Control

Question 1

Brian Barber: 2 types of control & his argument about them

Answer 1

• 2 types: behavioural control and psychological control
• argument: while behavioural control may be both necessary and advantageous (i.e., it can reduce levels of externalizing problems in children), high levels of psychological control is neither necessary nor advantageous (i.e., it can increase internalizing problems in children)

Question 2

Representing behavioural and psychological control as correlations

Answer 2

• Behavioural control –> externalizing problems (negative correlation)
• Psychological control –> internalizing problems (positive correlation)

Question 3

Behaviour control vs. psychological control

Answer 3

• Behavioural Control: monitoring children’s behaviour (ie. what they do, who they’re with, etc., checking in with teachers, etc.) → not necessarily in an intrusive way
• Psychological Control: controlling how a child feels (ie. dismissing/invalidating emotions of the child; trying to force them to feel a certain way, like a certain thing, etc.)

Question 4

Externalizing problems vs. internalizing problems

Answer 4

• Externalizing Problems - misbehaviours that you can see (ie. hitting, biting, kicking)
• Internalizing Problems - things you cannot necessarily see/know about (ie. depression, anxiety, somatic issues → headaches, stomachaches, etc.)

Question 5

Brian Barber: 6 subscales of the psychological control scale

Answer 5

• constraining verbal expressions
• invalidating feelings
• personal attack on child
• guilt induction
• love withdrawal
• erratic emotional behaviour

Question 6

6 subscales: constraining verbal expressions

Answer 6

• Preventing or interfering with another family member’s talking (can be done by: changing subject, interrupting, speaking for that person, lecturing, switching topics, dominating conversation, asking leading questions, answering own questions)
• Showing disinterest in what other family member has to say (by ignoring comments or through physical posture, like looking away)

Question 7

6 subscales: invalidating feelings

Answer 7

• invalidating feelings of another family member by discounting, misinterpreting, or assigning a value (e.g., good/bad, right/wrong) to feelings expressed
• Engaging in mind reading (saying you know that the other is thinking/feeling)
• Being sarcastic or teasing when responding to the feelings being expressed

Question 8

6 subscales: personal attack on child

Answer 8

• Similar to shaming
• Attacking worth of family member by reminding them of familial responsibilities or questioning loyalty to family
• Bringing up mistakes or embarrassing behaviours
• Blaming other family members for your own problems
• Speaking in a condescending/patronizing way as if you were a therapist

Question 9

6 subscales: guilt induction

Answer 9

• different that previous guilt induction
• Guilt-tripping by pointing out negative impact of behaviour, making them feel sad/depressed, worry, or lose self-esteem
• Trying to evoke sympathy by listing all of the things you’ve done for another family member; blaming self for other’s problems
• Saying that if family member cared about you, they’d do what you want

Question 10

6 subscales: love withdrawal

Answer 10

• threatened to withdraw love or attention if other family member didn’t conform to expectations
• Diverting gaze, turning away, making displeased facial expressions, leaving the interaction

Question 11

6 subscales: erratic emotional behaviour

Answer 11

showing erratic emotional behavior in interaction with another family member by switching between caring and attacking expressions

Question 12

How does psychological and behavioural control relate to the 7 types of discipline?

Answer 12

• Behavioural control used in proactive parenting (and kind of power-assertion, inductive, positive, but not quite)
• Psychological control used in shaming, guilt induction, love withdrawal