Abstract
Will Sarah eventually learn one of life’s more important lessons? With further experience, will she no longer “feel sad and disappointed” when others fail to meet her expectations? Traditional students of emotional life might ask: Has William been socialized into suppressing his “true emotions,” thus making him a candidate for a life of tension-ridden inauthenticity?
William, an 11-year-old child, receives a gift from his aunt, who prompts him to open the package in her presence. He does so and looks upon a sweater that he regards as singularly ugly. Notwithstanding, he enacts an emotional display that causes his aunt to appear “pleased.” Sarah, a seven-year-old child endures a similar gift presentation of an “ugly” sweater. Unlike William, Sarah offers an emotional display that offends her aunt. Later that day, Sarah’s mother tries to educate Sarah in “appropriate” ways of conducting her emotional life.
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Mancuso, J.C., Sarbin, T.R. (1998). The Narrative Construction of Emotional Life. In: Mascolo, M.F., Griffin, S. (eds) What Develops in Emotional Development?. Emotions, Personality, and Psychotherapy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1939-7_12
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