Abstract
This book is about emotion, emotion regulation and emotional development. The first part of the book reflects a long-term ambiguity in the theoretical concept of affective phenomena.
The focal point of this part is the conceptualization of the term 'affect' with regard to the other affective phenomena, emotion and mood respectively. The definition of 'affect' is substantially different from existing Czech terminology.
We define 'affect' in accordance with many authors as the necessary component of all affective processes, as a point in the continuum of an affective stream and the basic unit of all affective phenomena. Affective processes we consider as an umbrella term for a complex phenomenon like affect, emotion, mood, emotional episode, interpersonal attitude, sentiment, passion and so on.
We consider emotion as a figure that emerges in the affective ground as a complex reaction to the event that has meaning for an individual and is interpreted with respect to the experience, context, individual characteristic, and sociocultural environment of the individual. Contrary to the Czech tradition, emotions are viewed as only one type of affective phenomena with a relatively specific definitional framework.
The concepts of affect, emotion, and mood discussed in this chapter are contrasted, however, we have described where they overlap conceptually. The relationships of all affective phenomena are considered as interacting with a tendency to synchronize into one (for an individual typical) affective stream.
The first part of the book is also devoted to models and theories of emotions. Theories of so called basic emotion, cognitive approach to emotion, the prototypical theory of emotion and the social and cultural approach to emotion are discussed in this section.
We delineate several definitions of emotions and affect that are currently used in the field. We also specify self-conscious emotions and group emotions.
Two chapters are devoted to the function of emotions and to the question on how we can measure emotion and emotional experiences. The next part of the book concerns emotion regulation.
The functions, styles and social context of emotion regulation is explored, as are personality processes and individual and cultural differences in emotion regulation. Healthy and unhealthy strategies of emotion regulation are discussed.
The last chapter in this section is focused on the limits of emotion regulation research. Finally, the last part of the book is devoted to emotional development and emotion regulation across a lifespan.
In a few chapters from birth to old age we explain how the expression and experience of emotions and emotional regulation develop and change. The coordination between cognitive and affective processes is explored and stressed.
The aim is to show how changes in emotion experience and emotion regulation can announce progress in cognitive performance and development. Although the development of cognition is seen as completed in adolescence, emotions develop in particular with regard to the strategies of their regulation.
It is a process that is constantly in motion (one can never hear 'a click' signaling that it is finished), and whose objectives vary in accordance with the individual's development, his or her social role, the context and culture in which one lives, and the requirements that apply to it. Flexible and variable handling of environmental requirements in emotional regulation is increasingly seen as an adaptive advantage.
Greater attention has been paid to so-called negative emotions such as fear, anger, guilt or shame to highlight their irreplaceable meaning in the development of an individual. Emotions develop throughout life in accordance with social and cultural contexts one belongs to: we describe its development in terms of both universal and culture-specific contexts.
In conclusion, this book tries to explain how the dialogue between negative and positive emotions can be seen as a key to understanding the optimal development of an individual. Changes in emotion and emotion regulation of both positive and negative affective phenomena are often desirable indicators and starters of mental maturation and development