Observational assessments were made of 51 preschoolers' (mean age = 53.25 months) peer aggression and emotional displays outside of (baseline) and during aggressive interactions, and their emotion knowledge and peer acceptance were also assessed. Results indicated that the connections between children's affective dispositions and their aggression and peer acceptance varied as a function of both the emotion context (baseline vs. aggression related) and the particular emotion involved (happiness vs. anger). Emotion knowledge and affective dispositions overlapped little with each other, and both made independent contributions to peer acceptance and aggression. Mediation analyses revealed, however, that the significant connections between children's emotional dispositions and knowledge and their peer acceptance were mostly mediated by aggression.

lndividual diferences in afective dispositions and knowledge infzuence childreti's abilities to balance their own needs and goals with those of others without becoming aggressive.Children's Conflict-Rela ted Emotions: Implications for Morality and Autonomy William Arsenio, Sharon CoopermanIn this chapter, we examine some of the emotional factors that influence children's understanding and behavior relative to conflicts and, consequently, the development of their autonomy as social agents. The principal focus is on childrenk actual emotional responses to various types of conflicts and, to a lesser degree, on their conceptions of conflict-related emotions, We begin with the view that children's emotional responses during conflicts and their understanding of those emotions are related to their ability to interact competently with peers. So, for example, children who are emotionally aveTsive during conflicts or who have atypical ideas about others' feelings may have fewer and poorer-quality opportunities than their peers to learn nonaggressive ways of resolving their conflicts. Ultimately, these problems with conflict resolution make it difficult for them to learn to negotiate with their peers and to develop the sorts of social and moral understanding that promote the development of an autonomous self. Conflicts, Morality, and AutonomyPsychologists have long argued that conflicts provide a critical context for the development of both social and cognitive competencies. Piaget ([ 19751 1985). in particular, described how conflicts and resulting states of disequilibrium lead children 'to abandon less adequate cognitive models and move toward increasingly sophisticated understandings of the world. In terms of social Part of the research described in this chapter was supported by a grant to the first author from the National Institute of Mental Health (R03 MH49753).