Philosophy

 Emotions like every other aspect of the human behavior are or great influence to the learning process among all human beings. Various experts, more so psychologists have at one time or another conducted researches directed at unveiling the relationship between emotions and the capacity to learn. Almost all of these studies have found out that indeed emotions do play a vital role in influencing the capacity of an individual to learn depending on their nature and ones response to emotional changes. Emotions are generally the feelings that determine how people respond to the changes within them and in their life. Studies have identified about four major types of emotions broadly experienced among individuals and these include joy, fear, sadness and anger (Lawson). Experts have noted that sometimes there are variations of these emotions but these are often integrated for reliability purposes, for instance happiness, amusement, delight and contentment are linked to enjoyment.  They are a reflection of the experience one has had or is having in their real life situations and these will either represent joy or sorrow and they arise from memories and responses to immediate events in life. Well, the level of emotional influence to the learning process is varied among different personalities. 
Both emotions and learning occur in the mind and hence their interaction can affect the ability of an individual to learn. Emotions are interpreted and directed by the limbic system of the brain while learning takes place in the brains Cortex region. The Cortex is associated with the memory which works hand in hand with the limbic system. This provides a basis for the study of emotional influence on the learning process. Emotions have been regarded by psychologists as the on-off system that dictates learning capacity in that when its on there is a high potential to learn and when off, this potential is inhibited. The limbic system determines the emotional tone of the interpreted sensory information being relayed to the cortex for processing and this causes a feeling of excitement. This then directs behavioral response towards goals and purpose, and also motivates people to act thus enhancing learning. It has been noted that the brains response to sensory information is determined by memories and response to an event. Thus, if memories and the brains interpretation towards the current emotional status have been more positive, then it means that learning will be even more effective. Incase of the opposite, learning is deterred (Sylvester, 1994). This proves right the studies that have suggested that enjoyment improves learning while negative emotions such as anger stifle learning motivation. According to Lawson, the limbic system is the link between feelings and thoughts and thus emotions, which are interpreted by the limbic system, have the potential to disrupt or promote learning depending on whether they are negative or positive.
    Emotions affect the level of motivation in individuals, and hence they affect the desire to act for instance the desire to learn. As thought and emotions are interrelated, then negative emotions demoralize learners and this affect the learning process. Motivation encourages attentiveness which in return improves the learning ability. In cases of depression, emotional response is negative and hence the person is unmotivated reducing attention especially in school.  Lack of concentration lowers the capacity to learn effectively. Motivation also arises from ones beliefs which do control ones emotions. Positive emotions revoke strong beliefs that in return motivate someone and hence in the case of learning, they improve the drive to learn. These believes also usher in an environment favorable to learn. These beliefs can be rational (both constructive and positive) and irrational (destructive). Being related to emotions, beliefs are dependent on the reaction to events and memories. If one, for instance believes that they are smart and can pass well in any given discipline, then the belief compels them to prepare appropriately for tests and hence are able to learn effectively (Sylvester, 1994). These beliefs arise from memories of the past and hence the reason why they can be rational or irrational. Memories of failure in the past create irrational beliefs that are not motivational and such beliefs make people lack the enthusiasm to learn.
Beliefs also affect the way people think and the same thought process affects how people learn since learning requires thinking. Both learning and thinking are a function of the brain therefore the capacity to learn is affected. Having positive thoughts can raise the level of morale which creates an even stronger belief in oneself. This creates a clear mind in that one is in no doubt of their ability to excel and this improves the learning capacity. Irrational beliefs result form the doubt of ones ability to succeed, say passing an exam which is worsened by past experiences which are relayed to the present by emotions. It is well known that moods affect the learning to a greater extent. Emotions relate to persons moods through the thought process in that thoughts of a happy incident create a jovial mood which promotes learning. When in jovial or relaxed mood learning becomes more effective and easier given that this mood symbolizes absence of constraints. Such mood promotes memories of excitement which in future incidences cause a positive attitude that enhances learning. The mood, as a product of emotions, affects the way people make decisions, remember and most importantly respond to events. In a tense mood a person is likely to be anxious about an event and this in the case of a learning situation affects concentration and this deters the learning process.
Other aspects of emotions are optimism and pessimism which are more or less the same as beliefs. Positive emotions make one to be optimistic about the issues of life such as learning.  Being either optimistic or pessimistic determines ones line of thought which has a direct impact on the learning procedure. The tragedy happens when events in life are externalized in terms of emotions such as anger, sorrow or depression. In case a person is lacks emotional intelligence to effectively deal with emotions then learning fail to take place. Lack of emotional intelligence gives room for emotions to interfere with the learning process.
Emotions are an integral yet neglected ingredient in the success of the learning process of individuals. Emotions have ruined the lives of many with or without their knowledge, yet, it has cost the efforts of psychologists who have been trying to identify its relation to learning and other life processes. Basing on research findings, it is indisputable that emotions can completely change the fate of a persons life especially if they affect the learning process. Emotions are an issue of concern because like learning, they are a function of the brain. There is research prove that understanding oneself emotionally (emotional intelligence) is the key to dealing with emotional interference to the learning process. Through emotional intelligence, one can effectively handle the influence of emotions to the learning process and this entails training oneself to think rationally and to control emotions. This knowledge is also important to tutors in handling emotion cases appropriately in learning situations. Emotions, especially negative ones are known to be handled through involvement in activities that involve the whole body and that also promote social interaction. Such activities include cooperative learning and games among others. Mastery of ones emotions not only builds a high self-esteem, but also creates self confidence which is paramount to a successful learning process.