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Psychology 3260: Personality & Social Development

Don HartmannSpring 2007

Lecture 24: Families: Parenting

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Other Administration

•Would the following students please contact me if they have not already done so: AB, SC, SJ, FL, MM, KN, & TW.

•Regarding the autobiographical term paper:

•Be sure to attach the edited versions of your paper to the final version of the paper. Clearly indicate the name of the editor on each edited version. If you have used editors from outside of class, give the name, telephone #, and relationship to you of the editor.

•Be certain to indicate on your cover sheet if you intend to pick up your paper. The default—in case you forget to indicate—is “yes, I will pick up my paper.” If you would like feedback on your paper, but are concerned that you may not be able to pick the paper up, include a self-addressed stamped envelop large enough to hold the paper.

•Do NOT email me your paper! My printer will not tolerate 20 pages from 55 students.

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References Collins, W. A., Maccoby, E. E., Steinberg, L.,

Hetherington, E. M., Bornstein,M. H. (2003). Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. In E. A. Farber & M. E. Hertzig (Eds.) Annual progress in child psychiatry and child development: 2000-2001 (pp.125-153). New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Parke, R. D., & Buriel, R. (1998). Socialization in the family: Ethnic and ecological perspective. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 463-552). New York: Wiley.

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Overview: Parenting Text Overlap: Pp. 347-357 Lecture:

INTRODUCTION Methodology & Biases

CONCEPTUALIZING THE FAMILY THE CHANGING AMERICAN FAMILY INTRODUCTION TO DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES

Parenting techniques, parental style, and parental values

Why we must be cautious

Next: Lecture #25: Families (Discipline)

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Introduction

Is the family important? What does the culture tell us?

The family is the primary repository of the culture and subculture And all of these currents and cross-

currents affect how the family socializes its children—think Bronfenbrenner.

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Methods of Study; Biases Methods: Interview and observations of

naturally occurring & simulated (analogue) events Problems with analogues: How many of the

characteristics of the family ‑‑ and which family ‑‑ were preserved in the analogue?

Biases: ethnocentric bias one‑way causation, from parent to child

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The Family As A Social System: Bidirectional Causation

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The Family As A Social System: Developmental Stages Certain fairly predictable developmental

periods and accompanying issues. E.g., when children in adolescence:

Parents concerned about educational costs and perhaps, empty nests

Mothers concerned about loosing their beauty and stamina

Fathers concerned with meeting their ambitions, and hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer of the next generation of workers

Both parents, perhaps saying the words of the old Peggy Lee song: “Is that all there is?”

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The Changing American Family (1)

What is the nuclear family? working dad, homemaker mom, and 2 kids living in family composes, at most, 12% of families 50% of children will spend part of their time in a single‑parent family In general, we have a great deal of diversity in family structure

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The Changing American Family (2)

The role of fathers: • According to 1971 study by

Rebelsky & Hanks, with 2 week to 3 month old children, fathers spend 2.7 interactions with a total of 40 seconds daily

• The thoroughly modern father?

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Discipline Introduction Aspects of parenting (how do we cut

the pie?): disciplinary technique: power assertion,

love withdrawal, & reasoning (e.g., induction)

parenting style a la Baumrind: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, & (sometimes) indifferent—defined by 2 x 2 table

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Baumrind’s Classification

EMOTIONAL CLIMATE:EXPECT- Warm ColdATIONS: Substant.

Minimal

Authoritative

Authoritarian

Permissive

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Discipline Aspects of parental behavior

(continued): PARENTAL VALUES: education? baton

twirling? Skilled thievery? Power? Sociability?

Any discussion of the impact of parenting that does not take all three aspects into account must be flawed!

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Interdependence of “Aspects of Parental Behavior:” 1To talk about the affects of each aspect

independent of the other factors clearly does an injustice. E.g., a focus on the effects of discipline may convey the notion

that the kind of discipline is far more important than the behaviors which are disciplined (value)

• Nevertheless, there is evidence that induction produces better child outcomes than does power assertion or love withdrawal

• Extrinsic rewards can under-mind behaviors (Mark Lepper)

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Interdependence of “Aspects of Parental Behavior:” 2 that all parents discipline the same

behaviors (values) so that the only thing that differs between parents is the form of their discipline

Remember the story about the father who encouraged his son to kill birds!

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Interdependence of “Aspects of Parental Behavior:” 3

that parents are consistent across behaviors in how they discipline, rather than somehow matching the discipline with the transgression

NO: Study by Grusec and Kuczynski (Dev. Psych., 1980, 16 (1), 1-9. Mothers reported using different disciplinary techniques for different child (mis)behaviors.

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Summary of Parenting Lecture Lecture:

METHODOLOGY & BIASES THE CHANGING AMERICAN

FAMILY Introduction to disciplinary

practices: Why we must be cautious when discussing parenting techniques, parental style, and parental values

Next: Lecture #25 (Discipline) GO IN PEACE