This article is more of a research paper and review on previous studies than new experimental findings. This paper tries to make a connection between emotional functioning and social competence (popularity) of a child.The definition used in this paper of social competence is “the ability to be effective in the realization of social goals.” This can also be viewed as the ability to influence peers and their activities. Peers of the children were chosen as the source of competence evaluations. This research was based on six different emotional functions and abilities. Children’s understanding of emotions, their identification of their own emotions, emotion regulation, practice of emotion display rules, their sympathetic response, and their mood states. Understanding of emotions seems very closely correlated to peer social status of a child. The ability to understand emotions also implies the ability to judge the social context in many situations, allowing the child to make “relevant comments and [engage] in group-oriented behavior.” This ability allows the child to “engage successfully in cooperative play for sustained periods of time.”There was no direct evidence that the ability to identify one’s own emotion has an impact on social competence of a child. However, it is logical that being able to identify one’s own emotions would help understand the emotional states of others.Emotion regulation also seems to play a key role in the social competence of a child. Most children realize that they are in charge of their emotions and that emotions can be altered. As children get older, successful play will require more self control because there will be many situations where “negotiation of conflict” is necessary. Children who are able to display more self-control will be perceived as a more desirable play partners. It has also been found that “social popular...
