Insight into the Time Course of Emotion among Western and Chinese Children

Abstract

HARRIS, PAUL L.; Guz, GABRIELLE R.; LIPIAN, MARK S.; AND MAN-SHU, ZHU. Insight into the Time Course of Emotion among Western and Chinese Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1985, 56, 972988. In 4 experiments, children aged 4 and 6 years were assessed for their insight into the time course of emotion. 6-year-old Western and Chinese children exhibited a highly consistent pattern: they judged that an initially intense emotional reaction, be it positive or negative, would wane gradually over time. They made the same claim regarding their emotional rection to experiences that they recalled from their own lives. 4-year-olds were less consistent. In 2 experiments, they failed to show the gradual waning pattern that characterized the judgments of 6-year-olds. However, when stringent precautions were taken to ensure that 4-year-olds fully understood the rating scale, they too judged that emotion wanes gradually over time. The implications of the finding for current accounts of children's insight into emotion are discussed.