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
Abstract
It 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.
Introduction
An 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 1
Recent 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 nonvolitional 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 emotioneliciting 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 forcedchoice 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
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?
Figure 2: Weather Scenario
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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
emotion
10
0
weather
3
AGE
4
5
adult
• 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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
distract
Mean %
20
repair
10
0
comfort
3
AGE
4
5
adult
• 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, 3year-olds only endorsed
repair at levels above
chance, but did so
significantly less than all
other ages.
– Adults endorsed comfortseeking at chance levels.
• No other age differences
emerged.
Prediction 3: Females will endorse emotion- and sociallyfocused 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
• Sex differences in
distraction and comfortseeking emerged:
– As predicted, females
endorsed distraction
and comfort seeking
more frequently than
males at all ages.
Mean % Endorsement of
Effective Strategies
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
distract
Mean %
20
repair
10
0
comfort
Male
SEX
Female
– 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.
• Emotion specificity:
– As predicted, for the
anger-eliciting
scenarios, females
endorsed distraction
at levels above
chance and
significantly more
than males
Mean % Distract When Mad
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
AGE1
30
4
Mean %
20
5
10
0
adult
Male
SEX
Female
– 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 emotionfocused 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 2
Subjects: 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 emotionfocused 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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Mean%
30
20
em otion
10
0
biology
3
AGE
4
5
adult
• 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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Mean%
30
Dis tract
20
Ruminate
10
0
Cognitive P-S
3
AGE
4
5
adult
•
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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
SADRUM
20
MADDIS
10
0
SCARDIS
3
AGE
4
5
adult
• 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
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Dis tract
30
20
Ruminate
10
0
P-S
Male
SEX
Female
• 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
• Male preschoolers endorsed
problem solving for the
anger scenario more than
When Mad
100
90
80
did females.
70
60
50
40
Mean %
30
MADDIS
20
MADRUM
10
0
MADPS
Male
SEX
Female
• 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
100
• Female preschoolers
endorsed distraction
more than males for the
fear scenario.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
MADDIS
20
SADDIS
10
0
SCARDIS
Male
SEX
Female
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 emotionfocused 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.