Training affect comprehension in young children: An experimental evaluation

Abstract

Preschool- and kindergarten-age children were randomly assigned to either an experimental training program designed to enhance affective understanding and related perspective-taking, or to one of two control training groups. Experimental and control training subjects, in groups of four, met daily for 20-min sessions during a 1-week period. The experimental training sessions focussed on recognition of emotional cues and attention to how other people feel in various situations, and the control training curriculum was addressed to the understanding of television advertisements. Significant training and developmental effects were obtained on a measure of affect identification administered immediately after training. Differences on the same measure administered 1 week later were nonsignificant. Significant training effects were reflected 1 week after training on a measure that assessed references to affect in descriptions of pictures depicting affect eliciting situations. The findings indicate that even young children of kindergarten and preschool age can profit from affective education.