The Young Child's Awareness of Affect

This study focuses on the young child's awareness of affect concepts. 102 children, ages 4-6, were rated for affect awareness by their teachers and on their responses to 6 verbal and performance tests. The results of a cluster analysis of teacher ratings and intercorrelation of tests provide modest support for several hypotheses. Teachers describe the child who can verbalize his feelings as expressive, mature, empathic, and imaginative. The data suggest that a child's affect awareness is a general orientation which he utilizes in his selective response to other people and in his awareness of self.