Abstract
Feelings and emotions are essential elements of an event, even in a forensic context. The aim of this study was to explore how children come with age to describe feelings in situations that are relevant to child protection and child safety. A total of 127 children, ages 3-12 years, were presented with depictions of scenes in which dolls underwent difficulties such as being bullied, left alone, scolded unfairly, etc. Children were then asked to describe the doll's feelings. Although one-third of preschoolers' responses were "don't know," children became able with age to describe feelings in terms of internal states, mentioning behavior (He is in trouble) and intentions (He wants to get out of trouble), and by asking questions (Why was he caught in trouble?) Expressions of negative emotions (sad, unhappy) were more diverse compared to expressions of positive feelings (happy, fun), in accordance with previous research. Limitations of possible applications of the results to forensic investigative interviews were discussed.
