Henri Wallon's contributions to affectivity in the learning process

Have you ever heard that good and bad memories affect a child's learning in different ways? For example, a caring educator, who pays attention to the child's every need, awakens positive memories and makes a beneficial contribution to learning, right?

At the same time, a very austere educator, who offends or is impatient when teaching, can have a negative effect, even creating learning blocks in the child. Both aspects are directly linked to the Henri Wallon's concept of affectivity and its link to development.

Who was Henri Wallon? Born in France in 1879, wallon argues that human development is linked to the environment in which the individual is immersed in cognitive, affective and motor aspects. The scholar does not intend to separate biological and social for considering the two complementary areas, especially with regard to reciprocal relations.

The concept of affection

Let's go back, quickly, to the example cited above. The stimulus or repulsion to learning was affected by external elements (look, volume of speech, shouting or incentives) and internal (fear, joy, security). As can be seen, these inner emotions have both a negative and a positive origin, right?

Such a human condition is what we call affectivity and, given the example, we can say that it does not only concern affection and love. The affectation, both good and bad, makes the individual react to such stimuli, which can compromise, in different ways, in their evolutionary process.

Scholars, such as Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, had already affirmed the importance of affectivity, but it was Wallon who dealt with the subject in depth. For him, emotions play a predominant role in development, because it is through them that the individual externalizes desires, desires and apathy.

That is, the child is born with biological resources that give him the ability to develop. However, it is the medium that will allow organic potential to develop. Thus, the scholar divides psychic life into three dimensions, namely affective, motor and cognitive. Such dimensions coexist and integrate.

In another practical example, we have a child ready to learn to speak. She has a mouth, vocal cords, and sensory devices that allow her to perform the act of speech, right? But if an adult scolds her when trying to babble her first syllables, a block will appear and the baby becomes afraid to speak.

However, on the contrary, if he is stimulated with praise and even impelled to try other words by his parents, speech development will be much greater. In addition to dividing psychic life, Henri Wallon separates development into five stages, which are listed below:

• impulsive-emotional: guides the child's first reactions at the first age when affectivity is predominant
• sensorimotor and projective: as the child evolves, his motor acts depart from the mental ones
• personalism: the individual begins to build his conscience from social interactions
• categorical: it is the moment when there is intellectual progress, that is, the development of the child's social and intellectual skills
• functional: very present in puberty and adolescence, it makes one notice the first outlines of the personality due to body changes resulting from hormones.

How is affection expressed?

According to Henri Wallon, the first year of life expresses affectivity with greater intensity. Through it, the baby expresses itself and interacts with people who, in turn, respond to such manifestations. However, affectivity is present at all stages of life and can be expressed in three ways:

• emotion: it is the first expression of affectivity and, normally, it is not controlled by reason. It's when we have the urge to hit someone who offends us, even though we know it's not the best attitude.
• feeling: it is the form of expression that already has a connection with the cognitive, that is, the individual manages to suffer what affects him.
• passion: the main feature is self-control. Remember the situation of hitting someone who offends you? With passion, the individual can "hold on".

Emotion is the most visible of expressions and can even be expressed through speech. With it, the individual manages to externalize what he feels, since birth. It is the first manifestation of the child's affective need, demonstrated when he cries or when he laughs.

Therefore, it is the dimension that gains the most prominence in Wallon's works and, also, the one that is most related to education. Through it, the educator can visualize when his student is enthusiastic about a certain dynamic and, at the same time, if another is apathetic or tired, being able to use this in his favor.

Relationship affectivity and development processes

The development process is governed by certain governing principles of learning principles. Even if in different proportions, these principles are the same in children and adults.

• From syncretism to differentiation

Syncretism is characterized by incompetence that, little by little, will be replaced by processes of differentiation. Learning begins with syncretism and gradually moves on to the next stage.

• Imitation

It is the instrument through which children and adults initiate the learning process when exposed to new situations.

• Reception

The feeling of security and belonging that a certain environment can provide to the child and also to the adult.

• Development of functional sets

The functional sets are composed of affective, cognitive and motor development. Each person has their rhythm, which must therefore be respected by corresponding activities.

• Conflicts

As we will see later, emotion is contagious, therefore, the behavior of the student and teacher can interfere in the dynamics of the class. Part of the teacher is the ability to resolve such conflicts.

How to use affectivity in education?

In the classroom, it is common to see students extremely excited and involved in activities. But, at the same time, the teacher detects those who are a little more apathetic and discouraged. The presence of this type of behavior may be a reflection of the educational environment itself, which is, or is not, stimulating and motivating.

Learning difficulties are a teaching problem, so their solution must focus on the teaching-learning relationship, without blaming one or the other. If affective needs are not satisfied, barriers are created for the process and, consequently, for the development of the student and the teacher.

The manifestation of affectivity is also contagious. Has he ever noticed that nervous parents and teachers make children and students nervous too? This happens because affectivity is a physical expression and, therefore, mobilizes the manifestation of the other, through the transmission of that feeling.

The relationship between affectivity and education is also related to the concepts of movement and intelligence. The first concerns motricity, the pedagogical character through the quality of the gesture and representation. For Wallon, the rigidity of schools should be adapted so that there is greater movement in the classroom.

As for intelligence, the scholar treats intellectual development in schools in a more humane way. This means that affectivity, movement and physical space must be placed on the same plane. What does that mean? That the educator can introduce pedagogical activities that explore notions of body, time and space.

In addition, it should encourage interpersonal relationships, respecting differences and building identity. These objectives can be achieved through activities that develop motor coordination, body and sensory perception, or even space-time orientation. Examples are:

• Kids songs
• puppets
• dramatization of children's stories and poetry
• exhibition of films, figures and slides
• sound pranks
• making identification badges and group dynamics

In short, it is necessary for educators to get to know their students and learn to deal with them through dialogue and the demonstration of affection (in its positive meaning). It is necessary to understand that the teacher's role is to mediate knowledge and, therefore, the way in which he relates to the student reflects on the absorption of his knowledge.

The educator must, then, absorb theories that help him in planning his relationship with the student, taking into account account their individual characteristics, the proposed activities and the context in which this relationship is built.