Review of Research Article: Sociocultural Context of Emotional Intelligence Development of 5-7 Year 0ld Children
Understanding Emotional Intelligence in Children
This research article written by Silakova Marina Mikhailovna and Zakharova Larisa Mikhailovna discusses the sociocultural development of the emotional intelligence of children who are aged between five and seven years old. The article is a peer-reviewed research article published in the Journal of Psychology and Cognition. Emotional intelligence is defined as an essential component of the life of a person. It affects the relationships a person develops, and it acts as a determinant of the emotional well being of the individual. According to the authors, there are two significant characteristics associated with emotional intelligence: the recognition and expression of emotions.
During the research on the topic, a study was done on children who were between five and seven years old who lived in both families and orphanages. The different settings provided the basis for the difference in the sociocultural context. The purpose of the research was to determine whether the upbringing of the children whether within a family or orphanage affected the emotional intelligence development of the children of the age under study. The research aimed at distinguishing any differences that exist in the emotional state of children brought up in an orphanage and those brought up by their parents. The socialization of the child’s emotional sphere can be connected to the mechanisms of emotional decentration and emotional synchrony.
According to the article, the emotional synchrony mechanism dominates children who are below three years, and at the age of five to seven the emotional decentration mechanism is followed during the emotional sphere of socialization. At the preschool age, there is a manifestation of specific emotional intelligence which is closely related to the particular features associated with this age within which the mental function development and socialization associated by the society’s culture the child is raised is based. The mechanisms are responsible for the emotional switch from oneself to others, and they determine the emergence of the different forms of social interactions such as sympathy and empathy.
Methodology
The research study involved a pilot survey which was conducted in Ulyanovsk, Russia in March 2017. There were two study groups involved both comprising of 30 children. One group consisted of 30 children who were aged between 5 and seven years who attended a kindergarten and another group of 30 children aged between 5 and seven years who lived in an orphanage. Emotional faces method was used during the study. The technique is designed to assess emotional state identification adequately. This technique is standard when working with children and teenagers. The emotional faces technique has stimulus material which has a series of images with emotional facial expressions.
The first image series consists of 3 contour images that express sadness, anger, and joy. The contour images use the spatial arrangement such as the eyebrows positioning and corner of the lips which are most ethological facial elements. The second series consists of 14 models for both boys and girls who have specific faces. The images have expressions such as fear, surprise, sheer joy, and resentfulness.
Study Results
Based on the results of the study, it is important to note that children who are raised in an orphanage scored higher indices of anger and joy while children who are raised in the typical family set-up scored higher indices of joy and resentment. The resentment of children brought up in a family can be related to an emotion that arises due to lack of empathy and understanding by adults. Children who live in families best reflect emotions that are related to social relations. From the results obtained it is evident that the description and distinction of emotions which is part of emotional intelligence for children between five and seven years old are dependent on the upbringing’s sociocultural experiment.
Work Cited
Silakova, Marina, and Zakharova Larisa. “Sociocutural Context of Emotional Intelligence Development of 5-7 Year Old Children.” Journal of Psychology and Cognition, vol.3, no. 1, 2018, pp. 6-10.
