Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of two emotion trainings on young children’s knowledge about jealousy. Participants were 53 kindergarten and first-grade children who were assigned to one of two experimental conditions or a control condition. Children in the first experimental condition (video condition) received discussions about the components of jealousy paired with the presentation of dynamic visual stimuli (i.e., animated video clips). Children in the second experimental condition (video and role-play condition) received role-play exercises along with the discussions and video clips. Children in the control condition participated in their typical school curriculum. After receiving three emotion-training sessions of 15 min each, children in both experimental conditions made significant gains in their knowledge of the situations and prosocial cognitive/behavioral responses related to jealousy when compared to children in the control condition. The two experimental conditions made similar gains, showing that both trainings were equally effective at helping children improve their knowledge about jealousy. Implications for supporting young children’s understanding of emotions are discussed.
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Appendices
Appendix 1
Jealousy Storyline #1
Version A (Used in the Pre-test)
Sarah, her baby sister, and their mom are at the park. Sarah’s mom is pushing the baby in a stroller while Sarah walks next to her. Sarah’s mom stops to play with the baby. Sarah’s mom waves to the baby and the baby waves back. Sarah’s mom blows kisses at the baby and tickles the baby. Sarah’s mom is not paying any attention to Sarah. Sarah just stands to the side watching her mom play with her baby sister.
Version B (Used in the Post-test)
Dani and her mom are at the park. They are taking a walk together. They walk past a baby in a stroller. Dani’s mom stops to play with the baby. Dani’s mom waves to the baby and the baby waves back. Dani’s mom blows kisses at the baby and tickles the baby. Dani’s mom is not paying any attention to Dani. Dani just stands to the side watching her mom play with the baby.
Jealousy Storyline #2
Version A (Used in the Pre-test)
Erin and her mom are at the park. Erin and another girl are playing soccer together. The other girl kicks the ball and the ball flies past Erin. Erin’s mom comes over and only gives the other girl a high-five. She tells the girl she is a great soccer player. Erin’s mom does not pay any attention to Erin. Erin stands to the side watching her mom talk to the other girl.
Version B (Used in the Post-test)
Casey, her sister, and their mom are at the park. The sisters are playing soccer together. Casey’s sister kicks the ball and the ball flies past Casey. The mom comes over and only gives Casey’s sister a high-five. She tells Casey’s sister she is a great soccer player. The mom does not pay any attention to Casey. Casey stands to the side watching her mom talk to her sister.
Jealousy Storyline #3
Version A
Jenny, her sister, and their mom are all at the park. They are all taking a walk together. Jenny and her mom are walking closely together while Jenny’s sister is walking in front of them. After a while, Jenny’s mom leaves Jenny’s side. Now Jenny’s mom is walking closely together with Jenny’s sister. Jenny’s mom and Jenny’s sister are walking in front of Jenny. Jenny is now walking all by herself and her mom is only paying attention to Jenny’s sister.
Version B
Sofie, her mom, and another girl that Sofie’s mom is babysitting are all at the park. They are all taking a walk together. Sofie and her mom are walking closely together while the other girl is walking in front of them. After a while, Sofie’s mom leaves Sofie’s side. Now Sofie’s mom is walking closely together with the other girl. Sofie’s mom and the other girl are walking in front of Sofie. Sofie is now walking all by herself and her mom is only paying attention to the other girl.
Jealousy Storyline #4
Version A
Lily, her sister, and their mom are all at home. Lily’s mom goes to the kitchen to bake some cookies. She only asks Lily’s sister to help her in the kitchen. She does not ask Lily to help her in the kitchen. While Lily’s mom is baking cookies with Lily’s sister, she is not paying any attention to Lily. Lily just stands to the side by herself.
Version B
Olivia, her mom, and another girl that Olivia’s mom is babysitting are all at home. Olivia’s mom goes to the kitchen to bake some cookies. She only asks the girl she is babysitting to help her in the kitchen. She does not ask Olivia to help her in the kitchen. While Olivia’s mom is baking cookies with the other girl, she is not paying any attention to Olivia. Olivia just stands to the side by herself.
Jealousy Storyline #5
Version A
Lucy and her sister both want to tell their mom about their day at school. Their mom chooses Lucy’s sister to talk first. Lucy’s sister has a lot of stories to tell their mom. Lucy has to wait a long time to get a turn to talk to their mom. Lucy’s sister keeps talking and their mom only pays attention to Lucy’s sister. Lucy sits to the side by herself and does not get to tell her mom about her day.
Version B
Mandy and another girl that Mandy’s mom is babysitting both want to tell Mandy’s mom about their day at school. Mandy’s mom chooses the other girl to talk first. The other girl has a lot of stories to tell Mandy’s mom. Mandy has to wait a long time to get a turn to talk to her mom. The other girl keeps talking and Mandy’s mom only pays attention to the other girl. Mandy sits to the side by herself and does not get to tell her Mom about her day.
Appendix 2
See Fig. 1.
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Pieng, P., Okamoto, Y. Promoting Young Children’s Understanding of the Situations and Prosocial Responses Related to Jealousy. Early Childhood Educ J 47, 571–584 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00953-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00953-5