Several researchers in the theory of mind field have been investigating the relation between emotion understanding and social interaction. Following this line of investigation, the present study explored the relation between emotion understanding, social acceptance and evaluation of behavioral attributes by peers. Fifty-two school-aged children were administered an emotional intelligence test and two instruments of sociometric evaluation. A correlation between emotion understanding and social acceptance was not found, however, a negative correlation between emotion understanding and the evaluation of behavioral attributes related to aggressiveness/disruptivity was observed. The results suggest that the knowledge of different emotions and of emotion regulation strategies may make children less prone to reactive aggressiveness.
Emotion understanding; Social acceptance; Behavioral attributes; Theory of mind; Social competence
