Can I Make Myself Feel Happy When I Feel Bad?

Children’s Understanding of the Intentional Control of Emotion

Tracy A. Dennis

Deborah A. Kelemen

AbstractIt has been argued that the ability to reason about emotions is one of the earliest aspects of a “theory of mind” to develop (Wellman, 1991), and represents an area of relative “expertise” (Dunn, 1996). However, other findings challenge this notion, suggesting instead that young children are unable to distinguish emotions from non-volitional states like physical illness (Kalish,1997). The current 2 studies present a focused investigation of 3-, 4-, & 5-year olds’ intuitions about the intentional control of emotion. The studies addressed three questions: (1) Do 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds perceive emotions as subject to intentional control and distinguish them from uncontrollable physical states and events? (2) Do preschoolers understand effective ways to control emotion? (3) Are adult-like sex differences in emotion control beliefs present in preschoolers? Results from study 1 indicated that children at all ages understand the intentional nature of emotion and distinguish it from uncontrollable events in terms of susceptibility to control. However, it is only by 4 years of age that children began displaying substantial insight into effective emotion control strategies. Finally, preschoolers displayed adult-like sex differences in beliefs about the effectiveness of different emotion control strategies. Results from study 2 indicated that children also distinguish emotion from uncontrollable states such as growth and eye color in terms susceptibility to control. Gender differences from study 1 further explicated adult-like sex differences in beliefs about the effectiveness of different emotion control strategies.

IntroductionAn ability to reason about emotions is one of the earliest aspects of a

theory of mind to develop:

Between 20 and 24 months of age, children spontaneously use emotion words (e.g., “happy”, “sad”) to describe their own and others’ experiences. Between 2 and 3 years, they predict the causes and consequences of several feeling states (Wellman, 1990) and behave in ways that influence their own and others’ emotions, such as comforting and teasing (Dunn & Brown, 1991).

This competence appears before children display any comparable grasp of “cognitive” mental states such as thoughts and beliefs (Bartsch & Wellman, 1994).

These findings suggest that young children are relatively attuned to and “expert” in the realm of emotion.

But how expert are young children ?

Background

A critical aspect of understanding emotions is recognizing that they are intentionally modifiable psychological states.

Thus, adults know that they can use various intentional strategies to control negative emotional responses. Examples include:

Emotion-focused (Distraction)

Direct thoughts and emotions away from an emotion-eliciting event, e.g, think about something else.

Situation-focused (Repair)

Direct efforts towards repairing the environmental cause of the emotion, e.g., do something to fix the situation.

Socially-focused (Comfort-seeking)

Seek social support, e.g., talk to friends and family.

Motivation for Study 1Recent research on children’s biological concepts suggests that, despite displaying “expertise” predicting emotional reactions, preschoolers do not have the ontological basis for understanding the intentional control of emotion: Kalish (1997) found that when asked whether “feeling sad” could be intentionally modified, preschoolers did not distinguish emotions from non-volitional physical states such as “feeling sick”.

The current study focused specifically on preschool children’s understanding of the intentional control of emotion. It asked three questions......

Questions for Study 1

• Do 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds perceive emotions as subject to intentional control and distinguish them from uncontrollable events (i.e., weather)?

• Do preschoolers understand effective ways to intentionally control emotion?

• Does gender influence preschoolers’ beliefs about emotion control strategies?

Predictions for Study 1 • “Emotion Expert” View:

– Prediction 1: Preschoolers will view emotions as intentionally controllable and distinguish them from uncontrollable states such as growth and the weather.

– Prediction 2: Preschoolers will display insight into effective emotion-control strategies although shifts may occur with age.

– Prediction 3: Like adults, female preschoolers will endorse social- and emotion-focused control strategies more than males, while males will endorse situation-focused strategies more than females (see Brenner & Salovey, 1997)

• “Emotion Novice” View:– Prediction 1: Preschoolers will not distinguish emotions from

uncontrollable states in terms of susceptibility to control.– Prediction 2 & 3: No predictions are made about children’s beliefs

about emotion control strategies or sex differences.

Method• Subjects: 45 3-, 4-, & 5-year olds (22 females, 23 males) and 16

adults. • Materials and Procedure:

– Emotion: Participants were shown pictures of 6 negative emotion-eliciting situations (2 anger, 2 sadness, and 2 fear) (See Figure 1). Participants were asked whether, in that scenario, they could make themselves “feel good” instead of mad/sad/scared. Participants who responded affirmatively were then presented with 3 sets of forced-choice questions about effective and ineffective emotion control strategies. (see “Examples of Questions”).

– Uncontrollable Events: Participants were also shown pictures of 2 stories concerning events not subject to intentional control: the weather (See Figure 2). Participants were asked if they could change the natural event (see “Examples of Questions”). In addition to providing a comparison for the emotion trials, these questions also provided a way of monitoring response-biases.

Examples of Questions “Mad” Scenario: Imagine that you’re like this kid, and you feel happy that you’ve done a good job cleaning up your toys. Another kid comes along and messes up everything. You are very mad that this kid did this. But, you don’t want to feel mad. You want to feel good. Could you make yourself feel good instead of mad? If yes: What’s the best way to make yourself feel good ? = Effective, X = Ineffective

1. Emotion-focused (distraction vs. ruminate) Would you think about nice things? X Would you think about how mad you feel that your toys

are messed up?2. Situation-focused (repair situation vs. give up)

Would you get the kid to help clean up your toys? X Would you leave the toys in a mess?

3. Socially-focused (seek comfort vs. refuse comfort) Would you ask your mom for a hug? X Would you say you don’t want a hug right now?

Figure 1: Mad Scenario

Figure 2: Weather Scenario

Weather Scenario: Imagine you’re like this kid, and you’re having a really fun time building a sand castle. All of a sudden, it begins to rain.You don’t want it to rain. You want it to be sunny right now. Could you make it be sunny right now?

Prediction 1: Preschoolers will view emotions as intentionally controllable and distinguish them from the

uncontrollable domain of weather. Note: for all graphs * = differs significantly from chance

Mean % Could Control Emotion

Versus Weather

AGE

adult543

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

emotion

weather

• Children at all ages demonstrated emotion expertise:– Emotion control: As predicted,

participants at each age considered emotions to be under intentional control at levels above chance. Age differences did not emerge.

– Distinguishing Domains: As predicted, participants at each age understood that emotions are more controllable than the weather.

Prediction 2: Preschoolers will display insight into effective emotion-control strategies.

Mean % Endorsement of

Effective Strategies

AGE

adult543

Me

an

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

distract

repair

comfort

• Both 4- and 5-year-olds demonstrated emotion expertise:– Four- and 5-year-olds

endorsed the majority of effective strategies at levels above chance. In contrast, 3-year-olds only endorsed repair at levels above chance, but did so significantly less than all other ages.

– Adults endorsed comfort-seeking at chance levels.

• No other age differences emerged.

Prediction 3: Females will endorse emotion- and socially-focused strategies (i.e., distraction & comfort-seeking) more than males. Males will endorse situation-focused

strategies (i.e., situation repair) more than females *Note: child and adult data are combined due to no overall age effects

Mean % Endorsement of

Effective Strategies

SEX

FemaleMale

Me

an

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

distract

repair

comfort

• Sex differences in distraction and comfort-seeking emerged:– As predicted, females

endorsed distraction and comfort seeking more frequently than males at all ages.

– Counter to prediction, males did not endorse repairing the situation more than females.

One more question about sex differences in emotion control

strategies…..

Might sex differences emerge for specific emotions? For example, Fivush (1989) found that mothers of 2- to 3-year-old children never attributed anger to daughters but did so with sons. This differential attribution might teach females that they should actively avoid and distract themselves from feeling anger.

Prediction 4: Females will endorse distraction from anger more than males.

Prediction 4: Females will endorse distraction from anger more than males.

Mean % Distract When Mad

SEX

FemaleMale

Me

an

%

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

AGE1

4

5

adult

• Emotion specificity: – As predicted, for the

anger-eliciting scenarios, females endorsed distraction at levels above chance and significantly more than males

– Males endorsed distraction at chance levels.

Summary of Findings For Study 1

• Findings largely supported the “emotion expert” view: Preschoolers at all ages viewed emotions as intentionally controllable and understood that emotions are more controllable than natural events. Only 4- and 5-year-olds displayed significant insight into effective emotion-control strategies. While 3-year-olds understood that they could control emotions, they did not yet understand the strategies to do so.

• Sex differences in emotion control strategies are present in preschoolers: By preschool, females endorse emotion- and socially-focused strategies, like distraction and comfort seeking, more than males. Emotion-specific sex differences also emerged: when asked how to modify anger, females endorsed distraction more than males.

Motivation for Study 2

The finding that males considered ruminating on a negative emotion as effective as distraction raises an important question:

Do males endorse a strategy like rumination because they think perseverating on negative events is useful or because they view rumination as an opportunity to problem-solve about repairing a situation? Are there developmental differences?

To address these questions, Study 2 compared the 3 emotion-focused strategies of distraction, rumination, and problem-solving to repair a situation….

Predictions for Study 2– Prediction 1: As in study 1, preschoolers will view emotions

as intentionally controllable and distinguish them from uncontrollable biological states, in this case hair growth and eye color.

– Prediction 2: Preschoolers will display increasing insight into effective emotion-focused strategies with age. Specifically, three year-olds will endorse the ineffective strategy rumination more than their older counterparts. Adults will endorse the effective strategy distraction more than their younger counterparts.

– Prediction 3: Sex effects will emerge. As in study 1, female preschoolers will endorse distraction more than males. Males will endorse problem-solving to repair the situation more than females.

Method for Study 2Subjects: 46 3-, 4-, & 5-year olds (23 females, 23 males) and 16 adults. Materials and Procedure:

Emotion: Like Study 1. Participants were shown pictures of 3 negative emotion-eliciting situations (1 anger, 1 sadness, and 1 fear). Participants were asked whether, in that scenario, they would have to “stay mad/sad/scared” or make themselves “feel good”. Children were asked to point to either a mad/sad/scared face or a happy face. This query was changed from study 1 in order to reduce response biases. Participants who responded affirmatively were then presented with 1 forced-choice questions about 3 effective and ineffective emotion-focused emotion control strategies. Rumination was distinguished from problem-solving about repairing the situation (see “Example of Emotion Question”).

Uncontrollable States: Participants were also shown pictures of 2 stories concerning states not subject to intentional control: biology, specifically eye color and growth. Participants were asked if they could change their eye color or make their hair grow longer “right now”. In addition to providing a comparison for the emotion trials, these questions also provided a way of monitoring response-biases.

Example of Emotion Question“Sad” Scenario: Imagine that you’re like this kid, and you feel happy that you’ve got a big tasty lollipop. All of a sudden, by mistake, you drop your lollipop and it falls down a deep hole and you can’t get it. You feel very sad that you lost your lollipop. But, you don’t want to feel sad. You want to feel good. Could you make yourself feel good or do you have to stay sad: What’s the best way to make yourself feel good ?

= Effective, X = Ineffective

1. Emotion-focused(distraction) Would you think about nice things? (rumination) X Would you think about how sad you feel.(problem solving Would you think about losing your to repair) lollipop so that you know what to do about it?

Prediction 1: Preschoolers will view emotions as intentionally controllable and distinguish them from the

uncontrollable domain of biology. Note: for all graphs * = differs significantly from chance

Mean % Could Control Emotion

Versus Biology

AGE

adult543

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

emotion

biology

• Children at all ages demonstrated emotion expertise:– Emotion control: As predicted,

participants at each age considered emotions to be under intentional control at levels above chance. Age differences did not emerge.

– Distinguishing Domains: Participants at each age, except 3-year-olds, understood that emotions are more controllable than biology.

Prediction 2: Preschoolers will display increasing insight into effective emotion-focused strategies with age. Specifically, three year-olds will

endorse the ineffective strategy rumination more than their older counterparts. Adults will endorse the effective strategy distraction more

than their younger counterparts.

Mean % Emotion-focused

Strategy Use

AGE

adult543

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Distract

Ruminate

Cognitive P-S

• Age-related shift in emotion expertise:– As predicted, 3-year-olds

endorsed ineffective rumination more than all other ages. By 4 years, preschoolers chose effective emotion-focused strategies.

– Counter to prediction, adults did not endorse distraction more than their younger counterparts.

• However, emotion specific effects emerged for rumination and distraction...

Emotion Specific Preferences for Rumination and Distraction

Mean % Emotion Specific Strategies

AGE

adult543

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

SADRUM

MADDIS

SCARDIS

• Emotion-specific preferences:– Three-year-olds

endorsed rumination more than other ages for sadness only.

– Preschoolers endorsed distraction more than adults for anger only.

– Adults endorsed distraction more than preschoolers for fear only.

Prediction 3: As in study 1, female preschoolers will endorse distraction more than males. Males will

endorse problem-solving to repair the situation more than females.

Mean % Endorsement of

Strategies

Children only

SEX

FemaleMale

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

100

Distract

Ruminate

P-S

• Sex differences emerged as predicted:– Female preschoolers

endorsed distraction more than males.

– Male preschoolers endorsed problem-solving more than females.

– Emotion-specific effects emerged…

Emotion Specific Effects for Anger

Mean % Strategies

When Mad

SEX

FemaleMale

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

MADDIS

MADRUM

MADPS

• Male preschoolers endorsed problem solving for the anger scenario more than

did females.

• The Study 1 finding that females endorsed distraction more than males for anger scenarios was not replicated. However….

Emotion Specific Effects for Fear

Mean % Distract

For Each Emotion

SEX

FemaleMale

Mea

n %

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

MADDIS

SADDIS

SCARDIS

• Female preschoolers endorsed distraction more than males for the fear scenario.

Summary of Findings for Study 2

• As in Study 1, findings largely supported the “emotion expert” view: Preschoolers at all ages viewed emotions as intentionally controllable and understood that emotions are more controllable than biological states. Only 4- and 5-year-olds displayed significant insight into effective emotion-focused strategies. While 3-year-olds understood that they could control emotions, they did not yet understand emotion-focused strategies to do so.

• As in study 1, sex differences in emotion control strategies are present in preschoolers: By preschool, females endorsed distraction more than males while males endorsed problem-solving more than females. Emotion-specific sex differences also emerged: females endorsed distraction more than males for the emotion of fear while males endorsed problem-solving more than females for anger.

Discussion• Are young children “emotion experts”? The shift between ages 3 & 4: Even

the youngest participants understood the intentional nature of emotion. However, 3-year-olds understood very little about how to control their emotions. In contrast, 4-years-olds’ understanding of effective emotion control strategies appeared adult-like, or “expert”. This shift parallels developmental gains made between 3 and 4 in “theory of mind” understanding, particularly “false belief”.

• Sex differences: This study found adult-like sex differences in preschoolers beliefs about emotion-control strategies. These were particularly marked for the emotion of “anger”. In study 1, when asked how to modify anger, females endorsed distraction more than males. In study 2, this finding was not replicated, and instead, females endorsed distraction more than males for the fear scenario. Finally, in Study 2, when males were asked how to modify anger using emotion-focused strategies, they endorsed problem-solving more than females. In light of Fivush’s work (1989), these results suggests that gender-specific socialization influences emotion control strategies from early preschool.