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Teaching emotion understanding

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Abstract

The main goal of this research was to assess whether it is possible to help children develop their general understanding of emotions. Thirty-six nine-year-old children divided in two groups were examined using a pre-test/train/post-test design. The emotion understanding of the two groups was measured in the pre- and post-test phases using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The experimental group received a teaching program about emotions during the training phase: School Matters In Lifeskills Education (SMILE). The control group received no special teaching about emotion during this phase. Results showed that the level of emotion understanding in the experimental group improved significantly between the pre- and post-test whereas no such change occurred in the control group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Résumé

Le but premier de cette recherche était de voir s’il était possible d’aider les enfants à développer leur compréhension générale des émotions. Trente six enfants de 9 ans divisés en deux groupes ont été examinés au moyen d’un paradigme pré-test, entraînement, post-test. Le niveau général de compréhension des émotions des deux groupes a été mesuré au pré-test et au post-test au moyen du Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). Le groupe expérimental a reçu durant la phase d’entraînement un programme d’enseignement portant sur les émotions: School Matters In Lifeskills Education (SMILE); tandis que le groupe contrôle n’a reçu aucun enseignement en rapport avec les émotions durant cette phase. Les résultats de cette recherche montrent que le niveau général de compréhension des émotions du groupe expérimental a augmenté significativement entre les phases pré-test et post-test tandis qu’il est resté le même pour le groupe contrôle entre ces deux phases. Les implications théoriques et pratiques de ces résultats sont discutées.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK

    Francisco Pons

  2. University of Geneva-Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, 40, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Francisco Pons

  3. Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, 503 Larsen Hall, Appian Way, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Paul L. Harris

  4. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, 40 Bd. du Pont d’Arve, 1205, Geneve, Switzerland

    Pierre-André Doudin

  5. Haute Ecole Pédagogique, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Pierre-André Doudin

Authors
  1. Francisco Pons
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  2. Paul L. Harris
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  3. Pierre-André Doudin
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Additional information

This study was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (no 8210-056618).

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Pons, F., Harris, P.L. & Doudin, PA. Teaching emotion understanding. Eur J Psychol Educ 17, 293–304 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173538

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173538

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