Inferences, situation models, and emotions in narrative texts : The case for preschoolers

The aim of this study is to identify the inferential processes made by 3 and 4 year olds when comprehending the emotional states of characters in a narrative text. Thirty children hear a story and then are asked some questions related to the emotional states of the story. Each child is both interviewed and read the story individually. The findings show i) that children identify the emotional reaction of characters by using explanation-based inferences in a selective fashion; ii) that there is a progress related to their age both in emotion comprehension and inferencing development; and iii) that both age groups construct high order representations. i.e., the situation models.C