Abstract
This theoretical paper introduces six emotion socialization typologies that can be used for designating emotion responsivity styles of parents and peers of children in middle childhood, referred to as Parent and Peer Emotion Responsivity Styles (PPERS). This typology draws on theoretical foundations of meta-emotion and emotion socialization. These typologies are compliment with and extend Gottman’s emotion-based parenting styles, as they are organized generally by whether the response is more positive or more negative and whether the response is more emotionally constructive or destructive, but extend the four styles to include whether the parent or peer targets the emotion directly when responding to a child’s emotions, or whether they target the emotion-related behavior. On the positive end, there is the Emotion Constructive style, which targets the child’s emotions directly. The other two positive styles include Emotion Responsive and Emotion Acceptive, which target the child’s emotional behaviors with higher or lower levels of activity. On the negative side, there is the Emotion Destructive style which is employed to target the emotion itself, while the Emotion Punitive and Emotion Dismissive styles target the child’s emotion-related behavior with varying levels of activity. Implications for the development and study of these theoretical typologies are discussed.
Highlights
Over the past 20 years, researchers have advanced our understanding of emotionrelated behavior and emotion socialization, contributing to a recognition of emotion socialization as a key factor for optimal development throughout childhood and across the lifespan [1,2]
As emotion socialization continues to be increasingly recognized as a key source for optimal development throughout childhood and across the lifespan, this theory could aid parents in understanding the significance of their role as their child’s first teachers and emotion models, as well as how their emotional responses influence the emotion responsivity of their own children and in turn, their peers
Children possess increased vulnerability to potentially damaging emotion responsivity styles that can shape their perception of emotions and guide their social and emotional development in ways that can be maladaptive, including areas of psychopathology [9,10,11,12]
Summary
Over the past 20 years, researchers have advanced our understanding of emotionrelated behavior and emotion socialization, contributing to a recognition of emotion socialization as a key factor for optimal development throughout childhood and across the lifespan [1,2]. This extension to Gottman’s parenting typologies is warranted as these additional typologies create a more dynamic perspective that includes the differentiation between emotion- and behavior-based responses, while contributing to the potential examination of the role of peer-based emotion responsivity in early childhood, a research area that is currently less understood [2,7] This theoretical approach can enhance the field’s understanding and organization of how children’s emotions are responded to, and the social and emotional consequences of different responsivity styles. The dynamic process of emotion socialization progresses through parent–child interactions, and eventually through interactions with peers [26]
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