Children's expected interpersonal consequences of communicating their affective state and reported likelihood of expression.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized experimental study evaluating emotional expression across age and sex groups
PubMed 3168642 · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1988.tb01500.x
What was done
A total of 125 children in the first, fourth, and sixth grades (mean ages 6 years 9 months, 9 years 2 months, and 11 years 7 months, respectively) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: sad or angry affect induction. Researchers assessed differences in children's expected interpersonal outcomes and reported likelihood of emotional expression as a function of subject sex, parent sex, school grade, and affect type.
What was found
Older boys reported less positive expectancies and a lower likelihood of emotional expression than younger boys. Across sex comparisons, boys reported less positive expectancies and lower expression likelihood for sadness than girls. Outcome expectancy strongly correlated with expression likelihood, with stronger correlations observed for sadness compared to anger, and among male compared to female children. Exact correlation values and effect sizes were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
The findings provide empirical evidence for how emotional display rules develop across childhood, indicating that socialized inhibition of emotional expression, particularly sadness, intensifies in males as they age.
Limits
The study sample was modest (125 children across three grade levels) and relied on hypothetical or induced laboratory scenarios and self-reported expression likelihood rather than direct observations of real-world interpersonal interactions. Specific quantitative statistics and demographic details beyond age and grade were not provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Boys generally feel more inhibited in expressing feelings like sadness, disappointment, and shame compared to outward anger.