Social-Emotional Predictors of Preschoolers'' Responses to Adult Negative Emotion

The study examined predictors of children's prosocial responses to adult negative emotions. An adult displayed anger, sadness and pain during play sessions with 39 preschoolers (mean age = 43 months). Older children responded more prosocially to all three emotions, whereas children with greater emotion knowledge responded more prosocially to the adult's sadness. Children who behaved prosocially in response to peers' negative emotions also were prosocial after the adult's negative emotions, even with effects of age and emotion knowledge held constant. Assertive children responded more prosocially to the adult's anger, even with effects of other variables held constant. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.