The emergence of emotion word comprehension in toddlerhood: Evidence from a looking-while-listening paradigm

At what age do children acquire emotion words? Research shows gradual acquisition from ages 3 to 5, with mixed findings for age 2. However, most studies have used tasks that may be too demanding for children. This study used a looking-while--listening paradigm to test 18- to 36-month-olds (N = 96; 54% girls, 61% White; tested online in North America in 2023 and 2024). Eighteen to 24-month-olds did not preferentially look at the target face in either cross-valence (e.g., happy-angry) or within-valence (e.g., sad-angry) conditions. Two-year-olds succeeded, with ability in cross-valence conditions emerging in younger 2-year-olds and ability in within-valence conditions in older 2-year-olds. These findings suggest that emotion word comprehension emerges as early as age 2.