Children's understanding of emotion from facial expressions and situations: A review

Abstract

Empirical investigations into the development of children's understanding of emotion can contribute to greater understanding of the cognitive and affective systems involved. In this article, we review studies that examined children's ability to recognize emotional information in facial expressions and their knowledge of ways this information is affected by aspects of the situations in which the expressions occur. The presentation of the empirical findings is organized around a discussion of the methodological basis of the research. Consistent findings are identified and modifications of the assessment procedures that may alleviate some of the methodological problems and extend the external validity of future studies are suggested.