The regulation of emotional expression in preschool children

We often try to manage the nonverbal expression of our real feelings, e. g. smiling politely when receiving a disappointing gift. The acquisition of knowledge about how and when to regulate the expression of emotions is an important step in the preschool child's socio-emotional development. However most determinants of the developmental process are still unknown. In the present series of studies, three different facets of expressive regulation were analyzed in 4- to 6-years-olds: (1) the understanding of the distinction between felt and expressed emotions, (2) children's actual expressive behavior in a situation that required nonverbal management, and (3) preschoolers' ability to use facial expression to deliberately deceive an onlooker. By examining and comparing both behavior and understanding via verbal and observational measures respectively, a first attempt was made to gain a more thorough insight in children's competencies in this area.