The Relationship between Discourse about Emotions during Joint Book Reading and Young Children’s Understanding of Emotions

The present study examined the relationship between the discourse about emotions during joint book reading and young children’s understanding of emotions. Subjects included 46 pairs of parents and children. Questionnaires about joint book reading practices, the Preschooler Language Obstacle Test, the Emotion Comprehension Test, and joint book reading discourse analysis were used to clarify the relationship between general language ability, parent-child discourse about emotions and young children’s understanding of emotions. Three main findings were observed: (1) Language ability was necessary but not sufficient for the development of emotional understanding. (2) Parents led the discourse about emotions during joint book reading. The main purpose was to label the characters’ emotions, not to explain the emotions. (3) Not all discourse about emotions was helpful. Discourse that explained what the characters in the story were thinking was most helpful in the development of children’s understanding of emotions. Educational implications of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.