Callous-unemotional traits are associated with deficits in recognizing complex emotions in preadolescent children.

The aims of the current study were to show that the affective component of psychopathy (callous-unemotional traits) is related to deficits in recognizing emotions over and above other psychopathy dimensions and to show that this relationship is driven by a specific deficit in recognizing complex emotions more so than basic emotions. The authors administered the Child Eyes Test to assess emotion recognition in a community sample of preadolescent children between the ages of 10 and 12 (N = 417; 53.6% boys). The task required children to identify a broad array of emotions from photographic stimuli depicting the eye region of the face. Stimuli were then divided into complex or basic emotions. Results demonstrated a unique association between callous-unemotional traits and complex emotions, with weaker associations with basic emotion recognition, over and above other dimensions of psychopathy.

Context effects and the (mal)adaptive nature of guilt and shame in children.

Symptoms of internalization were examined in relation to children's self-reports of three emotions in situations that were either ambiguous or unambiguous as to the child's responsibility for various standard violations. Children ranging in age from 6 to 13 years were drawn from elementary schools (61 boys, 79 girls, mean age = 8.7) and from a community mental health center (23 boys, 18 girls, mean age = 8.5) to which they had been referred for problems related to internalization or externalization. Shame proneness was consistently linked to internalizing symptoms across contexts. Guilt proneness, in response to ambiguous scenarios, was also associated with internalization, whereas pride responses were unrelated to symptoms. Few age- or gender-related differences were found. The results cast doubt on notions that self-conscious emotions, such as guilt, are necessarily adaptive or maladaptive. Systematic research is needed to understand which features of any emotion contribute to children's psychological adjustment.

Guilt, shame, and symptoms in children.

The authors asked whether evidence could be found for adaptive or maladaptive aspects of guilt and shame in 5-12-year-old children (44 boys, 42 girls). Children completed semiprojective and scenario-based measures thought to assess shame, guilt, or both. Their parents (N = 83) completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess child symptoms. Shame and projective guilt were related to symptoms; they also were associated with self-blame and attempts to minimize painful feelings. Scenario-based guilt was related to fewer symptoms in boys but to greater symptoms in girls. This measure of guilt reflected concerns with adhering to standards, expressing empathy, and taking appropriate responsibility. Discussion focuses on possible origins of differential symptom-emotion links in boys and girls as well as measurement implications.

Positive and negative mood effects in children: the mediating influence of task characteristics.

This study was designed to investigate positive and negative mood effects in children of different ages (younger children: n = 90, mean age 7 years 3 months; older children: n = 92, mean age 11 years 3 months). Children were asked to evaluate schematic drawings and photographs of ambiguous facial expressions after a happy, a sad, or a neutral mood induction had taken place by means of a mental imagery procedure. In both age groups, mood effects proved to be dependent on the nature of the judgment task. Positive and negative mood effects were found on children's judgments of schematic drawings, whereas the evaluation of photographs resulted in a positive bias only. The results are discussed within the scope of a multiprocess view of the relation between affect and cognition (Forgas, 1991, 1992) and a recent model on mood-sensitive task characteristics (Fiedler, 1991).