Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to explore the development of young children’s understanding of emotions. 120 three- to five-year-olds were included in this study , and their responses to “Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) ” were recorded and analyzed. It was found that young children’s emotional understanding developed by age. The developmental processes followed the route from fundamental to mental and then to reflective understanding of emotions. Because of personal experiences and parents instruction, children’s responses to the tests of“desire-based emotions”, “outer contributions of emotions” and “hidden emotions ”were different from children ‘s responses of English-speaking countries. The findings of the present study challenged the universal viewpoints but support the cultural construction views of the development of children’s emotional understanding.