Young children show negative emotions after failing to help others

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Emotional Development

Background:

• Self-conscious emotions like guilt and shame guide adherence to social norms, including prosocial behavior.
• The impact of audience observation on the expression of these emotions in young children is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how being observed influences 4- to 5-year-old children's emotional responses after failing to help others or achieve personal goals.
• To understand the developmental trajectory of emotional expression related to social norm adherence.

Main Methods:

• Two studies involving 161 children aged 4-5 years.
• Children's emotional responses were measured by changes in upper body posture using a motion depth sensor imaging camera.
• Emotional responses were assessed after participants failed to help someone in need and after failing to complete their own goal.

Main Results:

• Children's upper body posture decreased when they failed to help, irrespective of audience presence.
• Emotional responses were comparable whether children failed to help or failed their own goal.
• Five-year-olds exhibited a more pronounced decrease in upper body posture compared to 4-year-olds.

Conclusions:

• Audience observation is not essential for young children to express negative self-conscious emotions after social norm transgressions.
• Negative emotional expression in response to failing prosocial norms increases with age between 4 and 5 years.
• Findings highlight the developing role of social awareness in children's emotional regulation and norm adherence.