Parenting & Personality Influence

Question 1

What 2 dimensions of parenting have researchers found that influence children’s personality development?

Answer 1

warmth versus hostility
AND
permissive versus restrictive

Question 2

How does the optimal parenting style rate on these two dimensions?

Answer 2

High on warmth and somewhere in the middle between overly permissive and overly restrictive

Question 3

How many parenting style do the experts distinguish between?

Answer 3

Four

Question 4

What are the four parenting style experts (Baumrind et al) distinguish between?

Answer 4

(1) Authoritative
(2) Authoritarian
(3) Permissive
(4) Uninvolved

Question 5

What are authoritative parents like and how do they control their children?

Answer 5

They are very warm and nurturant and control their children by explaining rules and decisions.

Question 6

Children of which kinds of parents have the best outcomes?

Answer 6

Authoritative

Question 7

Parental behavior is

Answer 7

One of the environmental variables known to have strong impact on children’s personality development

Question 8

Describe “warmth” and “hostility”

Answer 8

Warmth = affectionate, regularly puts child's needs first, enthusiastic about child's activities, responds to child with empathy & sensitivity
Hostility = quick to criticize, rarely shows affection, overtly rejecting

Question 9

How does coming from warm families affect children?

Answer 9

More securely attached during 1st 2 years of life, higher self-esteem & IQs, & more empathetic & altruistic

Question 10

Describe “restrictiveness” and “permissiveness”

Answer 10

Restrictiveness = highly controlling & demanding & expect unwavering obedience to their rules; children tend to be obedient & timid & have difficulty establishing close relationships
Permissive = few rules, make few demands, & let children make their own decisions; children are thoughtless toward others & only moderately independent

Question 11

What is the optimal parenting style on restrictiveness/permissive continuum?

Answer 11

Falls in middle of range

Question 12

Authoritative parents

Answer 12

Set high standards & expect children to comply w/their rules; gain control by explaining rules & seeking children’s input into family decisions; very warm & nurturant; children have best outcomes & are usually independent, achievement-oriented, friendly, & self-confident

Question 13

Authoritarian parents

Answer 13

Controlling, demanding, & expect children to accept their demands in unquestioning way; when children disobedient, parents likely to respond in punitive ways; children are often insecure, timid, unhappy, & grow up to be dependent & lacking in motivation

Question 14

Permissive parents

Answer 14

Though nurturant & accepting, fail to assert their authority; children go to bed whenever they want to, watch as much TV as they like, etc.; children of permissive parents have difficulty controlling their impulses, ignore rules & regulations, & are not very involved in academic and work activities

Question 15

Uninvolved parents

Answer 15

Undemanding & indifferent to or rejecting of their children; display little commitment to being parents & keep children at a distance; children are often noncompliant & demanding, lack self-control, & prone to antisocial bx; characteristics of uninvolved parents (e.g., weak parental supervision, lack of reasonable rules, lax or erratic discipline, parent-child relationship characterized by hostility, indifference, apathy) are those most predictive of delinquency in adolescence

Question 16

What did Baumrind find in her longitudinal studies about parenting styles?

Answer 16

Authoritative style has most positive outcome; it is characterized by high levels of emotional support or responsiveness & firmness/high standards or demands on children;

Question 17

What are children of authoritative parents like?

Answer 17

More self-confident, independent, friendly, & achievement-oriented; recent study of college students found authoritative style is most predictive of higher academic achievement measured by students’ grades, confidence, persistence, task involvement, & rapport w/teachers

Question 18

What are moderating effects of ethnicity & peer relations on benefits of authoritative parenting on academic achievement?

Answer 18

African-American & Hispanic parents more authoritative than Asian-American parents, their children on average perform more poorly in school; researchers believe this is due in part to minority children being more influenced by peers as compared to White youngsters in terms of academic achievement; They found that African-American children received little support from peers for academic achievement whereas Asian-American children encouraged & rewarded academic achievement