No one would deny the proposition that in order to understand human behavior and development, one must understand "feelings. " The in­ tere st in emotions is enduring. Yet, within the discipline of psychology, the study of feelings and emotions has been somewhat less than re­ spectable, a stepchild to the fields of cognitive science and psycho­ linguistics. PerusaI of the language acquisition literature reveals a greater concem among psychologists for the acquisition of prepositions than for terms that convey feelings. Without question, issues related to emo­ tion, its development, and its measurement have been neglected in the research literature until quite recently. From a developmental perspective, Piaget and his followers have articulated a complex theory of transition and change in intellectual behavior. Nearly a century ago, Freud proposed an elaborate theory of personality development in which some aspects of emotional growth were considered. We await the construction of a comprehensive theory of emotional development. Recognizing such a need, we set out over a decade ago to solve what seemed to be a relatively simple problem: By observing young children, could one…

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