Children's Understanding of Verbal and Facial Display Rules

Children in 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 10th grade listened to eight stories designed to elicit either prosocial or self-protective display rules. Children were asked to predict and explain what the protagonists would say and what facial expressions the protagonists would make in response to the emotion-laden situations. The findings indicate that children's knowledge of how and when to control emotional displays increases between 1st and 5th grade, but then levels off. Children understand verbal display rules better than facial display rules, and they understand prosocial display rules better than self-protective ones. They sometimes fail to realize when other people would wish to regulate their emotional expressions. The findings are discussed in the context of the socialization of emotional displays.