NEPALI CHILDRENS IDEAS ABOUT EMOTIONAL DISPLAYS IN HYPOTHETICAL CHALLENGES

Although culture plays an important role in specifying socially prescr ibed ways to communicate and act in emotional situations, few cultures have been studied. This study describes the ideas of 50 first-grade b oys and girls (aged 6-9 years) from 2 different Nepali cultures (Taman g and Chhetri-Brahmin) regarding how they would feel and act in 6 emot ionally challenging situations (e.g., peer conflict, family conflict). Significant cultural differences were found. Chhetri-Brahmin children were more likely than Tamang children to endorse negative emotions an d to report masking negative emotion. These differences appeared to be related to socialization processes in the respective cultures. Chhetr i-Brahmin mothers reported teaching their children about emotion, wher eas Tamang mothers reported that children learned by themselves. The c hildren's responses may reflect ideas about emotion regulation that em erge from the differing socioreligious contexts in which they live.