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Means increased frequency and intensity of emotional experiences in relation to what is normal. Accompaniment of heightened emotionally: Is readily recognized by the behavior that characteristically accompanies it. It is an unpleasant one, marked by moods and rages which come and go with greater or lesser violence. If it is pleasant one the adolescent will be walking on clouds singing, offering to help people saying pleasant things to everyone. There is always some nervous tension accompanying heightened emotionally.
Causes of heightened emotionally:
Heightened emotionally may result from physical, psychological or environmental causes. Frequently more than one cause is operative.
- Physical causes: Glandular changes which are especially pronounced at puberty are generally accompanied by heightened emotionally. The maintenance of ‘homeostasis’ is difficult during a period of developmental change. Temporary upsets in endocrine balance before and during the menarche lead to greater nervousness and irritability. Apart from these the nutritional deficiencies, obesity, dwarfism, sexual abnormalities, unwed pregnancies, early marriages, lack of space between their children causes heightened emotionality in adolescence.
Emotional stress during puberty causes a temporary upset in the endocrine balance. Thyroid glands play an important role on emotions. A hyper active condition of these glands predisposes the child to more or less constant emotional tension, with the result he over reacts to all emotional provoking situations.
- Psychological causes: Intelligence and level of aspiration. If a child lacks the identity and skills to achieve the goals he has set to himself, he feels inadequate. Repeated failures result in emotional tension. Apart from these marital problems, inferiority complex, low achievement motivation, drug addiction, love failures, conflicting heterosexual relationships etc.
Parental Expectations: If parental expectations are beyond the child’s potentialities, the adolescent becomes upset. Cultural pressure to achieve success. Boys tend to set their levels of aspiration higher than girls. The result is that they experience more threats of failure.
- Environmental causes: The environment in which the child grows up plays an important role in his emotional experiences. Parents attitude also are responsible for child’s emotionally. These are more common if the parents neglect them, who are always at work for a large part of the day, who are over anxious. Conflicts between parents and children arising mainly from the adolescents desire to conform to his peer culture tend to increase the emotionality. Parental neglect, ses poverty, lack of proper health facilities etc.
The cultural expectations also contribute greatly to the frequency and intensity of his emotional experiences. Early in puberty parent- child conflicts reach their peak. These conflicts further exaggerate the physical causes of heightened emotionality. Mood swings are greatest; sulkiness and tendency to burst into tears are especially common. The irrational and intense worries about personal and social adequacy are common.
Effects of heightened emotionally:
- Homeostasis of body is upset.
- Predisposes to accidents.
- Decreases mental efficiency (memory, concentration and reasoning).
- Emotional tension results in rigidity, narrowing of the perceptual field and a decreased ability to respond to environment clues.
- Affects school work.
- Affects social adjustments directly because others judge him by the pattern of his behavior.
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