FIGURE 10.5 Mean proportion of display rules as a function of mode of expression (verbal or facial), story type (prosocial or protective), and school grade Children in 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 10th grade listened to stories designed to elicit display rules. Then they were asked to predict and explain what the story protagonists would say and what facial expressions the protagonists would show in the emotion-laden situations. Children’s knowledge of how and when to control emotional displays increased between 1st and 5th grade and then leveled off. Their understanding was greater for verbal display rules, whereby children monitor, falsify, and inhibit their speech, than for facial display rules. Children also understood prosocial display rules (used to protect another’s feelings) better than self-protective display rules (used for personal gain). (Adapted from Gnepp & Hess, 1986)