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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 1, 17-30 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167206292749
© 2007 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Learning What Feelings to Desire: Socialization of Ideal Affect Through Children's Storybooks

Jeanne L. Tsai

Jennifer Y. Louie

Eva E. Chen

Stanford University

Yukiko Uchida

Koshien University

Previous findings suggest that cultural factors influence ideal affect (i.e., the affective states that people ideally want to feel). Three studies tested the hypothesis that cultural differences in ideal affect emerge early in life and are acquired through exposure to storybooks. In Study 1, the authors established that consistent with previous findings, European American preschoolers preferred excited (vs. calm) states more (indexed by activity and smile preferences) and perceived excited (vs. calm) states as happier than Taiwanese Chinese preschoolers. In Study 2, it was observed that similar differences were reflected in the pictures (activities, expressions, and smiles) of best-selling storybooks in the United States and Taiwan. Study 3 found that across cultures, exposure to exciting (vs. calm) storybooks altered children's preferences for excited (vs. calm) activities and their perceptions of happiness. These findings suggest that cultural differences in ideal affect may be due partly to differential exposure to calm and exciting storybooks.

Key Words: culture • socialization • emotion • children • values


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B. Morling and M. Lamoreaux
Measuring Culture Outside the Head: A Meta-Analysis of Individualism--Collectivism in Cultural Products
Personality and Social Psychology Review, August 1, 2008; 12(3): 199 - 221.
[Abstract] [PDF]