June 12, 1997
Contact Nick Houtman, 207-581-3777
As every parent knows, children can display their feelings in many ways. They can hang their heads, whine and cry or kick and scream. On the other hand, they may bottle up their feelings and do nothing.
Janice Zeman, University of Maine assistant professor of psychology, is taking a close look at the emotional lives of children from pre-school age through the teen years. She and her doctoral students have been asking questions and observing children directly in situations designed to elicit sadness, frustration or anger. Psychologists know that expressions of emotion vary with age, gender and social context. However, little is known about how emotional displays change through the stages of childhood development, Zeman says.
Zeman and her students are part of a small but growing group of U.S. researchers who are exploring this uncharted territory and, in the process, providing useful insights for teachers and parents.
"My work originated out of working with kids with stomach aches or recurrent abdominal pain," says Zeman. "It seemed that those children didn't express anger, and I wondered if some of these physical symptoms were related to certain kinds of psychological or emotional problems."
"How is it that children learn how to express emotions in certain situations whereas in other situations they control or regulate their expression?" she asks.
In her research with children between the ages of four and ten, Zeman has found that: - preschoolers report displaying emotion more to fathers than to mothers and friends, but by first grade, they express equally to mothers and fathers and less to friends. By fifth grade, children report preferring to express feelings to mothers. - girls were more likely than boys to expect that displays of emotion would be accepted and understood by parents and friends; - by age 8, children learn to control anger, especially in front of fathers and friends; - the most common reason for not displaying emotions was an expectation that such behavior would elicit negative consequences such as rejection, ridicule or reprimands.
"Every family has its own emotional rules. As parents, we actively teach our children, even as early as three or four, how to express emotions in certain situations. For example, in terms of Halloween candy, you don't go 'yuck!' You say 'thank you.' Then you might throw it away later."
Zeman received her Ph.D. in 1991 in developmental and clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University. Since coming to UMaine, she has used several techniques to gather information. She has given stories to children in elementary school classes and asked them to fill out questionnaires with information about their feelings. She has also brought kids and parents in to her clinic to observe the children in situations which elicit frustration or disappointment.
"In the disappointment test, they rank prizes from best to worst. Then we say, 'you can earn this prize but you have to listen to this really boring story.' So they do that for half an hour, and then we bring in a nicely wrapped package with the prize they wanted the least. We either have their moms bring it in, myself or a stranger, or they open it by themselves.
"Then we videotape their facial expressions when they open it up and realize it's not the one they wanted. Finally, we come in and say 'gee whiz, we made a mistake. We didn't give you the right prize.' However, we're interested in that 30 or so seconds after they open it up."
Zeman's work has been published in journals such as Child Development and Developmental Psychology. and was recently noted by Parents Magazine.
###
RSS