Table 1.

Observed Maternal Emotion Socialization Strategies Coding

Strategy	Definition	Examples
Problem Focused	Brainstorming ways of taking action to help children solve the initial problem of being given the wrong gift	Suggesting they ask the primary experimenter what happened, or plan to ask for a different gift
Physical Comfort	Touching/hugging children in order to soothe their distress	A hug, pat on the back, arm rub, or hand holding
Expressive Encouragement	Encouraging children to express/feel emotions	“It’s ok to feel sad” or, “Tell me how you feel”
Behavioral Distraction	Attempts to get children doing something else	Pointing out the bow on the present box, getting children involved in some other activity
Cognitive Distraction	Suggesting that children think about something else instead of the disappointing gift	“Just think about how much fun you’ll have at the park later” or, “Tell me about all the other games you’ve been playing”
Cognitive Reframing	Suggestions for how children could think about the disappointing gift in a different way that would make it less disappointing	“Who do we know who could play with this toy?” or, “Isn’t it still nice that you got a present?”