ArticlePDF Available

Critical Positive Masculinity

DOI:10.4471/MCS.2013.28
Authors:
Tim Lomas at Harvard University
Tim Lomas
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

Although theorists like Connell (1995) have emphasised diversity in men and masculinities, there remains a tendency to present masculinity in singular terms as an assemblage of toxic traits, constructing men as ‘damaged and damage doing’ (Mac an Ghaill & Haywood, 2012). However, an emergent body of work suggests men are able to resist or define traditional norms to negotiate a more ‘positive’ construction of masculinity, e.g., conducive to health. Thus the present article makes the case for introducing a new perspective within the study of men and masculinities: Critical Positive Masculinity. Influenced by the field of positive psychology, this perspective draws together work showing the potential for men to find more constructive ways of doing masculinity, including a series of articles on men adopting new masculine practices through involvement with meditation. However, drawing on the Critical Studies on Men approach, the new perspective still seeks to problematize men and gendered power relations, as even ostensibly ‘positive’ forms of masculinity can have deleterious consequences for marginalised groups. Critical positive masculinity offers a fresh perspective that is neither fatalistically negative nor naively optimistic about the possibility for positive change in men.
Content uploaded by Tim Lomas
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Tim Lomas on Apr 30, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Instructions for authors, subscriptions and further details:
http://mcs.hipatiapress.com
Critical Positive Masculinity
Tim Lomas1
1) University of East London
Date of publication: June 21st, 2013
To cite this article: Lomas,T. (2013). Critical Positive Masculinity.
Masculinties and Social Change,2(2), 167-193.doi: 10.4471/MCS.2013.28
To link this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.4471/MCS.2013.28
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
The terms and conditions of use are related to the Open Journal System
and to Creative Commons Non-Commercial and Non-Derivative License.
... Foremost, there has been a steady stream of and affirmation for men's strength-based disclosures of their illness vulnerabilities in the form of public testimonials (Carless & Douglas, 2008;Hanna & Gough, 2016;Riessman, 2003). There have, however, also been claims of men's patriarchy-driven motivations for faking vulnerabilities (McElroy, 2022) amid critiques that such disclosures are mere props for grand resilience narratives (Jordan & Chandler, 2019;Lomas, 2013). Interestingly, long-standing feminist critiques assert men's stoicism, and resistance to feeling and/or expressing vulnerabilities are similarly driven by their desires to control others (McQueen, 2017). ...
... Here, McElroy (2022) argued that men's fake vulnerabilities were manipulative in continuing the patriarchal project. On a continuum of critiques, there were also assertions that men's vulnerability disclosures are mere props for their grand resilience narratives (Jordan & Chandler, 2019;Lomas, 2013). That is, the revered manly "good fight" (Halpin et al., 2009) and gritty self-reliance narratives (Hutchinson & Kleiber, 2000) have been questioned as reinforcing hegemonic masculinities where men courageously contest and/or conquer their vulnerabilities. ...
... Asserting his need and rights to re-establish his erectility and sexual prowess, Arthur's objection masculinity reflected reliance on erection, penetration, and climax-sexual performativity synonymous with hegemonic masculinities (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Men's specific vulnerabilities can draw judgments (and defenses) about the gendered motivations for addressing some deficits (Lomas, 2013). More generally, Arthur's resilience for contesting his marginalizing loss was in line with men's most often-told illness vulnerability story, wherein vulnerabilities summon men's masculine strength for contesting and ideally combating marginality, as previously reported by Jordan and Chandler (2019). ...
Connecting Masculinities to Men’s Illness Vulnerabilities and Resilience
Article
Men’s illness vulnerabilities and resilience are two predominant and regularly linked constructs in the masculinities and men’s health literature. There has been a steady stream of men’s strength-based vulnerabilities in the form of illness testimonials amid critiques that such disclosures are mere props for bolstering patriarchal power. The current article presents secondary analyses of case studies with four participants who took part in wide-ranging qualitative health studies to detail diverse connections between masculinities and men’s illness vulnerabilities and resilience. Prostate cancer–related vulnerabilities feature in the first case study where Arthur’s resilience for reclaiming his erectile function post-prostatectomy mobilizes an objection masculinity contesting his marginality. In the second case study, Chuck’s vulnerabilities are conceded as permanent flowing from his severe mental illness, a positionality situating resilience as obligatory for his survival. Here, Chuck embodies a resignate masculinity that accepts but works to manage the harms of his subordinate status. In the aftermath of his young son’s suicide, Jack laments that he did not model vulnerabilities. Resilience for understanding his loss influences a reimagined masculinity where Jack contemplates changes to gender norms for his and other men’s lives. Lastly, Sami replaces maladaptive actions for dousing vulnerabilities incurred through a partner-initiated separation with resilience for self-growth. Aspiring progress masculinity, Sami deconstructs his emotions and behaviors to positively change how he shows up as a man, father, and partner. The case studies reveal connections between objection, resignate, reimagined, and progress masculinities and men’s illness vulnerabilities and resilience to advance empirical, gender theory and methodological insights.
View
... Also reported as central to men's uptake of professional help to overcome depression and reduce suicide risk were their desires to fulfil idealized masculine protector and provider roles for their partner and/or family (Oliffe et al., 2012). Many men view mental health services and supports as important platforms for maintaining healthful intimate partner relationships, which Lomas (2013) and Macdonald (2011) suggest reflects men's salutogenic practices and strength-based help-seeking. However, Lorenzetti et al. (2021) cautions that most men do not know where to turn for help. ...
... The themes and supporting quotes depict men's lives and demonstrate an array of masculine patterns and practices. Connell's (2005) masculinities framework, inclusive of salutogenic approaches (Lomas, 2013;Macdonald, 2011) along with the work of Giddens (1991;1992) were used to further conceptualize and theorize the findings. Using these processes our analyses were interpretive as well as documentary (Braun & Clarke, 2019). ...
... Re-conceptualizing and operationalizing men's mental health promotion as legitimately including self-help, informal resources and facilitated male peer group services can norm and bolster men's diverse help-seeking preferences and practices. In line with Lomas (2013) and Macdonald's (2011) work the current study indicated that men's help-seeking deeply relied on their active agency, and the wide-ranging help men engaged both reflected and bridged their self-directedness for effectively managing their mental health and future relationships. The caveat to this of course is that men's help-seeking needs to be summoned earlier, ideally as requisite for building relationships and preventing or reducing the injurious effects that flow to and from distressed and disrupted partnerships. ...
Masculinity and mental illness in and after men's intimate partner relationships
Article
  • Jan 2022
Male suicide continues to be a significant issue worldwide for which there are a myriad of social risk factors. Amongst these, distressed and/or disrupted (i.e., separation, divorce) intimate partner relationships are known to heighten men's mental illness and suicide risk. The current qualitative study offers novel insights to the connections between masculinity and mental illness in and after men's intimate partner relationships. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 47 Canadian and Australian men, three themes were inductively derived: 1) The trouble inside, 2) Breaking up and breaking down, and 3) Finding help. The ‘trouble inside’ results revealed relationship transitions wherein challenges to couple dynamics flowed from diverse life course events (conflict, illness, bereavement, co-parenting). Partnership transgressions (most often infidelity) also featured to heighten men's mental illness vulnerabilities and threaten the feasibility of the relationship. ‘Breaking up and breaking down’ chronicled participants' anxiety, depression and suicidality in the aftermath of their relationship ending. Herein, substance use and other maladaptive behaviours were used by men to blunt feelings and/or self-medicate mental illness. These strategies were ineffectual for moving on from blaming partners or grieving the loss of support and social connectedness provided by ex-partners. ‘Finding help’ included men's eventual self-help, uptake of informal assistance from friends and family, formal professional care services, and the use of facilitated male peer group resources. Norming the use of these diverse help resources were men's alignments to strength-based asset-building masculine ideals, wherein their help-seeking was bridged to, and reflective of their (albeit latent) self-reliance and commitment to better managing their mental health and future relationships. Highlighting the gendered dimensions of mental illness in men's intimate partner relationships, the current study also thoughtfully considers content and contexts for the delivery of tailored upstream suicide prevention programs focussed on men building better relationships.
View
... The Tangible 'to do's' in and after a relationship findings add to a growing body of work which highlights some men's preference for action-oriented strategies for mental health promotion [40,41]. In the context of relationships, strategies such as relaxation and stress reduction techniques (meditation, mindfulness) have emerged as feasible in men's mental health when brokered as positive enactments of masculinity [42]. Herein, men's 'to do's' involved strength-based tasks that are actionable and measurable wherein the drivers are health benefitsrather than illness consequences. ...
Working with men in the context of distressed and disrupted intimate partner relationships: A qualitative study
Article
Objective: To describe key considerations for working with men experiencing distressed and disrupted intimate partner relationships. Methods: Individual Zoom interviews were conducted with help-seeking men (n = 25) who had experienced an intimate partnership break-up, and health service providers (n = 30) working with men in the relationships space. Interpretive Description methodology was used to generate considerations for working with men in distressed and disrupted relationships. Results: Three thematic findings were inductively derived; 1) A whole life approach for deconstructing relationships, wherein men engaged in discussions about their broader experiences and circumstances within the context of intimate partnerships; 2) Affirming men's relationship emotions and vulnerabilities as normative and changeable, comprising coaching for embodying transformative masculinities; and 3) Tangible 'to do's' in and after a relationship, outlining men's present and prospective self-work with action-oriented strategies. Conclusion: Strategies tailored to men's receptivity and needs can increase connection with professional services and providers to bolster the mental health of men in and after disrupted intimate partner relationships. Practice implications: With men increasingly accessing professional mental health services, the present study offers key considerations and recommendations regarding assessment, communication, and treatment for health service providers working with men in the relationships space.
View
... Salazar et al., 2020), which aims to explore discourses of nonviolent forms of masculinity or what we term positive masculinity. Positive masculinity refers to the alternatives to hegemonic masculinity that promote more inclusive, empathetic, caring, and egalitarian forms of manhood (Lomas, 2013). The Positivmasc project aims to explore and promote forms of nonviolent masculinity among young men in Sweden, Ireland, Israel, and Spain. ...
II Congreso internacional sobre masculinidades e igualdad: Educación para la igualdad y co(educación).
Book
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
Libro resultante de las intervenciones seleccionadas y presentadas en las distintas mesas científicas durante el II Congreso Internacional sobre Masculinidades e Igualdad: Educación para la Igualdad y Co(educación), realizado entre los día 20 y 22 de octubre de 2022, organizado por el Observatorio de las Masculinidades y el Grupo de Investigación Economía, Cultura y Género (ECULGE), con la colaboración de la Unidad de Igualdad y el Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudios de Género de la Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH) y el Ayuntamiento de Elche.
View
... Classically, hegemonic masculinity describes a social power dynamic wherein a certain "ideal manliness" is given power, and dominant groups assert and perpetuate this ideal through the enforcement of certain social norms that implicitly require the preservation of existing power structures. However, when these terms are used indiscriminately, it typically leads to a narrow definition of men that excludes the natural diversity in a population as well as more subtle or ambivalent forms of gender biases that must be understood contextually before they are judged (Lomas, 2013). Within critical masculinity scholarship in India, scholars have found fault with the narrow view of hegemonic masculinity as it concentrates too much on sexual behaviors and gender stereotypes as the primary determinants of hegemonic ideals (Duncanson, 2015;Sekharan, 2019). ...
Men’s Experience of Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality: A Phenomenological Study in Kerala, India
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2022
One of the more significant challenges toward achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is in overcoming the resistance of other members in the community, especially men, to social change. So often, men have stood as the gatekeepers of such change as they hold positions of authority and control over both public and domestic spaces. Men therefore have abundant influence on gender norms, and by extension on the measure of success of a women’s empowerment intervention. Unfortunately, conventional program strategies have not accounted for men’s support or rejection of new social behaviors, nor included mechanisms to inspire positive changes in men as well as empower women. This is largely because there is a lack of research on how men perceive women’s empowerment, how these perceptions form, and the factors that influence a decision-making calculus in determining whether or not men will support such social changes. This paper takes up this issue and presents the findings of a descriptive phenomenological study of the experiences of men whose wives recently graduated from a women’s empowerment project. The structure of their experience is explored using phenomenological analysis methods, and a set of important themes are defined that can be used to improve future interventions in a similar context. Notable themes identified include men’s ability to acknowledge injustices faced by women and the level of understanding of and beliefs around women's role in society. This approach is a promising practice that can serve other contexts where similar challenges are faced.
View
... Tramas íntimas y políticas en la articulación de masculinidades alternativas Intimate and political plot in the articulation of alternative masculinities En este sentido, el campo de análisis se expande al considerar no sólo la subjetividad masculina que se considera como problemática. Permite abordar la otra cara de la moneda, la posibilidad de encontrar en los desajustes y resistencias las formas críticas y positivas de los procesos de subjetivación alternativos (Lomas, 2013). Dentro de la creciente tendencia a comprender la masculinidad como objeto de análisis, investigación e intervención, el reconocimiento de las formas problemáticas de la masculinidad es crucial; no obstante, su exclusividad puede ser limitada. ...
Tramas íntimas y políticas en la articulación de masculinidades alternativas
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2022
Derivado de las reflexiones y avances teóricos del feminismo, la cuestión de las masculinidades ha adquirido gran relevancia en el campo de las ciencias sociales como objeto de indagación e intervención. Paralelo a este proceso, han ido proliferando la creación y acción de colectivos de hombres que se proponen de forma activa una deconstrucción de la masculinidad hegemónica y la erradicación de las brechas de género. El presente trabajo analiza la narrativa de hombres que participan de colectivos antipatriarcales. Los resultados dan cuenta de los elementos estructurales que componen las historias y de dos tramas que articulan las historias. Estas son la trama íntima y política. Se concluye que en el proceso de transformación de la masculinidad no solo está involucrado un proceso subjetivo de transformación, sino que una crítica a los contextos sociales y políticos se intersecta con la pregunta sobre las identidades de género.
View
Neoliberal Hegemonic Masculinity and McMindfulness: The Need for Buddhist Values and Principles in Mindful Masculinity Programs
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
This paper explores how certain Buddhist-inspired principles such as impermanence of self and compassion for all (metta) and the practice of mindfulness can contribute to challenging ways in which young men adopt troublesome aspects of systemic patriarchy. It (1) briefly examines the problem of systemic patriarchy in its most dominant forms, neoliberal hegemonic masculinity and right-wing racist authoritarian masculinity; (2) critically discusses examples of mindfulness education and counseling programs for young men that have been severed from their Buddhist origins (McMindfulness) that attempt to challenge young men around patriarchal beliefs and thoughts but end up reproducing neoliberal hegemonic masculinity; (3) briefly considers the problem of McMindfulness and its relation to Buddhism and neoliberal hegemonic and mindful masculinity; and (4) offers Buddhist perspectives as part of a counter-view that may serve within programs as an alternative to current forms of patriarchy while including and renewing the aforementioned Buddhist principles.
View
Organizing male infertility: Masculinities and fertility treatment
Article
  • Feb 2022
This paper explores how organizations within the fertility treatment sector in the UK discursively construct (cis) male infertility and whether, in so doing, they reinforce or reproduce prevailing institutionalized discourses and practices of masculinity. We seek to address the gender disparity in contemporary understandings of reproductive health in Organization Studies (OS) where women's experience of infertility and its impact is well researched, but only occasionally does this extend to issues of male infertility. Specifically, we build on existing literature in the social sciences and OS on male infertility and expand it by investigating the organizations that treat fertility issues. We examine and discuss how they may inadvertently contribute to this neglect, by reflecting and reproducing the masculine norms that surround male infertility. We employ a thematic analysis to examine texts produced by organizations involved in the fertility sector and find that male infertility is discussed and presented through three intersecting lenses: (a) a hegemonic masculinization of infertility; (b) male infertility as an othering experience; and (c) disembodied masculinity. We highlight how these gendered organizational narratives (re)produce prevailing norms and practices of masculinity, and how an organizational shift within the sector needs to take place if substantial changes toward more caring, relational, and collective approaches to gender and reproductive health are to be achieved.
View
Simulation-based learning strategy to enhance the learner-centered approach in Accounting during work-integrated learning
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Oct 2020
This paper examined the use of simulation-based learning to prepare accounting student-teachers on how to teach through the learner-centered approach during work-integrated learning (WIL). Accounting student-teachers are trained not only to transfer subject content knowledge and skills while studying to become accounting teachers. Instead, they are taught to assist learners in discovering new knowledge, skills and changed attitudes towards the subject. However, during WIL, accounting student-teachers are assigned to mentors that have an inadequate grounding in the learner-centred approach, thus leading the student-teachers to resort to the use of the traditional teacher-centred approach. Findings were reported on five accounting student-teachers placed in three schools for WIL, three experienced accounting teachers and an accounting subject advisor through Participatory Action Research (PAR). Classroom observations and Free Attitude Interviews (FAI) were used to generate data from the experience of student-teachers, and data were analysed and interpreted using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The findings reveal that simulationbased learning leads to effective learning as it provides a platform to practise the integration of a learner-centred approach in teaching accounting during WIL. Accounting student-teachers need continuous support in the integration of the learner-centred approach to cushion them from the adverse effects of falling behind in the contexts that require high skills.
View
The taste of compassion: Influencing meat attitudes with interhuman and interspecies moral appeals
Article
Full-text available
Consumers of meat products are generally shielded from the moral dissonance associated with the killing of livestock. Nonetheless, consumers increasingly look for ways to reduce or avoid meat in their diets due to concerns about individual health and the harmful global impacts of meat production. Campaigns that promote plant-based diets seek to facilitate such efforts by appealing to consumers' compassion, but the effects of such moral appeals on immediate food choice have not been studied. We review the literature on the psychology of meat consumption, its gendered associations in western cultural contexts, and test a compassion appraisal model for ethical food choice. In a longitudinal restaurant field study and three laboratory experiments, we investigate the effects of interhuman as well as interspecies compassion appeals on meat-containing vs. meatless food choices. Compassion mediates ethical food choices, but is moderated by denial of the harmful consequences of meat production. Threats to masculinity that are often associated with meat advertising increase men's likelihood to choose meat instead of a vegetarian option. Overall, results indicate that men are less amenable to reduce their meat consumption and that they evaluate vegetarian options as less palatable when exposed to compassion appeals. These effects were opposite for women. We discuss implications for meatless food products and for consumer well-being.
View
The Implications of Critical Studies on Men
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 1997
This article addresses the relationship of women's studies, gender research and men. In particular I ask the question: What are the implications of recent critical studies on men, for women's studies and gender research? I first outline some of the ways in which the social category of “men” has been taken for granted in the social sciences, and some of the broad features of critical studies on men. The implications of these studies are then examined, first in terms of the different political positions and discursive practices that may be adopted in studying men; second, the problematicizing and rethinking of research methods and methodologies; third, the kind of “results” of empirical research, and particularly the complexity of power relations; and fourth, the construction and possible transformation of academic disciplines ‐ including women's studies, traditional malestream disciplines, and interdisciplinary work. The article concludes with a brief discussion of issues that need future attention: the close monitoring of critical studies on men; the naming of men as men and the deconstruction of men; the transformation of the relationship of men's subjectivity and objectivity; and the specific areas of study that have been neglected. Examples from research on men's violence to women, and research on men in organizations and management are used throughout.
View
View
View
The Epidemiology of Depression among Women
Article
  • Jan 2006
Nonbipolar major depression is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study to be the leading cause of disease-related disability among women in the world today (Murray & Lopez, 1996). This conclusion is based on epidemiological data that have documented a high prevalence of major depression among women around the world in conjunction with estimates of disease burden based on expert judgements. This chapter reviews the epidemiological research that underlies the WHO GBD estimates as well as more recent epidemiological research on women and depression. The discussion begins with a review of basic descriptive epidemiological patterns and then turns to epidemiological evidence about the cause of the higher prevalence of depression among women than men. PREVALENCE The fact that women have a higher prevalence of depression than do men is one of the most widely documented findings in psychiatric epidemiology, having been found throughout the world using a variety of diagnostic schemes and interview methods (Andrade et al., 2003; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987). The prevalence of major depression among women in community epidemiological studies is typically estimated to be between one and a half and three times that of men, although there is enormous variation in the estimated total population prevalence of major depression across these studies. Lifetime prevalence estimates of major depressive episode range between 6 and 17%. Twelve-month prevalence estimates range between 1 and 10%. Current prevalence estimates range between less than 1 and 6%.
View
View
View
Behavioral Factors Associated with Disease, Injury, and Death Among Men: Evidence and Implications for Prevention
Article
  • Sep 2002
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
View
Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept
Article
  • Dec 2005
The concept of hegemonic masculinity has influenced gender studies across many academic fields but has also attracted serious criticism. The authors trace the origin of the concept in a convergence of ideas in the early 1980s and map the ways it was applied when research on men and masculinities expanded. Evaluating the principal criticisms, the authors defend the underlying concept of masculinity, which in most research use is neither reified nor essentialist. However, the criticism of trait models of gender and rigid typologies is sound. The treatment of the subject in research on hegemonic masculinity can be improved with the aid of recent psychological models, although limits to discursive flexibility must be recognized. The concept of hegemonic masculinity does not equate to a model of social reproduction; we need to recognize social struggles in which subordinated masculinities influence dominant forms. Finally, the authors review what has been confirmed from early formulations (the idea of multiple masculinities, the concept of hegemony, and the emphasis on change) and what needs to be discarded (onedimensional treatment of hierarchy and trait conceptions of gender). The authors suggest reformulation of the concept in four areas: a more complex model of gender hierarchy, emphasizing the agency of women; explicit recognition of the geography of masculinities, emphasizing the interplay among local, regional, and global levels; a more specific treatment of embodiment in contexts of privilege and power; and a stronger emphasis on the dynamics of hegemonic masculinity, recognizing internal contradictions and the possibilities of movement toward gender democracy.
View
Nicotine, alcohol and drug dependence and psychiatric comorbidity: Results of a national household survey
Article
  • Nov 2001
Background There is a well-recognised relationship between substance use disorders and other psychiatric disorders. This relationship has been well documented in a range of population-based studies. Aims This study aims to report on consumption patterns of and dependence on nicotine, alcohol and non-prescribed drugs and to report on the levels of psychiatric morbidity in these groups. Method A national household study of psychiatric morbidity was conducted in England and Wales. Psychiatric assessment was based on the Clinical Interview Schedule — Revised (CIS—R). Measures of nicotine, alcohol and drug use and dependence were obtained. This paper compares the levels of psychiatric morbidity in the non-dependent and the nicotine-, alcohol- and drug-dependent cases. Results Twelve per cent of the non-dependent population were assessed as having any psychiatric disorder compared with 22% of the nicotine-dependent, 30% of the alcohol-dependent and 45% of the drug-dependent population. Conclusions There is a clear relationship between dependence on nicotine, alcohol and drugs and other psychiatric morbidity.
View
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Chapter
  • Jan 1997
In recent years, innovative schools have developed courses in what has been termed emotional literacy, emotional intelligence, or emotional competence. This volume evaluates these developments scientifically, pairing the perspectives of psychologists with those of educators who offer valuable commentary on the latest research. It is an authoritative study that describes the scientific basis for our knowledge about emotion as it relates specifically to children, the classroom environment, and emotional literacy. Key topics include: historical perspectives on emotional intelligence neurological bases for emotional development the development of social skills and childhood socialization of emotion. Experts in psychology and education have long viewed thinking and feeling as polar opposites reason on the one hand, and passion on the other. And emotion, often labeled as chaotic, haphazard, and immature, has not traditionally been seen as assisting reason. All that changed in 1990, when Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence as a challenge to the belief that intelligence is not based on processing emotion-laden information. Salovey and Mayer defined emotional intelligence as the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use motivated scientists, educators, parents, and many others to consider the ways in which emotions themselves comprise an intelligent system. With this groundbreaking volume, invited contributors present cutting-edge research on emotions and emotional development in a manner useful to educators, psychologists, and anyone interested in the unfolding of emotions during childhood. In recent years, innovative schools have developed courses in “emotional literacy” that making; these classes teach children how to understand and manage their feelings and how to get along with one another. Many such programs have achieved national prominence, and preliminary scientific evaluations have shown promising results. Until recently, however, there has been little contact between educators developing these types of programs and psychologists studying the neurological underpinnings and development of human emotions. This unique book links theory and practice by juxtaposing scientific explanations of emotion with short commentaries from educators who elaborate on how these advances can be put to use in the classroom. Accessible and enlightening, Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence provides ample evidence about emotional intelligence as well as sound information on the potential efficacy of educational programs based on this idea.
View