Display Rules for Anger, Sadness, and Pain: It Depends on Who Is Watching

TLDR

The study investigated how emotion type, audience, age, and sex influence children’s decisions to control or express emotions, and examined their use of display rules, reasons, and expression methods. The researchers surveyed 96 children (32 boys and 32 girls) in first, third, and fifth grades (ages 7.25–11.75) about their display rules, reasons for controlling emotions, and expression methods. Children reported controlling emotions more in front of peers than with parents or alone; younger children and girls expressed sadness and anger more often, and the primary reason for control was the expectation of negative interpersonal reactions.

Abstract

This study examined factors that may influence children's decisions to control or express their emotions including type of emotion (anger, sadness, physical pain), type of audience (mother, father, peer, alone), age, and sex. Children's reported use of display rules, reasons for their decisions, and reported method of expression were examined. Subjects were 32 boys and 32 girls in each of the first (M = 7.25 years old), third (M = 9.33 years old), and fifth grades (M = 11.75 years old). Regardless of the type of emotion experienced, children reported controlling their expression of emotion significantly more in the presence of peers than when they were with either their mother or father or when they were alone. Younger children reported expressing sadness and anger significantly more often than did older children, and girls were more likely than boys to report expressing sadness and pain. Children's primary reason for controlling their emotional expressions was the expectation of a negative interpersonal interaction following disclosure.