Emotion Knowledge and Attentional Differences in Preschoolers Showing Context-Inappropriate Anger

• Published in: Perceptual and motor skills 2016-08, Vol.123 (1), p.46-63
• Main Authors: Locke, Robin L., Lang, Nichole J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anger; Anger - physiology; Attention - physiology; Child Behavior - physiology; Child development; Child psychology; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Facial Expression; Facial Recognition - physiology; Female; Humans; Male; Preschool children; Problem Behavior
• ISSN: 0031-5125; 1558-688X
• DOI: 10.1177/0031512516658473

Some children show anger inappropriate for the situation based on the predominant incentives, which is called context-inappropriate anger. Children need to attend to and interpret situational incentives for appropriate emotional responses. We examined associations of context-inappropriate anger with emotion recognition and attention problems in 43 preschoolers (42% male; M age = 55.1 months, SD = 4.1). Parents rated context-inappropriate anger across situations. Teachers rated attention problems using the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form. Emotion recognition was ability to recognize emotional faces using the Emotion Matching Test. Anger perception bias was indicated by anger to non-anger situations using an adapted Affect Knowledge Test. 28% of children showed context-inappropriate anger, which correlated with lower emotion recognition (β = −.28) and higher attention problems (β = .36). Higher attention problems correlated with more anger perception bias (β = .32). This cross-sectional, correlational study provides preliminary findings that children with context-inappropriate anger showed more attention problems, which suggests that both “problems” tend to covary and associate with deficits or biases in emotion knowledge.