[xmca] Holodynski, The Internalization theory of emotions

[Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu>]

I'm only now getting around to reading the featured discussion article, the discussion of which has faded. I'm late to the ball, as usual.

The one thing I found very surprising is the sequence of development, which proceeds as follows:
Neonate
Infant
Preschooler
Child
Adult

The leap from child to adult is rather shocking to me as a former high school teacher (grades 14-18, roughly). What happened to adolescence, which is a major topic of developmental research and a time of tremendous emotional fluctuation, in part produced by hormonal changes but also the vicissitudes of the lives of the surrounding people who are also experiencing these changes? It's generally regarded as a critical life stage, but overlooked entirely here. This stage also includes what might be termed strictly biological changes (the ascent to puberty and the related hormonal changes) that don't fit with a strictly internalization theory of emotions.

Hormonal changes occur at other life stages as well, particularly for people experiencing pregnancy and other bodily changes.

So, in the midst of an informative article, I see a gaping hole that I think ought to be accounted for in any theory of emotional development.
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