Emotion Development in Context

This chapter demonstrates the importance of examining emotional-development processes as the embodiment of social context. Context is defined broadly, including the ways that the body and the self operate as key contexts for emotional development as well as interactional, institutional, and cultural contexts that help to shape how individuals learn and master the complexities of emotional experience and its management. The chapter illustrates the complementary yet diverse ways that theoretical traditions have conceptualized and measured emotional development in context, along with the ways in which these efforts may best advance. The argument presented centers and broadens “context” to demonstrate the varied and interconnected implications of contemporary social theory and measurement related to emotional development.