Results showed that short-term low-warmth inductions produced more charitability in second and fifth graders than short-term high-warmth inductions and that instructions encouraging charitability produced more generosity than selfish or permissive instructions. In addition, girls were found to be more generous overall than boys. (JMB)

Observed 9- to 14-year-old physically abused and nonabused children engaged in tasks with a close friend. Found that dyads with an abused child displayed less intimacy and more conflict than dyads with nonabused children. Compared to other dyads, those with abused boys displayed more negative affect during games, and those with abused girls…

Identified two subdimensions of an index designed to measure children's perceptions of older adults in responses from 120 Afro-Caribbean children living in a rural Costa Rican community. Findings showed older females were perceived as more authoritative and older males as more affective. Used ethnographic techniques with survey results to…

Third- and fifth-grade students were asked their opinions of a series of stories in which one child (boy or girl) was described as having intentionally harmed another child (boy or girl). The sex composition of the transgressor-victim dyad was found to be a qualifying factor in judgment making. (KH)

The author discusses the development and manifestation of empathy in children. A three component model of empathy, involving cognitive and affective elements, is proposed. (Author/HMV)

Issues related to children's ability to conceal their immediate emotional experiences by displaying alternate socially or personally motivated facial expressions are discussed. Four basic categories of dissimulation of emotional experience are specified, and motives for the use of cultural and personal display rules and direct deception are posed.…

Examined the relations of mothers' and fathers' reported emotion-related practices to parents' and teachers' reports of third- to sixth-grade children's social skills, popularity, and coping. Found that mothers' problem-focused reactions were positively associated with children's social functioning and coping, whereas maternal minimizing reactions…

Children as young as eight years of age can discriminate between affect-eliciting statements, differentially rate up to five concurrent emotional responses, and predict response patterns similar to those predicted by adults. During adolescence, there are sex differences in the prediction of secondary emotions. (RH)

Exploring issues of content and construct validity, this paper reviews how empathy in young children has been defined and measured. Discussion first focuses on empathy viewed as an affective awareness and response to the feelings of another person. The review reports research using the Affective Situation Test, naturalistic studies of affective…

The emotional impact of televised interpersonal dramas was investigated, with specific emphasis being given to age- and gender-related differences in children's spontaneous nonverbal expressive reactions. Participants were 27 female and 22 male children in three age groups: 4-5, 7-8, and 13-14 years. Facial expressions were unobtrusively…

Twenty male and twenty female third graders expected boy characters to retaliate more strongly than girl characters when intervening in an attack upon a friend and girl characters to retaliate more strongly than boys when being verbally or physically assaulted. (Author/KH)

Presented children (N=96) aged 8-11 with verbal pain or nonpain stimuli contingent or noncontingent on a target response. Delivered stimuli within an aggressive or nonaggressive setting and with or without affect. Type of setting did not influence the behavior, but stimuli delivered in an affective manner did facilitate responding. (Author/RC)

An important task for children is to acquire their culture's rules for emotional display. Accurate knowledge of display rules prescribing, for example, safe targets for anger or indelicate situations for excitement helps regulate expressive behavior and mediate the impact of emotional expression on the self and others. In this study, children's…

Used semiprojective and scenario-based measures to identify evidence for adaptive or maladaptive aspects of guilt and shame in 5- to 12-year olds. Found that shame and projective guilt were related to symptoms as rated by parents, self-blame, and attempts to minimize painful feelings. Scenario-based guilt was related to fewer symptoms in boys but…

Observed a laboratory play session to study development of anger expression during middle childhood. Found that 8- to 12-year-olds were remarkably composed in response to taunts from a same-age, same-sex confederate and to losing a computer game for a desirable prize. Also found gender differences in negative comments and gestures, and age…