The traffic light has been built with the intention of ordering traffic in large cities so that both pedestrians and motorists can coexist in a state of harmony. It is clear that human beings learn from stimuli that they understand throughout their lives, otherwise everything would be a great chaos. In turn, countless arguments, fights, abuse and important deregulations could arise that would endanger coexistence between people. The same thing happens with children who try to understand their feelings in situations that cause them high levels of discomfort, anxiety, anger and/or anguish. Given this, there is an effective methodology that tries to provide an answer to this type of difficulties.
In this Psychology-Online article we will provide you with information about the traffic light technique of emotions: what it is, how it works and how to work with it.
What is the traffic light of emotions
The traffic light of emotions is a technique that is used so that a person can regulate your emotions based on various signals. In general, this methodology is usually used in boys and girls so that they can identify the emotions they feel in certain situations. In more specific terms, this idea attempts to replicate the format of traffic lights on public roads through stopping, caution, and continuing conflictive moments that may arise.
From the intervention of the traffic light of emotions it is possible that control impulses that could cause disturbances in social gatherings. Its use is more frequent in children and children with difficulties and frustration.
How the traffic light technique of emotions works
Understanding the use of this methodology constitutes the possibility of intervening efficiently in cases of people who have difficulties and/or are in the process of learning to control their primary emotions, especially anger, which is the main feeling that should be worked on these cases.
Next, we will talk about how the emotion traffic light technique works:
- Red: represents the importance of stopping the appearance of anger due to a specific situation. In other words, this position’s main meaning is that a person should not act based on his impulses as a form of. In this sense, the color red is similar to the traffic signal related to the fact that cars must stop.
- Yellow: It is the signal of caution and warning against a problem that arises. From here, it becomes necessary to carry out a precise evaluation of the thoughts and emotions that predominate to understand various ways of acting. This color of the traffic light indicates that we must pay attention without stopping or continuing.
- Green: In the event that the person has found different alternatives to resolve a problematic situation, they can continue with the decision they have made since it does not represent an impulse based on an emotion. Green is also a traffic light symbol that tells us that it is now possible to continue driving.
Activities to work on the traffic light of emotions
In order to put this technique into practice, it is important to have resources to understand the correct operation that is carried out. Below we explain some activities to work on the traffic light of emotions:
emotional masks
Through the collection of faces that represent different emotions, such as happiness, sadness and anger, people are asked to identify what type of sensation what they see produces in them. After having specified this point, the person must describe the perception that he or she has about the mask that he has seen. In this way, it is possible to know when someone is feeling a certain emotion.
Finally, reference will be made to a specific situation in which that person has perceived the emotion identified in the mask. In the following article we explain to you.
Bingo of emotions
In this activity similar to the traditional bingo game, cards are distributed that have different faces with different emotions. Afterwards, emotions that correspond to each box on the cardboard are randomly drawn. The person who has managed to complete the entire board will win.
The purpose of this game is to make it possible to recognize each emotion as well as what to do about them.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Restrepo Garcés, CA, Saavedra Galvis, LT (2020). Self-regulation of emotions: a proposal for psycho-educational intervention in the educational institution “La Fontaine”. Cooperative University of Colombia, Faculty of Psychology.