Socio-Moral Emotions in Early Childhood Development

Emergence of Socio-Moral Emotions

In children under 2 years, expressions of pride and shame appear in response to success and failure when solving tasks.

Lewis et al. found that children experience pride in success if a task is difficult, and shame at failure if the task is easy. This indicates that children under 2 years are capable of self-evaluation and that pride and shame are distinct from simple joy or sadness.

We also observe differential patterns between shame and guilt, as the latter involves an intention to repair.

Mechanisms of Socio-Moral Emotion Genesis

• Ego Development: The relationship between ego development and the emergence of emotions.
• Internalization: The internalization of caregiver approval and disapproval.
• Social Referencing: Caregivers' emotional signals communicate value systems, promoting the early generation of emotions.

Foundations of Socio-Emotional Development

Although the development of self-awareness is a prerequisite for these emotions, other socio-emotional factors are at the base:

• Empathy: Considered the critical foundation in the genesis of guilt and a source of motivation for moral behavior.
• Empathic Guilt: Arises when a child feels empathetic pain for a victim's suffering and attributes responsibility to themselves.

Children at this age usually cease and desist in their behavior upon witnessing the grief and loss of others.

Gender Differences in Socio-Moral Emotions

Research indicates the following trends in girls:

• They achieve higher scores on various empathy measures.
• They report more prosocial behavior toward their mothers when they show sadness.
• Guilt is more common.
• Following an act of aggression, they experience more guilt and a more negative self-assessment.
• The relationship between aggression and the desire to repair is evident by age 2.

Distinctions Between Pride and Shame

• Girls show more shame regarding failure.
• Mothers provide more positive feedback to boys' successes and place less value on girls' achievements, while reacting more negatively to girls' failures. This may explain why girls are less likely to attribute success to their own abilities, potentially impacting their motivation to succeed.