Although 3-year-old children sometimes simulate emotions to adapt to social norms, we do not know if even younger children can pretend emotions in playful contexts. The present study investigated (1) what emotions infants of 1–2 years old are capable of pretending and (2) the possible role of language and symbolic play in the ability to pretend emotions. The sample included 69 infants aged 18 to 31 months and their parents. Infants were administrated the Test of Pretend Play, and their parents responded to the MacArthur-Bates CDI-II inventory, part of the MacArthur-Bates CDI-I, and a questionnaire about the expression of pretend emotions. Results suggest that very young children simulate emotions. Furthermore, children's simulation of emotions was related to both symbolic play and language. Specifically, the ability to label emotions was linked to the ability to simulate them. The role of language and symbolic play in the development of the capacity to express and understand pretend emotions is discussed.

中文翻译：

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早年假装情绪：语言和象征游戏的作用

虽然 3 岁的孩子有时会模拟情绪以适应社会规范，但我们不知道即使是年幼的孩子是否可以在嬉戏的环境中假装情绪。本研究调查了 (1) 1-2 岁婴儿能够假装什么情绪，以及 (2) 语言和符号游戏在假装情绪能力中的可能作用。样本包括 69 名 18 至 31 个月的婴儿及其父母。婴儿接受了假装游戏测试，他们的父母回答了麦克阿瑟-贝茨 CDI-II 清单、麦克阿瑟-贝茨 CDI-I 的一部分，以及一份关于假装情绪表达的问卷。结果表明，非常年幼的孩子会模拟情绪。此外，儿童对情绪的模拟与象征性游戏和语言都有关。具体来说，标记情绪的能力与模拟情绪的能力有关。讨论了语言和符号游戏在表达和理解假装情绪的能力发展中的作用。