets innovations of the digital age.
IMPLICATION TO ADOLESCENT CARE EDUCATION AND
PARENTING
▪ The overall implication is that emotional skills influence the
adolescent learner’s success in class work. Learners who are
able to regulate their emotions tend to be happier, better liked
and better able to pay attention and learn. Interventions by the
teacher and the school can reduce learner’s emotional distress,
while raising test scores and grades. The teacher plays a most
important role in promoting positive changes for the
adolescent. As the teen is susceptible to peer pressure, the
negative influence of social media, drug use and addiction,
early romantic sexual adventurism, the teacher and the school
can conduct interventions to assist the youths with focus on
risky and inappropriate behavior while promoting positive
development among adolescents.
 THANK YOU !!
Reporter: Templado, Kaye S. & Marturillas, Aldrin