Bodily maps of emotions across child development
Abstract
Different basic emotions (anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and surprise) are consistently associated with distinct bodily sensation maps, which may underlie subjectively felt emotions. Here we investigated the development of bodily sensations associated with basic emotions in 6‐ to 17‐year‐old children and adolescents (n = 331). Children as young as 6 years of age associated statistically discernible, discrete patterns of bodily sensations with happiness, fear, and surprise, as well as with emotional neutrality. The bodily sensation maps changed from less to more specific, adult‐like patterns as a function of age. We conclude that emotion‐related bodily sensations become increasingly discrete over child development. Developing awareness of their emotion‐related bodily sensations may shape the way children perceive, label, and interpret emotions.
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A core developmental task in childhood is learning to interpret and respond to motivational and emotional needs by mapping interoceptive states to meaning and action.
“One of the fundamental tasks of healthy childhood development is learning to decipher and respond to one’s motivational and emotional needs; to map interoceptive states onto meaning and action: gut butterflies = anxiety = hold someone’s hand (Hietanen, Glerean, Hari, & Nummenmaa, 2016).”
From Feeling and body investigators (FBI): ARFID division—An acceptance-based interoceptive exposure treatment for children with ARFID (2019) · cites this paper as Hietanen, Glerean, Hari, & Nummenmaa, 2016
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- Authors
- Hietanen, J. K., Glerean, E., Hari, R., & Nummenmaa, L.
- Affiliations
- Tampere University (FI)
- Aalto University (FI)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Hietanen, Jari K.
- Venue
- Developmental Science
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-02-21
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1111-1118
- ISSN
- 1363-755X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-7687
- OpenAlex
- W2275161029
- Cited by
- 81
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 4.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Suomen Akatemia (#266187, #265915)
- European Research Council (#313000)
- Aalto-yliopisto
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Keywords
- basic emotions, emotional development, children and adolescents, happiness, fear, surprise, disgust, anger, sadness, emotional awareness, age differences
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child, Child Development, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Sensation
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