Smith Joshua P, Glass Daniel J, Fireman Gary
a Suffolk University.
J Genet Psychol. 2015 Jan-Apr;176(1-2):65-81. doi: 10.1080/00221325.2014.1002750. Epub 2015 Feb 19.
The term mixed emotions refers to the presence of two opposite-valence emotions toward a single target. Identifying when children begin to report experiencing and understanding mixed emotions is critical in identifying how skills such as adaptive functioning, coping strategies, environmental understanding, and socioemotional competence emerge. Prior research has shown that children as young as 5 years old can understand and experience mixed emotion, but perhaps appropriately sensitive methodologies can reveal these abilities in younger children. The present study evaluated 57 children between 3 and 5 years old for mixed emotion experience and understanding using an animated video clip in which a character experiences a mixed emotional episode. Ordinal logistic regression was utilized to examine the relation of gender, attention, and understanding of content to experience and understanding of mixed emotion. While only 12% of children reported experiencing mixed emotion while watching the clip, 49% of children-some as young as 3 years old-were able to recognize the mixed emotional experience of the character. Thus, mixed emotion understanding emerges earlier than previously identified and the expression of understanding may develop independently of the ability to report mixed emotion experience. These findings are discussed in relation to cognitive and developmental considerations.
“混合情绪”一词指的是对单一目标同时存在两种具有相反效价的情绪。确定儿童何时开始报告体验和理解混合情绪，对于确定诸如适应性功能、应对策略、环境理解和社会情绪能力等技能是如何出现的至关重要。先前的研究表明，年仅5岁的儿童就能理解和体验混合情绪，但或许采用适当敏感的方法可以揭示年幼儿童的这些能力。本研究使用一段动画视频片段（其中一个角色经历了混合情绪事件）对57名3至5岁的儿童进行了混合情绪体验和理解的评估。采用有序逻辑回归分析来检验性别、注意力以及对内容的理解与混合情绪体验和理解之间的关系。虽然只有12%的儿童在观看视频片段时报告体验到了混合情绪，但49%的儿童——有些年仅3岁——能够识别角色的混合情绪体验。因此，混合情绪理解比之前确定的出现得更早，而且理解的表达可能独立于报告混合情绪体验的能力而发展。本文结合认知和发展方面的考量对这些发现进行了讨论。
