Picture this: a vibrant early childhood learning environment, walls and tables adorned with colourful posters, flashcards, and even stones, all decorated with faces attempting to demonstrate intense emotions ranging from happiness to sadness to anger. In our digital age, emojis have also joined the ranks, becoming modern-day hieroglyphics, in an attempt to teach 'iEmotions' to this generation of digital natives.
Can we truly teach about emotions with emojis, or even photos of 'angry', 'sad', 'happy'?
Enter the fascinating world of affective neuroscience, with pioneers like Lisa Feldman Barrett leading the charge. Let's dive into the intriguing findings from this field and explore their implications on our pedagogy and curriculum decision-making in the early years.
Spoiler alert: We can’t teach emotions with emojis
Emojis aren’t faces – so we can’t use them to teach about facial expressions
This is the easiest point to argue, so let’s start here.
The human face, with its complex musculature, can form incredibly nuanced expressions. Emojis are mere symbols, and symbols that often fall short in capturing the complexity of our emotions. As educators, we must recognise that using emojis to teach emotions is akin to trying to describe a rainbow to someone using only black and white crayons.
The Many Faces of Emotions
Facial expressions are not universal translators of emotions. This second argument may cancel out the previous one anyway, all the while asking us to consider throwing out our facial expression / emotion flash cards and posters onto the collage trolley.
Facial expressions are inconsistent. The same emotion can be expressed differently among individuals, cultures, or contexts, and the same facial expression can imply different emotions (Barrett, 2017). For example, research tells us that we scowl less than 30% of the time that we are angry, a smile doesn't always represent happiness, nor does a frown always indicate sadness.
This variability means that relying solely on facial expressions to teach emotions can inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes and overlook the rich tapestry of human emotions.
Emotions are constructed, not innate
Emotions are not innate reactions to the world. An emotion is your brain’s creation of what your bodily sensations mean in relation to what is going on around you in the world. From sensory input and past experience, your brain actively constructs meaning and prescribes action, and sometimes that meaning is an emotion
This final argument draws from the theory of constructed emotions, which posits that emotions are not universally predefined but rather are constructed by our brains based on previous experiences and the current context (Barrett, 2017). This diverges from the classical view of emotions as innate, distinct states that are universally tied to specific facial expressions.
This brings us to the crux of the matter - emotions are not pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all experiences. They are unique, complex, and intricately woven by our brains based on our past experiences and current context. Therefore, teaching emotions using static, predefined symbols like emojis or photos of faces could inhibit children's ability to construct their own nuanced understanding of emotions.
A way forward: A Constructivist Approach to Teaching Emotions
So, how do we teach emotions in an early childhood learning environment? The answer lies in a constructivist approach that embraces the variability and context-dependent nature of emotions. This approach encourages children to explore and understand emotions through their own experiences, guided by thoughtful discussions and reflections. It's about helping them develop a rich emotional vocabulary that goes beyond the basics of 'happy', 'sad', and 'angry', and delves into the nuances of emotions like worry, loneliness, and embarrassment.
Emotional Granulation: The Art of Nuanced Emotion
Importantly, it’s crucial for children to develop a rich emotional literacy, including emotional granulation.
Emotional Granulation: According to Lisa Feldman Barrett, this term refers to the varying degrees of a single emotion that can be experienced, ranging from mild annoyance to intense rage in the case of 'anger’.
This granulation allows children to articulate their emotions with precision, giving them the tools to express themselves more effectively. Instead of knowing the emotion ‘sad’, they would also have the language to convey being worried, distressed, lonely, melancholy, hurt, and embarrassed.
The Phoenix Cups®: A Framework for Emotional Understanding
Furthermore, children need to learn about their needs underlying their emotions. Using The Phoenix Cups® as a framework provides a rich vocabulary for children to understand their needs for connection & belonging, safety & security, freedom & autonomy, mastery & self-competence, and fun & joy.
It is important to note that early childhood educators utilise the Phoenix Cups framework as a reference and a shared language to discuss curriculum decisions and pedagogy. This discussion is enriched by incorporating insights from humanistic psychology and positive psychology, as well as philosophy, by utilising the framework. The analogy of cups is a useful tool for adults and adolescents to conceptualise and discuss these needs.
However, when working with young children, we adapt our approach. Instead of using the cup analogy, we immerse children in the language of needs as outlined in the framework. For example, rather than referring to the "Freedom Cup," we teach young children about the concepts of freedom, autonomy, discovery, exploration, self-expression, liberty, and creativity (see more in Figure 1). This approach helps to foster emotional and needs literacy from a young age, equipping children with the language and understanding necessary to express and comprehend their own needs and emotions.
Figure 1
A Call to Action
As we continue to unravel the mysteries of emotions, it's imperative that our educational practices evolve in tandem. Embracing a constructivist approach to teaching emotions can pave the way for a generation of children with a profound emotional intelligence, equipping them with the tools they need to navigate the intricate emotional landscapes of human life. I invite you to wonder with me… is it wasting children’s time, insisting on them attending group time while we point to faces and teach ‘happy’, ‘sad’, or ‘angry’? More importantly, how are we going to pioneer new approaches together?
REFERENCES
Barrett, L. F. (2017). How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Barrett, L. F. (2020). Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Phoenix, S., & Phoenix, C. (2019). The Phoenix cups: A Cup Filling Story . Wellington Point: Phoenix Support Publishing.
Phoenix, S. (2022). Educator Toolkit for Behaviour. Wellington Point: Phoenix Support Publishing.