[The development of moral emotions in early childhood]

We investigated the development of young children's moral emotions, i.e., sympathy and guilt, within a multi-informant longitudinal research design. One-hundred and seventy-five 6-year-old Swiss children participated at the first assessment (T1; re-assessed after one year; T2). Mothers and teachers participated as well. Sympathy was measured with self- and other reports and within children's play narratives. Guilt feelings were assessed by emotion attributions to protagonists and self-as-protagonist following different hypothetical moral transgressions. Mother-rated sympathy at T2 was positively related to guilt feelings at T2, whereas no relations between sympathy and guilt were found at T1. Sympathy ratings within informant were stable over a year. Guilt feelings to protagonists and self-as-protagonist were stable over a year as well. Guilt feelings predicted subsequent guilt feelings, whereas earlier sympathy did not predict guilt feelings. The results are discussed in regard to the differential development of moral emotions.