In 1995, a unique experiment was conducted to help teach children about emotions and feelings. Dr. Rebecca Johnson, a child psychologist in Seattle, Washington, came up with the idea of creating “emotion baseball cards” – baseball-style trading cards that depicted different emotions instead of baseball players.
Each card would show a photo of a child displaying a certain emotion through their facial expression and body language, along with a short description of that emotion. The goal was to make learning about emotions fun and engaging for kids through imagery and concepts they could easily understand. Baseball cards were the perfect vehicle, as they were incredibly popular with children at the time.
Dr. Johnson worked with a local photographer, Greg Wilson, to capture photos of child actors and volunteers displaying the target emotions. They focused on the six basic emotions identified by psychologists – happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust. Additional cards covered more complex emotions like jealousy, embarrassment and pride.
For the descriptions, Dr. Johnson consulted experts in child psychology to write age-appropriate explanations of what each emotion felt like physically and how it might influence one’s thoughts and behaviors. She also included suggestions for how to identify that emotion in others and healthy ways of expressing it.
With the photos and text complete, the emotion baseball cards were sent to a print shop specializing in sports cards. They were printed on high-quality cardstock using the same multi-color offset printing process as real baseball cards. Each 3.5″ x 2.5″ card featured a photo on the front along with the emotion name, and the descriptive text on the back.
A local toy and card distributor, Northwest Trading Cards, agreed to distribute the emotion baseball cards through schools, pediatrician’s offices, child counseling centers and toy stores. The initial print run was 50,000 cards in packs of 12, with each pack containing two of each of the six basic emotions. Additional packs contained the more advanced emotions.
When the emotion baseball cards launched in March 1995, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Children were immediately engaged by the novel concept and enjoyed trying to collect full sets, just as they would with sports cards. Parents and teachers praised the creative way the cards made learning about feelings fun and tangible.
Within months, the initial print run sold out as demand increased. Dr. Johnson worked with Northwest Trading Cards to do three more larger print runs that year. By the end of 1995, over 500,000 emotion baseball cards had been sold nationwide. The cards had found an audience beyond just the Seattle area and were being used in classrooms across the country.
Educators reported that the emotion baseball cards were highly effective teaching tools. Being able to visually see and understand the facial expressions and body language associated with different emotions helped children recognize feelings in themselves and others more easily. The descriptive text on the back also assisted in developing emotional intelligence at a young age.
At the same time, children simply enjoyed trading and comparing their emotion baseball card collections, without realizing they were also absorbing important social and emotional lessons. The trading card format made the learning fun and game-like. Many of the child actors and models who appeared on the original cards also took pride in seeing their photos in classrooms and on playgrounds across the nation.
The unexpected success and educational impact of the 1995 emotion baseball cards inspired Dr. Johnson to expand the concept in subsequent years. In 1996 and 1997, she worked with Northwest Trading Cards to produce new card sets focused on self-esteem, conflict resolution, empathy and communication. Additional topics like bullying, stress management and making healthy choices were addressed in later years.
By the late 1990s, the emotion baseball card concept had been adapted for use outside of America as well. Translated card sets were distributed internationally in countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and parts of Europe. Some nations produced their own culturally-relevant versions that resonated with local children. The basic idea also inspired similar educational trading cards focused on social-emotional skills in other formats.
Today, while physical emotion baseball cards may not be as widely used in classrooms, the core concept lives on through digital extensions. Apps have been created that transform the original photos and text into an interactive format enjoyable for modern kids. The early emotion baseball cards also left a legacy as a pioneering example of how to creatively impart important life lessons to children in an engaging way. By meeting kids where their interests lie, meaningful social-emotional learning can be achieved almost without them realizing it.
