Abstract
Emotional knowledge (EK) refers to the ability to identify and
understand emotions. EK is seldom explored in toddlerhood, when many of
its facets begin to develop, nor in the context of online assessments.
To address this gap, a sample of 98 toddlers (age:18-36-months, 55
female and 43 male) and their mothers (Mage= 32.5 years; 89.8%
Caucasian) participated in this exploratory study investigating child
and maternal characteristics associated with toddlers’ receptive and
expressive EK abilities, which were evaluated using an online modified
version of the Affective Knowledge Task (AKT). Results support the
feasibility of assessing toddler EK online, as most of the toddlers
(68.3%) were able to partially complete the task. Stronger receptive
and expressive EK were both associated with older child age, yet
receptive abilities were inversely related to maternal depression
severity. Methodological strengths and suggestions are discussed to
facilitate research including online assessments with younger cohorts.