FAMILY TALK ABOUT FEELING STATES AND CHILDRENS LATER UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS EMOTIONS

We examined the relation between individual differences in 36-month-old children's conversations about feeling states with their mothers and siblings and their later ability to recognize emotions in an affective-perspective-taking task at 6 years. Subjects were 41 children observed at home. Differences in discourse about feelings (in frequency, causal discussion, diversity of themes, and disputes) were correlated with later ability to recognize emotions. The associations were independent of children's verbal ability and of the frequency of talk in the families. Results highlight the significance of family discourse in even very young children's developing emotional understanding.