ERIC Number: EJ1474996
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jul
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
Available Date: 2025-05-19
Putting the Social in Emotions: The Effect of Audience Presence on Pride and Embarrassment across Ontogeny
Christopher Riddell1,2; Milica Nikolic3; Mariska E. Kret1,2
Developmental Science, v28 n4 e70024 2025
We care about others' opinions of us and regulate our emotions to make positive impressions. This form of impression management may change during ontogeny as children become increasingly sensitive to others. To examine whether self-conscious emotions are influenced by audience presence across the lifespan, we induced embarrassment and pride in n = 71 3.5-5-year-old children, n = 71 8-10-year-old children, and n = 73 adults, either in the presence of an audience or alone. We measured nonverbal expressions of emotion, physiological arousal, and self-reported emotional experiences. All participants reported more embarrassment and blushed more while watching their singing performance in the presence of others. However, participants' pride was not contingent on audience presence and differed across age, with adults showing the most nonverbal expressions of pride. These results elucidate how social environments shape how we feel and express emotions across development.
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Young Children, Adults, Emotional Development, Psychological Patterns, Nonverbal Communication, Age Differences, Social Environment, Emotional Response, Audiences
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/ac3sv/
Author Affiliations: 1Institute of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; 2Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands; 3Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands