The Identification of Five Core Domains and Seven Phases as a First Step Towards a New Theory of Socio-Emotional Development

Encouraged by the broad applicability of the primacy of emotional developmental age in addressing challenging behavior, we decided to construct and validate a new comprehensive model of socio-emotional development (SED) for the age range from 0 to 25 years. Guided by the premises of the Dynamic Systems Approach, this article outlines the initial phase of the construction process that focuses on the interactive processes underlying SED. We argue that SED results from the synergistic relationship between five core developmental domains, propelled by ongoing interactions between emotion, cognition, and social environment. These interactions take place in the form of regulated affective transactions within an attuned caregiver-child dyad, as well as within dialogues with the socio-cultural environment at a later age. After identifying seven developmental phases for the intended age range, we constructed a conceptual framework integrating phases and domains. Upcoming articles will describe how this framework forms the basis for the identification of core milestones, resulting in the construction of our intended theoretical model of SED.