Emotion socialization – compassion or non-engagement – in young children's responses to peer distress.

The study explores how two three-year-old kindergarten children react when their peers cry. It aims to investigate more closely how children's reactions affect their socil concerns and relationsships, as well as to achieve an understanding of how children deal with crying peers and the role these reactions play in their social interaction and friendships. 

The children's most common response to a crying peer was to stay away and just observe (watch) or keep playing as before. Some children chose to continue the conflict with the crying child, while others showed compassion by trying to alleviate the child's distress verbally or nonverbally. The researchers behind the study conclude that the way children react when others cry is important for their emotional and moral development, and that it helps convey specific cultural values about compassion, what is considered normal when crying, and the responsibility of caregivers to comfort others when they are upset.

The data material consists of 68 hours of video ethnography that were conducted in a regular Swedish kindergarten over a period of 17 months. A total of 38 children (aged one to four years old) and nine teachers participated. The video recordings included daily kindergarten activities such as free play, educationally organised activities and lunch. The study was specifically designed to follow five focus children (two to three years old) in kindergarten (and their homes). Daily activities involving other children and adults were recorded.

Kvist, M. H. & Cekaite, A. (2021). "Emotion socialization – compassion or non-engagement – in young children's responses to peer distress". Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 28:100462.