Linking children's neuropsychological processing of emotion with their knowledge of emotion expression regulation.

Understanding of emotions has been shown to develop between the ages of 4 and 10 years; however, individual differences exist in this development. While previous research has typically examined these differences in terms of developmental and/or social factors, little research has considered the possible impact of neuropsychological development on the behavioural understanding of emotions. Emotion processing tends to be lateralised to the right hemisphere of the brain in adults, yet this pattern is not as evident in children until around the age of 10 years. In this study 136 children between 5 and 10 years were given both behavioural and neuropsychological tests of emotion processing. The behavioural task examined expression regulation knowledge (ERK) for prosocial and self-presentational hypothetical interactions. The chimeric faces test was given as a measure of lateralisation for processing positive facial emotion. An interaction between age and lateralisation for emotion processing was predictive of children’s ERK for only the self-presentational interactions. The relationships between children’s ERK and lateralisation for emotion processing changes across the three age groups, emerging as a positive relationship in the 10-year-olds. The 10-years-olds who were more lateralised to the right hemisphere for emotion processing tended to show greater understanding of the need for regulating negative emotions during interactions that would have a self-presentational motivation. This finding suggests an association between the behavioural and neuropsychological development of emotion processing

How do children who understand mixed emotion represent them in freehand drawings of themselves and others?

This research is the first to assess children’s representation of mixed emotion using a freehand drawing task. Two hundred and forty-one 5–11-year olds completed a drawing and a colour preference task. Children heard a condition appropriate vignette about themselves or a protagonist designed to evoke mixed emotion, and were asked to draw the self or the protagonist experiencing neutral, happy and sad affect. Children who reported mixed emotions after the story also drew themselves or the protagonist experiencing mixed emotion. For mixed emotion, children used red, green and blue more in drawings of the protagonist, and yellow more in drawings of the self. Interestingly, strategies for mixed emotion drawings were similar to those used for happy drawings; more specifically, in drawings of the self, children were particularly more likely to use smiles (for happy and sad drawings) and fewer frowns. Findings are discussed in relation to self-presentational behaviour

Mixed emotion experiences for self or another person in adolescence

Introduction: This study examined types of reported simultaneous mixed emotion experiences for the first time in adolescence for high and low intensity emotion pairs using an Analogue Emotion Scale which affords the graphing of two opposite valence emotions over time on the same graph. Methods: In a cross sectional design, 163 participants based in schools across the UK formed two age groups representing early and mid-adolescence (12 years, 5 months-16 years, 9 months vs. 16 years, 10 months-18 years, 8 months) across two conditions considering either their own (n=83) or another child’s (n= 80) emotional experience divided equally for high (n=80) or low (n= 83) intensity mixed emotion pairs presented in vignettes about themselves or another person. They were seen individually and completed an emotion presence interview and an Analogue Emotion Scale about the emotions experienced in the condition appropriate vignette. Results: Participants reported mixed emotions both sequentially and simultaneously. In particular we found that children showed that others experience emotions in a more sequential manner, while they themselves would experience more emotions in a highly simultaneous way. Emotion experience was different depending on the emotion pair and age group. Conclusions: Adolescents’ subjective mixed emotion experiences vary by intensity and patterns of simultaneity over time. Findings are discussed in relation to an evaluative space model of mixed emotion and applications of the AES with adolescent populations

Student’s impression management and self-presentation behaviours via online educational platforms: An archival review

Across global higher education contexts, students and staff are communicating online. Online communication is facilitated by the online disinhibition effect (reduction of nonverbal cues eases communication) and in turn this may make online self-presentation (behaviours used to present a desired version of the self) easier. Students may be utilising online self-presentation techniques to facilitate online communication with staff. We know that online self-presentation techniques can be advantageous, but where inappropriate they may be detrimental to the student-staff relationship. This study explores whether students are using self-presentation techniques when they communicate online with staff via an archival review of both private (e-mail messages) and public (Moodle forum posts) online educational environments. Through a deductive thematic analysis we identify that students are indeed using online self-presentation techniques but that these vary depending on whether the online educational environment is private or public. This is the first study to explore this topic via an archival review and we encourage future research to consider the role of online self-presentation techniques within student-staff communication

“The world we live in now”: a qualitative investigation into parents’, teachers’ and children’s perceptions of social networking site use

Background Younger children are increasingly using social networking sites (SNS; Ofcom, Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report, 2019, https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/108182/children-parents-media-use-attitudes-2017.pdf). In doing so, they may experience both benefits (e.g., enhanced social capital) and risks (e.g., cyberbullying). Parents and teachers play an important role in shaping children’s perceptions via internet mediation behaviours (Livingstone et al., 2017, J. Commun., 67, 82). Aims An understanding of both children’s and adults’ perceptions of the risks and benefits of SNS use within the home and school contexts is limited within current literature. This study explored parents’, teachers’, and children’s perceptions of the risks and benefits of SNS use and how adults mediate this. Sample(s) A sample of 42 participants, including 13 parents (aged 28–48), 14 teachers (aged 26–54), and 15 children (aged 7–12), participated within this study. Methods Participants took part in one-to-one semi-structured interviews exploring SNS use and risk and benefit perceptions, as well as internet mediation behaviours with adult participants. Results Findings highlight bonding social capital as the main benefit. Children recognize stranger danger as a risk but fail to perceive the wider online risks (e.g., cyberbullying). Parents’ and teachers’ restrictive mediation behaviours are informed by perceptions of stranger danger, safeguarding, and children lacking online responsibility. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of shifting guidance from stranger danger to discussing the wider SNS risks, as well as the benefits; it is crucial for greater financial investment and policy to overcome barriers to e-safety education