Understanding emotion dissimulation 1 Running head: Understanding of emotion dissimulation The Understanding of Emotion Dissimulation in School-aged Children

Understanding emotion dissimulation 2 Two studies were designed to assess children’s understanding of emotional dissimulation. In Study 1, children between the ages 5 and 10 years listened to fictitious stories describing social situations in which a main character felt emotions but decided to hide them from other protagonists. The participants were asked to identify the felt emotions and to select the facial expression the main character was likely to display. Then, they were asked to select, among four proposed explanations, the one which could best account for the selected facial expressions. Five- and 6-year-olds performed the task correctly above chance level, although their understanding of emotional dissimulation was not as good as the 9- and 10-year-olds. Study 2 was identical to Study 1, except that only two of the possible four explanations were proposed to the participants after they were read the stories. The results showed that young children tend to conceptualize emotional understanding as a phenomenon involving a change in the felt emotions. The findings are discussed in terms of children’s ability to perceive the representational nature of mental states, and in terms of limitations in working memory. Understanding emotion dissimulation 3 The Understanding of Emotion Dissimulation in School-aged Children Children’s ability to exert a control over their emotional expression emerges very early in life. Preschool children are able to pose various facial expressions of emotio